Factory owner Jean-Pierre Eisinger (59) is very proud: “Unlike most sparkling wine manufacturers, we did not want to use a cheap cruise ship. It had to be something more like the QE2. In the end, though, we decided on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship since they are very fashionable at the moment.”
There were no concerns about spilling the ship’s heavy fuel oil. After all, the crashing and splattering are exactly what people look forward to when attending such ceremonies.
Christening champagne and sparkling wine factories in this way is a longstanding tradition. In many parts of the world, it is also customary to crush a cruise liner on the factory hull as well as smashing one against the side. A further part of the custom states that the crane used to swing the ship into the side of the factory must be operated by a woman – a male crane operator would bring bad luck.
The attendees at the inauguration in Epernay were equipped with champagne flutes and delighted in drinking the exquisite bubbly (Extra Brut) spilling out of a gaping crack in the wall of the factory once the ceremony was over.
UP, dan, ssi; first published 2017-11-17
Read the German version HERE.
