Record heatwaves in France set to make champagne stronger

Champagne lovers may find themselves getting tipsy more quickly after French producers have been given the go-ahead to raise the alcohol content in a bottle of bubbly for the first time following this summer's record heatwave.

Winemakers can temporarily produce champagne with an alcohol content of up to 15% - above the 13% cap, industry officials have said.

The extreme heat and drought produced grapes with exceptionally higher sugar levels. Yeast converts sugar into alcohol during fermentation.

France's Champagne region also saw its earliest-ever harvest due to the weather, something that could become the norm "in 10 to 15 years" because of climate change, according to the Comite Champagne industry association.

The temporary increase in champagne's alcohol content is only expected to affect a small number of wines, a spokeswoman for the Comite Champagne told the BBC.

During the second fermentation process, which gives champagne its bubbles, "a very small number of wines from this harvest could have slightly exceeded the regulatory limit of 13%, reaching around 13.1% or 13.2%".

"Therefore a decision was made to exceptionally and temporarily increase the regulatory limit to 15% - only for this year," she said.

The first grapes were cut in early August and the harvest expanded by the middle of the month, "the earliest ever recorded in Champagne", the association said.