Deluxe Champagne arrives in Paris
Bottles of limited-edition deluxe Champagne are seen in Paris, Thursday March 20, 2008.
And so it is, just weeks after the fashion parades have been put to bed for another few months, another element of French luxury was put on display in the French capital.
On Thursday, the world's super rich jostled side by side for the limited edition deluxe offering: Champagne that costs about 4000 euros a bottle. At 50,000 for a case of 12, Perrier-Jouet officially went on sale Thursday after a glitzy party at Paris' Opera Garnier.
In 1811, the Perrier-Jouet champagne producer burst onto the scene when Pierre-Nicolas-Marie Perrier, a cork manufacturer, married Ad le Jouet and set up a champagne trading house in the town of Eperney. It is said that Pierre-Nicolas instantly recognized the potential in foreign markets and quickly set to start selling abroad.
In 1815 he sent his first delivery to England, followed by the United States several years later.
And still, today, regardless of fears of a recession in the U.S. and a global credit crisis, the wealthy are still prepared to part with thousands of euros for the right to taste some of the most cherished liquids to come out of French soil.
Indeed, even the rich have to deal with rising fuel prices, steep electricity bills and riskier mortgage plans which in theory should be leaving them with less money to blow on out-and-out luxury items like Champagne. But since when did fabulous tastes have a price?
No matter how bad things get luxury items will always sell. Pierre-Jouet champagnes will be sold to approximately 100 people around the world who will have the chance to customize their own Champagne, the ultimate luxury in a era of mass production and generic labeling where plastic corks are becoming more and more common.
Thankfully true champagne seems to have avoided the plastic cork phenomenon and still unleashes that exquisite pop upon opening.
"Each buyer will come to Epernay (in eastern France) for a one-on-one meeting with our cellar master Herve Deschamps, and will personally add a 'liqueur' to personalise the bottles," said Perrier Olivier Cavil, head of communications at Perrier-Jouet.
Imagine the feeling of sheer exaltation upon purchasing a bottle of Champagne of such high caliber and global recognition. I'm sure even the most humble amongst us could not resist a narcissistic rush of blood to the head when unveiling such a bottle.
According to the Agence France Presse, Champagne producers exported 150 million bottles last year, a 7.3-percent jump from 2006, in addition to 188 million guzzled in France, according to industry figures.
So, it seems the French are sticking true to their roots and drinking through the possibility of a global recession.
