# On which day in history was/will be the most champagne drunk? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** wine\ **Created:** [March 20, 2026, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622 "2026-03-20T17:56:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622/21 "2026-03-22T11:58:19Z")
I don’t really like champagne all that much, but i have some to toast weddings and to toast the new year. And that’s about it. So i think some New Year’s Eve celebration had the highest champagne consumption, because that’s a time when a whole lot of people agree that champagne is the thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622/22 "2026-03-22T12:15:09Z")
It’s not going to be Trump’s death, or anyone else’s death. _Saying_ you will drink champagne when someone dies is just rhetorical posturing / hyperbole; hardly anyone _actually_ does. Similarly, I don’t think it will be any sort of war-related or regime-collapse-related event. I’m going to go with the boring, mundane answer of “New Year’s Eve, whenever the world population peaks,” although what exactly that population looks like could be a major confounding factor, given that some cultures and some generational cohorts drink a lot more alcohol than others. (Come to think of it, I suspect NYE 2019 / 2020 may be a peak that won’t be surpassed for a long time, given trends toward less alcohol consumption and fewer young people in the countries that tend to do the most champagne-drinking, but these things are cyclical, not permanent.) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622/23 "2026-03-23T11:23:08Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > New Years are split between western and lunar calendars, so I don’t think either will rise to the top. Perhaps FIFA World Cup final? Nah, football fans are rather wont to drink beer, and only the fans of the winning nation have a cause to celebrate anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622/24 "2026-03-23T11:52:15Z")
This, **Spiderman** is _vastly_ underestimating the percentage of the world population that is affected by the actions of the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622/25 "2026-03-24T01:59:04Z")
Surely not in the running for actual quantity, but if I was on the Titanic as it went down, I would have been drinkin that shit like Lite Beer. Don’t wanna waste it, Won’t have to pay the bill or suffer from the hangover (and If I did, would have welcomed it. Only Death is worse than a Champagne Hangover). ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622/26 "2026-03-24T03:58:35Z")
I will also do the same thing when Putin kicks off. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622/27 "2026-03-24T06:43:46Z")
Well yeah - my champagne consumption is bound to swell, given that I don’t drink alcohol anymore (for any other reason). ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622/28 "2026-03-24T07:48:04Z")
If any day deserved a planet-wide ‘pass the bubbly,’ it’s July 20, 1969. No contest. Six hundred million people watched as we landed on the Moon—it wasn’t just a historical event, it was a species upgrade. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622/29 "2026-03-24T09:36:44Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > July 20, 1969 I would dispute that. We watched, but did not celebrate. It was the wrong time of day for drinking or celebrating in most of the world anyway. Like the Rumble in the Jungle it was timed for peak USA audience. For the RoW? Veni. Vidi. Sleepy. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622/30 "2026-03-24T14:57:33Z")
I almost certainly won’t be around to see it (I’d be 96 if I lived that long), but I wonder how big of a deal the UK is going to make of 14 October 2066, the thousand-year anniversary of the Battle of Hastings / Norman Conquest, and the effective beginning of their monarchy/country. Will the streets of every city be lined with Union Jacks? Will King William V (or maybe King George VII) give a special address? Will Britons drink themselves into oblivion? Or will the whole country just be British about it and treat it as Thursday? ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622/31 "2026-03-24T15:13:41Z")
The way things look now, it’s uncertain if the British monarchy will survive that long. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622/32 "2026-03-24T15:16:24Z")
I’ll give you that, but Britons will continue to hold 14 October 1066 as their country’s “birthdate,” much in the same way that Americans consider 4 July 1776 ours (even though nothing happened on that day beyond a procedural vote to approve a draft resolution). ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622/33 "2026-03-24T15:19:52Z")
Is that really the case? Honest question, I’ve never heard that 14 October is a big deal and cause for celebrations in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622/34 "2026-03-24T15:21:58Z")
Actually no, it really isn’t. I think the closest the UK comes to a national holiday is 5 November, Guy Fawkes Day. But still, I imagine they’re going to do _something_ for 14 October 2066, whether a country-wide celebration to rival anything that’s ever happened, or a blurb in the _Times_. One or the other. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622/35 "2026-03-24T21:53:02Z")
The Scottish and Welsh certainly wouldn’t be celebrating.. I think most people here would have to look up the date beyond ‘1066’, it’s not an annual event at all, let alone ‘the country’s birthday’. There may be some street parties in England for the 1000 year celebration, especially in places actually associated with the battle, though October isn’t a great month for that. Most British people just don’t care all that much about the monarchy. On the other hand, I do know multiple people over here who at least say they’ll be opening a bottle of bubbly for a certain demise. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622/36 "2026-03-25T04:21:40Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > > [@Tibby](#): > > > > July 20, 1969 > > I would dispute that. We watched, but did not celebrate. It was the wrong time of day for drinking or celebrating in most of the world anyway. Like the Rumble in the Jungle it was timed for peak USA audience. For the RoW? Veni. Vidi. Sleepy. We watched. I was too young for champagne, but we celebrate with chocolate bars and Coca-Cola. Okay, mostly my mom was drugging us so we’d stay awake, but it sure felt like a party. Still, there are so many more people now than there were then. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622/37 "2026-03-25T09:12:32Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > July 20, 1969 The 1969 annual meeting of the Riverina Cross-Border Trade Co-ordination Committee? I knew there were some heavy drinkers there, but they must have been completely tanked! Well done those chaps. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2026, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622/38 "2026-03-27T18:02:58Z")
Coming back, with a nitpick, to the answers about New Year’s Eve: The traditional Western custom, at least as far as I know it, is to pour the champagne just before midnight, then cheer and toast at the strike of twelve, and then drink. Which means the drinking, which is what the question is about, occurs on January 1 (New Year’s Day), not December 31 (New Year’s Eve). It’ll be a rolling event because every time zone drinks its champagne at midnight local time, but the date would be universally January 1. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2026, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622/39 "2026-03-27T18:05:47Z")
Exactly what I meant to say on **[post 6](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622/6)**, you expressed it better and clearer. I think people drink more after midnight but maybe remember less. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2026, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622/40 "2026-03-27T18:15:10Z")
On the Battle of Hastings thing: I’m German but fairly Anglophile and with an interest in British history and culture, but I’ve never heard of the anniversary of the battle as a major thing for Brits. I wouldn’t even have known the exact date, only the year. But this gives me an opportunity to ask another question about the millenary of the Battle of Hastings that I’ve been wondering about. In English law, it’s fairly common to structure land sales not as outright transfers of ownership in the land (which they call freehold), but rather as very long-term leases. You will sometimes see a 999-year lease, for instance, which is, of course, for all practical purposes a transfer of full ownership but legally isn’t. I suppose this practice would not have been around before Hastings. So I wonder if, some time later this or next century, we’re entering a period when these 999-year leases start expiring, and land, possibly with buildings on it, reverts to the heirs of some guy who granted the lease a millennium ago. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-day-in-history-was-will-be-the-most-champagne-drunk/1028622.md?page=3)