Editing Champagne (section)

===Marketing===
[[File:Laurent-Perrier-1905.jpg|thumb|An Edwardian English advertisement for champagne, listing honours and royal drinkers]]
{{See also|Champagne in popular culture}}

In the 19th century, champagne was produced and promoted to mark contemporary political events, such as the [[Franco-Russian Alliance]] of 1893, and the [[Tennis Court Oath]] to mark the centennial of [[French Revolution]],<ref name="Guy, Kolleen">Guy, Kolleen M. ""Oiling the Wheels of Social Life": Myths and Marketing in Champagne during the Belle Epoque." French Historical Studies 22.2 (1999): 211–39. Web. 28 February 2017.</ref> linking champagne to French nationalist ideology. [[Winemaker|Négociants]] also managed to market champagne by identifying it with leisure activities and sporting events. They also successfully appealed to a broader range of consumers by highlighting the different qualities of sparkling wine versus ordinary wine, associating champagne brands with royalty and nobility, and selling off-brands under the names of importers from France at a lower cost. However, selling off-brands at a lower price proved to be unsuccessful, since "there was an assumption that cheap sparkling wine was not authentic."<ref name="Guy, Kolleen"/> Since the beginning of the [[Belle Époque]] period, champagne has gone from a regional product serving a niche market to a national commodity which is distributed globally.

The popularity of champagne is particularly attributed to the success of champagne producers in marketing the wine's image as a royal and aristocratic drink. [[Laurent-Perrier]]'s advertisements in late 1890 boasted their champagne was the favourite of [[Leopold II of Belgium]], [[George I of Greece]], [[Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]], [[Margaret Cambridge, Marchioness of Cambridge]], and [[John Lambton, 3rd Earl of Durham]], among other nobles, knights, and military officers. Despite this royal prestige, champagne houses also portrayed champagne as a luxury which could be enjoyed by anyone, and was fit for any occasion.<ref name="Phillips p. 245">{{cite book |author=R. Phillips |title=A Short History of Wine |page=[https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofwi0000phil/page/245 245] |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |year=2000 |isbn=0-06-621282-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofwi0000phil/page/245 }}</ref> This strategy worked, and, by the turn of the 20th century, the majority of champagne drinkers were [[middle class]].<ref name="Phillips p. 243">{{cite book |author=R. Phillips |title=A Short History of Wine |page=[https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofwi0000phil/page/243 243] |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |year=2000 |isbn=0-06-621282-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofwi0000phil/page/243 }}</ref>

In the 19th century, champagne producers made a concentrated effort to market their wine to women. This is done by having the sweeter champagne associates with female, whereas the dry champagne with male and foreign markets.<ref name="Guy, Kolleen"/> This was in stark contrast to the traditionally "male aura" that the wines of France had—particularly [[Burgundy wine|Burgundy]] and [[Bordeaux wine|Bordeaux]]. Laurent-Perrier again took the lead in this area with advertisements touting their wine's favour with the Countess of [[William Humble Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley|Dudley]], the wife of the 9th [[Earl of Stamford]], the wife of the [[Baron Tollemache]], and the opera singer [[Adelina Patti]]. Champagne labels were designed with images of romantic love and marriage as well as other special occasions that were deemed important to women, such as the [[baptism]] of a child.<ref name="Phillips p. 246">{{cite book |author=R. Phillips |title=A Short History of Wine |page=[https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofwi0000phil/page/246 246] |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |year=2000 |isbn=0-06-621282-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofwi0000phil/page/246 }}</ref>

In some advertisements, the champagne houses catered to political interest such as the labels that appeared on different brands on bottles commemorating the centennial anniversary of the [[French Revolution]] of 1789. On some labels there were flattering images of [[Marie Antoinette]] that appealed to the conservative factions of French citizens that viewed the former queen as a martyr. On other labels there were stirring images of Revolutionary scenes that appealed to the liberal left sentiments of French citizens. As World War I loomed, champagne houses put images of soldiers and countries' flags on their bottles, customizing the image for each country to which the wine was imported. During the [[Dreyfus affair]], one champagne house released a ''champagne antijuif'' with antisemitic advertisements to take advantage of the wave of [[Antisemitism]] that hit parts of France.<ref name="Phillips p. 244">{{cite book |author=R. Phillips |title=A Short History of Wine |page=[https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofwi0000phil/page/244 244] |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |year=2000 |isbn=0-06-621282-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofwi0000phil/page/244 }}</ref>

Champagne is typically drunk during celebrations. For example, British Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] held a champagne reception to celebrate London winning the right to host the [[2012 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4394690.stm |title=Party celebrates 2012 Olympic win |work=[[BBC News Online]] |date=31 October 2005 }}</ref> It is also used to [[ceremonial ship launching|launch ships]] when a bottle is smashed over the hull during the ship's launch. If the bottle fails to break this is often thought to be bad luck.