The growers' union ended on Wednesday the review it opened in 2003; the current map, drawn in 1927, stays as it is
The Syndicat Général des Vignerons de la Champagne (SGV), the body that defends and manages the appellation, decided on Wednesday, October 21, to end the review of the area where Champagne may be produced. The study began in 2003, when sales were rising, and could have added new villages and removed others. With the process over, the 1927 map remains in force, covering 319 localities east of Paris, according to France 24. The decision was taken by the union's board behind closed doors in Épernay, France 3 reported.
In a statement, the SGV said the consequences of climate change, economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and shifting consumer habits had profoundly altered the reality of the region, and that a new delimitation would bind the appellation for decades. According to France 3, the average temperature in Champagne has risen by about one degree, affecting soils, sunshine and rainfall. This year the region had its earliest harvest on record after an exceptionally hot summer, and alcohol-content rules had to be eased because of high sugar levels in the grapes, according to France 24.
The market also ended up far from what was expected. In 2003, the industry projected reaching 340 million bottles sold; between September 2025 and September 2026, Champagne shipped 271 million, according to France 3. Sales have fallen for three years in a row, in France and abroad, with tariffs and trade restrictions weighing on exports. The export share rose from 41% of shipments in 2003 to 58% in 2025 and accounts for nearly two-thirds of the industry's revenue.
For SGV president Maxime Toubart, before redrawing the area the region must define what Champagne it wants to produce in the future. The union says the decision does not call into question the 2003 decision or the work done since, but that the foundations of the project need to be reexamined.
Since 2011, experts from INAO, the French institute for appellations of origin, had been quietly studying the delimitation and were due to deliver their conclusions by the end of 2026. An informal list of villages had circulated: Germaine and Orbais, in the Marne, were mentioned as leaving the area; Bouilly, Laines-aux-Bois and Saint-Germain, in the Aube, believed for a time they could join. The SGV says it does not know the areas or plots involved. A legal question remains: in 1999, the village of Fontaine-sur-Ay joined the area by a ruling of the Council of State after a lawsuit, and others may try the same route, according to France 3.
For anyone buying Champagne in Brazil, the map that defines where labels such as Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial and Veuve Clicquot Brut may come from remains the same as nearly a century ago.
Sources: France 24 (October 21, 2026), France 3 Régions (October 21, 2026).
