Why a Champagne & Luxury Hotel Brand Partnership is Happening Now

Piper Heidsieck at Top of the Mark photo credit Yuri Krasov

Hotels are prime locations for celebrating, so a collaboration between a luxury hotel brand and a luxury Champagne brand feels like a natural fit. But what about the pandemic? It turns out that sipping Champagne and nibbling on caviar appetizers at a place like the Top of the Mark restaurant in San Francisco might be the perfect antidote for the pandemic weary. With sales in 2021 reported to be $6.2 billion the pandemic seems to be fueling the demand for bubbles rather than stifling it.

Champagne selection at the Top of the Mark photo credit Yuri Krasov

A Champagne Lounge Opens

The historic landmark restaurant and bar on the 19th floor of the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel recently opened a new Champagne Lounge, where guests can enjoy Piper-Heidsieck Cuvée Brut and other high-end bubbles, poured from custom-made Champagne carts, and paired with scrumptious Astrea caviar mini blini. A part of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 75th-anniversary program, Mark Hopkins is one of the many U.S. IHG locations that has created celebratory events for guests, taking place now through April 2022.

With 206 existing hotels around the world, and more than 70 slated to open soon, the world’s first and largest luxury hotel brand is marking its anniversary with a partnership with the Piper-Heidsieck Champagne house. Established in 1785, Piper-Heidsieck is internationally renowned and has been awarded more than 275 medals for its quality and innovative practices.

The InterContinental 75 cocktail photo credit Yuri Krasov

An Anniversary Program & Signature Cocktail is Born

One centerpiece of the anniversary partnership is a cocktail. The InterContinental 75 cocktail, made with Piper-Heidsieck NV Brut, The Botanist Islay Dry Gin, lemon juice, and honey water, is now served at more than 130 InterContinental locations, along with their own food-pairing menus. The epitome of a celebratory libation, this cocktail is refreshing with sweet and citrusy notes, and herbal aromatics, derived from Piper-Heidsieck Cuvée Brut’s harmonious profile with delicate notes of pear, white peach, citrus, and orange blossom on the nose, and aromas of toasted bread, fresh almonds, and mint on the palate.

“The program initiation was a joint effort,” shares Rebecca Hopkins, Vice President of Communications for Folio Wine Partners. “Jennifer Hornor (National Accounts Sales Director On-Premise for Folio Fine Wine Partners) was presenting the Champagne at a normal request for proposal meeting, and the IHG team was looking for a 75-year-old winery to celebrate – which morphed into the InterContinental 75 cocktail idea.”  Adds Hornor, “Piper-Heidsieck resonated, and the team loved the elegance, history, and packaging, and came up with an idea! Instead of having a 75-year-old winery, we wanted to have something that would be celebratory, so we made a cocktail named the InterContinental 75–a twist on the classic French 75. From there we worked with our partner House in Champagne, Piper-Heidsieck, and The Botanist Gin, hand-crafted from botanicals foraged on the Island of Islay, and presented it to InterContinental leadership who decided to make the program global.”

Jennifer Hornor

Champagne’s Time is Now

Hornor is optimistic about the future of Champagne. “We launched the program as it was the perfect time for holidays. We are seeing a quicker than expected return to consumer demand as weddings, birthday celebrations, and family get-togethers begin again. As a category we are seeing a shortage of Champagne supply, so as to is consumer behavior, the shorter the supply, the more the demand, people are also looking to celebrate and spend a little more.”

In fact, Piper-Heidsieck’s September sales showed an increase of about 54% in the last year, affirming it as a brand, both sophisticated and approachable enough to be a constant part of the hospitality industry, beyond the anniversary program’s time frame.  

“Optimism and thirst for celebration, especially in the U.S., is driving up demand,” says Hornor. “Champagne is seen as the right drink for such occasions, it is no wonder that Piper-Heidsieck brings people together, more than ever.”