Australia's second favourite champagne house, Veuve Clicquot, is concerned its reputation will suffer thanks to big retailers' price wars and parallel imports.
The infamous price wars in Australia are a concern to Veuve Clicquot's president, Jean-Marc Lacave, but, according to SMH, he said the situation is worse in other markets.
"We see much more dramatic situations around the world than what we see in Australia, in other markets such as Europe, UK and France it is much more aggressive," he said.
With Christmas around the corner, Coles and Woolworths, which control most of Australia's liquor market through brands including Dan Murphy's and Liquorland, are expected to battle it out for the cheap champagne crown, with serious discounts already on offer.
Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label is currently on offer at Dan Murphy's for $55.70 per bottle or $66.66 from Liquorland Direct.
"We have seen [in] many examples around the world that it is not a few dollars that is going to dramatically improve sales so it's better for the value chain to keep the margin for the retailers," Lacave said. "And, for our brands, considering the quality, command a premium and the consumer will understand this as long as we maintain the quality."
Another issue for champagne producers is the availability of cheap drops on the grey market, where the product can be imported by individuals or businesses at a cheaper rate than that asked of official distributors.
Owned by Moet Hennessy, Veuve ranks second in Australian sales of French champagne, behind Moet, but is still enjoying double-digit sales growth rates.