Cristal Has the Last Laugh in Bubbly Brouhaha

(Globe and Mail) — Champagne executive Frederick Heidsieck has a message for rapper Jay-Z: Cristal is alive and well, thank you very much.  The global sales manager for Louis Roederer, maker of Cristal, the iconic $300-a-bottle super-luxury bubbly celebrated in numerous hip-hop anthems, says sales are surging once again. More to the point, he claims they never suffered because of the African-American musician’s boycott of the purportedly “racist” brand in 2006.  “Cristal is the oldest cuvée de prestige in the Champagne region,” said Mr. Heidsieck, dressed in a neatly tailored blue suit and shimmering pink tie, on a promotional swing through Toronto last week. “So we cannot accept that somebody – hip-hop or not hip-hop, doesn’t matter – says, “I made your Cristal.’ ”

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