Piper promotes Champagne cocktail

Piper-Heidsieck cellar master Regis Camus and Paris-based mixologist Joseph Biolatto have teamed up to create a new Champagne cocktail called Sacré Sauvage.

The Sacré Sauvage bar in Galeries Lafayette

Taking its name from Piper’s Rosé Sauvage – a pink Champagne first produced in 2003 with an unusually high proportion of red wine – the cocktail sees the pink fizz poured over ice and bitter orange liqueur, and then garnished with grapefruit zest and blackberries (see video below).

Since 12 April Piper-Heidsieck has been promoting the new serve at famous Paris department store Galeries Lafayette with a bar in the women’s fashion section on the first floor.

Speaking to the drinks business, Benoît Collard, who is global director for the Champagne house, said, “We are at the top of the escalators in the historical building – meaning that we are in the women’s wear section, not in the food hall.

“We are next to Alexander McQueen and Louis Vuitton, which creates a lot of traffic for us although it may seem like a strange place for a Champagne bar.”

The back of the bar is covered with plants to create a “natural atmosphere” according to Collard, who says that the bar is busiest between 4-5pm and during the weekends.

Customers can have a glass of Champagne for €11 or a Sacré Sauvage cocktail for €12.50, which is served in a stemless Spiegelau wine glass. The bar will remain in the upmarket department store until 18 June.

Once the bar has been dismantled, Collard says that he plans to promote the Champagne cocktail in “casual premium places in Paris”, particularly the bars and restaurants along the Seine, and, later this year, Piper-Heidsieck will launch Sacré Sauvage in the UK, US and Belgium too.

Collard stressed that Sacré Sauvage was a new cocktail employing an existing Piper cuvée – the house has not created different blend with a higher dosage for mixing, like Moët with its Ice Impérial for serving over ice, or Veuve Clicquot with Rich, which has been made for mixology.

“Joseph [Biolatto] came to us because he loved our Champagne, he fell in love first with the base of the cocktail and then emphasised its qualities through the ingredients [in Sacré Sauvage].”

“So it started with respect for [Piper-Heidsieck cellar master] Regis Camus and the Rosé Sauvage – it is not a special cuvée for cocktails – mixologists want authentic products they can be creative with,” he said.

Piper were the first house to promote Champagne served over ice

Piper-Heidsieck were in fact the first house to promote Champagne served over ice, according to Collard. In 2006, the brand unveiled the “Piscine” concept, which involved adding ice cubes made from Champagne to Piper-Heidsieck housed in large red glasses.

“We launch the concept of Piscine because we had seen that consumers were putting ice cubes in their Champagne and we were not satisfied with the experience they were having. Using ice cubes made from Champagne maintained the flavour profile of the Champagne,” said Collard.

However, Sacré Sauvage doesn’t employ ice cubes made from Champagne, but Collard assured db that the ingredients ensure there is no dilution, noting the importance of the grapefruit zest in particular, which brings additional acidity.

In terms of the overall benefits to the Champagne brand of promoting the Rosé Sauvage as part of a cocktail, Collard said he hoped it would attract new younger consumers.

“Piper-Heidsieck has always played a role of bringing creativity and alternative ways to drink Champagne in the market – for example we were first to launch baby bottles – prior to POP [by Pommery]. Sacré Sauvage is good link to demonstrate the quality of our wine in a creative way while attracting a younger audience to the brand.”

Régis Camus created Rosé Sauvage in 2003 by adding a greater proportion of Pinot noir red wine than in the average Champagne – 25% of the pink fizz comprises red wine compared to a more common 7-10%.

The rose is a brut Champagne with a dosage of 10g/l.

In June last year Veuve Clicquot launched Rich – a Champagne designed specifically for mixing in cocktails that contains around 61g/l of sugar.