Chablis is far from a new category in the U.S., but in recent years, sales have risen significantly. In 2023, the U.S. became the region’s number one export market by value at 36.8 million Euros—an impressive 19 percent increase over 2022—and second in volume at three million bottles, a 6.7 percent increase over 2022.
While these numbers are significant, they are also part of a longer sales trend. The 2023 numbers reflect a 66.5 percent increase in value over 2018, and a 199 percent increase in value over 2013. This is all amidst the backdrop of declining wine sales worldwide.
How has Chablis managed to buck the trend in the U.S. market? SevenFifty Daily spoke with both French and American industry professionals to understand the recent ascent of Chablis.
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Demand for Chablis at All Levels
The growing appeal of Chablis is one part of a larger white Burgundy trend. According to the Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB), in the first six months of 2024, white Burgundy wines represented 63 percent of the total volume of Burgundy exported to the United States, and 54 percent of sales. Drilling down, Petit Chablis and Chablis AOC accounted for 23 percent of the total volume of white wines, and Chablis premier cru and Grand Cru made up four percent of exports. Combined, that’s almost one-third of all the white Burgundy wine coming stateside.
All tiers are thriving. Chablis and Petit Chablis have more than doubled in exports over the past 10 years, with an 11 percent increase from 2022 to 2023 alone. Although premier cru and Grand Cru decreased by 10 percent in volume between 2022 and 2023, sales value rose by six percent for these higher tiers.
According to Shannon Coursey, the executive vice president of sales and marketing at Wilson Daniels, Chablis appeals to a broad range of drinkers. “It’s a really good go-to for both wine connoisseurs and wine newbies alike,” she says. For consumers early in their wine journey, the range of information available, whether via apps or wine education classes, encourages exploration. “And I think once you encounter wines from Chablis, wherever you are in your wine journey, it’s difficult not to hang around,” says Coursey. “They have the very unique characteristics of the Kimmeridgian soil that gives the wine that kind of flinty characteristics. I think the wines are special.”
For Wilson Daniels, premier cru and Grand Cru is up 26 percent by volume over the last four years, and up 33 percent for village and Petit Chablis over that same time period. “We are selling out,” says Coursey.
That trend has carried into 2024 as well. According to Dave Parker, the owner and CEO of Benchmark Wine Group, the company saw Chablis sales grow by “more than a factor of three so far in 2024 as compared to the first three quarters of 2022.”
Chablis Offers Both Style and Value
A style zeitgeist also puts Chablis in the spotlight. “People are straying away from the heavier oak styles of Chardonnay,” says Alisha Blackwell-Calvert, the beverage director of Madrina in Webster Groves, Missouri. “They are going to brighter, lighter styles, more freshness, more acidity.” Chablis wines, with a generally very conservative oak regimen, fit the bill. “Chablis seems to be a natural gravitation to people drinking Chardonnay in general,” says Blackwell-Calvert.
“With Americans eating more fish, white meat, and vegetable dishes, drinking wines that complement them—and showing interest in a different style than big, buttery American Chardonnay—Chablis checks all the boxes,” says Parker.
Though Chablis is often pricier than many other global Chardonnays, amidst increasing demand for Burgundy, “Chablis still offers value, especially to people who collect and drink wines from that overall region,” says Coursey. It also offers the cachet of drinking wine from one of the most sought-after regions in the world.
The value of Chablis becomes clear when you look at one producer’s suggested retail prices for Grand Cru bottlings from Chablis versus the Côte d’Or. For example, the Albert Bichot Chablis Grand Cru ‘Les Blanchots’ Long-Depaquit Estate 2022 retails for $185 per bottle, while the Albert Bichot Montrachet Grand Cru 2022 retails for over $2,000.
Potential tariffs aside, “I see a lot of producers doing their best this year to hold prices after a few years’ worth of supply chain-related price increases,” says Coursey. “I’m hopeful that we have a couple of years of price stability in this region.”
Vineyard Changes in Chablis Help Drive Demand
What’s happening in the vineyards in Chablis is also funneling demand. After appellation rule changes in the 1950s allowed vines to be planted beyond Chablis’s existing 1,359 acres, there was a period of rapid expansion, fueled by more efficient vineyard management techniques and ready use of fungicides and pesticides. Today, the entire region encompasses 14,495 acres—but that growth came at a cost until recently.
“When you absorb such a large extension, it is obvious that you need a certain amount of time to actually understand all the different soils and terroir,” says Matthieu Luneau, the export sales director for Domaine Billaud-Simon. “[Producers] needed time to reach a qualitative approach.”
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Luneau says a rise in organic farming further contributed to the growing quality of the wines.
But one of the other big factors contributing to Chablis’s appealing style is—unfortunately—climate change. “The old generation used to value certain parcels with a southern exposure,” says Luneau. “Fifty years ago, the region was much colder than what it is today, and a southern exposure gave the best wine.” In the face of consistently higher temperatures, an emphasis is now placed on northern-facing sites.
As the climate changes, the very high-acid, crispy style of wine produced in the late 1980s and 1990s—that stood at the opposite end of the spectrum to big and round California Chardonnay—has yielded to a somewhat rounder profile, thus creating a wine that’s approachable to many American palates while still feeling novel.
Beyond its style and value, versatility has made Chablis a go-to for wine drinkers. “It appears that for both everyday drinking and special events, Chablis has risen in popularity faster than almost any other category,” says Parker. With all these factors in place, one can wager that Chablis’ popularity will only continue to rise.
Dispatch
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Shana Clarke is a wine, sake, and travel writer, and the author of 150 Vineyards You Need To Visit Before You Die. Her work has appeared in Saveur, Fortune, NPR, Wine Enthusiast, and Hemispheres. She was shortlisted for the Louis Roederer 2020 International Wine Writers’ Awards and ranked one of the “Top 20 U.S. Wine Writers That Wineries Can Work With” by Beverage Trade Network in 2021. She holds a Level 3 Advanced Certificate from Wine & Spirit Education Trust and is a Certified Sake Sommelier. She will always say yes to a glass of Champagne. Learn more at www.shanaspeakswine.com and follow her @shanaspeakswine.
