Posted on 12/02/2007 10:05:07 AM PST by WesternCulture
In bars, restaurants and homes across Sweden champagne is flowing in abundance as Swedes enjoy a seemingly endless thirst for the bubbly beverage, spurred by a gastronomic "revolution" and a rosy economy.
Champagne sales at stores run by the alcohol distribution monopoly Systembolaget are expected to hit an all-time high of one million bottles this year, excluding sales in bars and restaurants.
That figure can be compared to 738,000 bottles sold last year and 287,000 a decade ago.
"Drinking champagne is usual now and it's common not only at the weekend or to celebrate a special event, it's an everyday drink," says Per Nordlind, owner of the Cocktails and Champagne Bar in a posh neighbourhood of Stockholm.
The bar is chic yet cozy, and the well-heeled customers of all ages look laid-back as they choose from four kinds of champagne by the glass and 30 by the bottle.
Customers dish out between 120 to 150 kronor (13 to 16 euros, 19 to 24 dollars) per glass, and 695 kronor for the cheapest bottle.
Champagne's skyrocketing popularity is attributed to Sweden's "long term economic growth, combined with a long term growth in the interest for quality, origin and prestige," says Martin Erlandsson, the local representative for famed champagne maker Moet Hennessy.
The trend is a major change from the post-war period, when beer and spirits were the alcohol of choice in the country and binge-drinking was common. In recent decades wine has become increasingly popular, and Swedes' taste for champagne is seen as a natural progression.
"The economy is very healthy. We have learned a lot about champagne and drinking champagne is a way to show that we're earning a lot of money. You show you're successful," says 37-year-old Fredrik Linder as he sits at the bar enjoying a glass with a friend.
Both are businessmen in the lucrative IT sector, and the pair say they each drink two bottles a week on average.
"Champagne is the ultimate symbol of quality. It is associated with parties and celebrations -- you feel happy when you drink champagne," Linder said.
During the January to October period, sales of Moet et Chandon, Bollinger, Pol Roger, Veuve Cliquot and others have risen by 27 percent, according to Systembolaget.
And that figure doesn't include the thousands of bottles unpopped in bars, restaurants and clubs, nor those bought directly from producers in France or in duty-free shops on board ferries that cross the Baltic.
The high price of alcohol in Sweden, where heavy taxes are aimed at curbing consumption, doesn't seem to have hampered sales.
Customers pay a minimum of around 300 kronor for a decent bottle at Systembolaget, while a 30-year-old Swedish businessmen reportedly coughed up 75,000 kronor ($11,800) for a six-litre bottle of Dom Perignon at a trendy Stockholm nightclub in late 2006.
"Consumption worldwide is rising by five to six percent each year but in Sweden it is growing at the same rate as in emerging countries, by 30 percent," explains Ghislain de Montgolfier, the head of the Union of Champagne Houses in France.
"It's not just an economic phenomenon with Swedes enjoying strong purchasing power right now. It's also, and foremost, a cultural phenomenon," he says.
"In Scandinavia there's a growing interest in gastronomy, and thereby alcohol which is also linked to a sense of conviviality," he adds.
That view is shared by Crister Svantesson, a 60s-something aficionado sipping bubbly at the Cocktails and Champagne Bar.
He's travelled to the Champagne region in France on several occasions to learn more about the iconic drink, and says he always has a bottle chilling in his fridge.
"This is the most beautiful drink that exists," he says with a big smile.
"Champagne used to symbolize luxury 15 years ago in Sweden" but now it is simply good etiquette to always have a bottle on hand, Svantesson says.
Swedes are increasingly interested in gourmet products and living the bon vivant lifestyle that goes with them, he says.
Niklas Zachrisson, a 26-year-old sitting further down the bar who works in advertising, chips in: "This is an expensive wine so we take our time to drink it."
Richard Juhlin, the Swedish author of the book "4,000 Champagnes" and an internationally-renowned expert, goes so far as to say that the champagne trend is part of a bigger "gastronomic revolution".
Swedish holidaymakers in Italy bring back crates of their favourite olive oil or balsamic vinegar, vacationers just home from Thailand try to duplicate authentic pad thais, while prestige chocolate, cheeses, wines and foie gras sell like hotcakes.
"Swedes travel so much and are influenced by other countries. We like drinking and eating what we have tested in other countries," he says.
Concludes Erlandsson: "More and more Swedes are interested in quality and prestige in general, and champagne is the ultimate symbol of this."
The answer is a very simple one:
Because of Capitalism, healthy companies, good education, Lutheran work ethics, a broad national engagement in issues of economy and a strong inclination for competition.
At least to me, that equals intelligence, not Socialism.
Yes, plus you have a nice imagration policy. Enjoy your Jiahad.
“Enjoy your Jiahad.”
- Thank you, good luck on learning how to spell and how to play ice hockey.
I could afford to drink champagne more regularly, too, if I hadn’t been so irresponsible as to have children.
- Good one!
In general, I agree alcohol don’t go well with juniors, but if children (and other people) around you feel unpleasant when you’re sipping champagne, wine, whiskey or whatever, perhaps you’d better learn how to drink like the grown up individual that you are?
My actual point was about the sub-replacement fertility rate in Sweden. If you don’t bother to have children, you have more money to spend on the “good life”.
Life in Sweden is great...just don’t worry about the 25% unemployment rates, the 80% tax levies, the excessive regulations, the cowing to radical Muslim elements that hold the nation in terror....
“My actual point was about the sub-replacement fertility rate in Sweden. If you don’t bother to have children, you have more money to spend on the “good life”.”
- The sub-replacement fertility rate of Sweden is better than that of many other European coutries.
The American population is presently growing quickly, comparatively speaking, but to a large degree this development depends on immigration.
“25% unemployment rates”
- What are you on?
“80% tax levies”
- Income taxes as well as corporate taxes are lower in Sweden than they are in the US. On the other hand, we suffer from a 25% sales tax (VAT) on most purchases we make.
Still, despite of our high wages, prices are not that extreme compared to the US or to the rest of the EU. We can afford to drive around in nice Volvos, Audis, BMW’s and SAAB’s.
“the cowing to radical Muslim elements that hold the nation in terror”
- I don’t like radical Muslims more than you do, but Sweden isn’t exactly Paris or Detroit.
You might be less socialistic in medicine, I don’t know.
We spend a lot on Medicare, Medicaid, and government twisted insurance companies and HMOs. We might actually have more government buggering of health care than you do.
Whatever Fred Astaire and Ginger drank as they danced across tables has never passed my lips.
“We spend a lot on Medicare, Medicaid, and government twisted insurance companies and HMOs. We might actually have more government buggering of health care than you do.”
- Yes, that might actually be true.
The US and the Scandinavian countries are pretty much the same. We both share the idea of Lutheran work ethics and we both perform well in fields like engineering and science. The only major difference is that we Vikings consume more of concentrated aqueous solutions of ethanol and you Americans smoke more joints.
Am I right?
Am I right?
We beat you in alcohol consumption according to this:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/foo_alc_con-food-alcohol-consumption-current
Marijuana consumption - haven’t found a per-capita figure for any country...
I found this interesting:
“There is no real distinction between hard and soft drugs in Sweden. Marijuana is viewed as a dangerous drug that leads to harder drugs and lifelong addiction. Drug education programs start early and regularly appear throughout the school curriculum. The Swedish vision of a drug-free society is so widely accepted that it is not questioned in the political arena or the media. The Swedish drug policy has support from all political parties and, according to the opinion surveys, the restrictive approach receives broad support from the public. The Swedish population in general has a negative view of drug use and is convinced that drugs pose a major threat to society. These themes have been advanced by government, the media and other organizations in Sweden. Scientists are generally the only group that raises doubts with respect to the current policy.”
http://www.drugpolicy.org/global/drugpolicyby/westerneurop/sweden/
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