Grapes & wine: Stocks
Champagne's secret reserve of still wine
Champagne's secret reserve of still wine What this tab covers How much is left and how much is held. For minerals and energy: reserves, current output, years of supply and recycling for the top five countries. For farm commodities: production, ending stocks and stocks-to-use for the top five producers (USDA, October 2026). It also covers inventories and stockpiles.Top five producers: production and stocks (USDA, 2025/26)
| Country | Production | Share | Ending stocks | Stocks-to-use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 15,000,000 | 50% | 0 | 0% |
| India | 3,150,000 | 10.5% | 0 | 0% |
| Brazil | 1,758,000 | 5.9% | 0 | 0% |
| Uzbekistan | 1,732,000 | 5.8% | 0 | 0% |
| Egypt | 1,670,000 | 5.6% | 0 | 0% |
| World | 29,990,000 | 100% | 0 | – |
Stockholding and policy
Grapes are not recycled. Fresh grapes cannot be stockpiled beyond weeks of cold storage, but wine stocks act as a buffer: Champagne growers keep reserve wines from good vintages for up to 10 years and drew on them after the 2003 frost (Geman). The EU has funded crisis distillation and grubbing-up of vines in periods of surplus. India has no stockholding policy for grapes.
Fresh grapes last weeks in cold storage, raisins much longer, and wine can be kept for years. Wine stocks are therefore the main buffer. Geman describes how Champagne growers keep a reserve of still wine from good years, usable for up to 10 years. After an April 2003 frost cut yields to 8,250 kg per hectare, against an average of 10,400, they drew on it. Surplus stocks are also a policy problem: the EU has repeatedly paid for crisis distillation and vine removal when demand falls.