The nominations are out, bets are placed and Champagne house Piper-Heidsieck is ready to pour some 12,000 glasses of its Oscars-exclusive bubbly on Sunday, March 4, at the 2018 Academy Awards ceremony.
Piper-Heidsieck—said to have been Marilyn Monroe’s favorite—made its first appearance as the Academy’s official Champagne in 1992. This year, a limited-edition magnum of the House’s signature Cuvée Brut will be poured at the ceremony. It will also be served at the Governors Ball, the official Academy Awards after-party, and other Oscars events.
Proof that branding is important, even on the red carpet, 2018 marks the fourth year of a long-term partnership between Piper-Heidsieck and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The deal has been for the Champagne house to provide financial support (an undisclosed sum) and some 1,500 bottles for the festivities, according to Market Watch.
“This anniversary bottle represents the history of excellence that unites the Academy and Piper-Heidsieck,” said Benoit Collard, executive director for Piper-Heidsieck.
No stranger to the movie set, a bottle of Piper-Heidsieck first appeared the debut film of Laurel and Hardy, “Sons of the Desert,” in 1933.
Last year, 1,400 bottles of Piper-Heidsieck were popped open for the Academy Awards and more than 12,000 glasses of Champagne—which included Limited Edition Magnums of Brut NV, Rare Millésime 2002 and Rare Millésime 1998 Magnums—were poured.
Piper-Heidsieck, part of the EPI Group, produces around five million bottles of Champagne a year and is imported in the United States by Terlato Wines.
Published: January 26, 2018
