Viking Line gets its own champagne label from Piper-Heidsieck
The collaboration between Piper-Heidsieck, a champagne house with more than 200 years of heritage, and Viking Line further strengthened along with the development of a globally unique champagne designed specifically for Viking Line. Master of Wine Essi Avellan received the honour of developing this exclusive champagne together with a special winemaking team. Only one production batch of Essentiel by Essi for Viking Line was produced to be sold exclusively on Viking Line ships as of October 2018. This is the first time that Piper-Heidsieck has produced a specially tailored champagne to be sold in retail by a client.
For years, Viking Line has been selling meticulously selected wines with an exceptional price-quality ratio. The co-operation with the French champagne house, Piper Heidsieck, was boosted by the selection of the company’s Essentiel champagne as Viking Line’s featured champagne for the years 2018-2019. That decision gave wind to the idea of creating a champagne blend exclusively for Viking Line.
“We wanted to create something truly unique for Viking Line’s customers, a taste celebration that isn't available anywhere else in the world. Using the company’s Essentiel champagne as the basis, I was given the opportunity to influence the degree and quality of its sweetness. Together with the Cellar Master, I tested and tasted a huge number of different variations. In the end, I selected a liqueur whose elegance and delicacy were brought to life by an aged Chardonnay. The result of our collaboration was Viking Line’s Essentiel by Essi champagne, which is a fabulously toasty blend with subtle flavours of fresh and dried fruit, a luxuriously soft, full-bodied and lively blend,” describes Master of Wine Essi Avellan.
Drawing on more than 200 years of heritage, Piper-Heidsieck is the highest awarded champagne house of our century*.
“It is an honour for us to produce this unique champagne for Viking Line’s customers. Essi Avellan has an extraordinary understanding of champagne, its terroir, style variations and exclusive quality. She is also highly knowledgeable about the desired taste of Viking Line’s clientele and their hopes concerning quality wines. The opportunity to work with her to create Piper-Heidseick Essentiel by Essi brought together the ideal combination of expertise in winemaking and professional tasting,” explains Benoît Collard, Global Executive Director of Piper-Heidsieck.
Essentiel by Essi champagne will be sold at Viking Line shops and restaurants starting in October 2018.
* Régis Camus, Piper-Heidsieck’s Cellar Master, has been awarded by the IWC with the title of Sparkling Winemaker of the Year a total of eight times since 2002.
Further information:
Christa Grönlund
Communications Manager, Marketing Communications
358 9 123 5242 christa.gronlund@vikingline.com
Johanna Boijer-Svahnström
Vice President, Corporate Communications
358 18 270 00 johanna.boijer@vikingline.com
Kim Engblom,
Tax Free Manager Sales & Purchasing
kim.engblom@vikingline.com, +358 9 12351
Viking Line is a public limited company and a market-leading brand in passenger traffic on the northern Baltic Sea. It offers passenger services, recreation and cargo carrier services on the vessels Gabriella, Mariella, Amorella, Rosella, Viking Cinderella, Viking XPRS and on the flagship Viking Grace.
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