A sharp increase in champagne sales could lead to empty cellars by April, it has been warned.

Paul-Francois Vranken, chief executive officer of Champagne estate Vranken Pommery, told the Daily Telegraph that producers had reduced their output following poor sales during the recession.

Many top brands such as Bollinger even had to be discounted at the peak of the financial crisis in 2009, in order to clear surplus stock.

However, since then champagne sales have boomed, catching many winegrowers unawares.

"We are going to be very, very stretched as early as April this year. Let's just hope the next few grape harvests are good," he told the newspaper.

Many Champagne estates are planting new vines to expand their operations, but these are unlikely to bear suitable fruit until at least 2025.

The boom in champagne sales is expected to continue throughout the next 12 months.

Stephen Charters, Reims Management School's chair of champagne management, recently claimed that champagne sales are intrinsically linked to the health of the economy as a whole.