Modern wine cognoscenti hold that Champagne and sparkling wines ought receive the same dinner-pairing considerations as still wines, and that's entirely true! But for many of us, Champagne pops to mind at some very specific times—the holidays, our World Series fantasies—and rarely otherwise.
For those of us in that latter, larger group, 13-time Grammy winner Pharrell Williams and grande marque Champagne house Moët & Chandon have a message: It’s time to treat your birthday more like a holiday, with their lineup of new Pharrell-branded Champagnes, of course.
“Birthdays are occasions to celebrate your lap around the sun,” Pharrell says in a short film produced for the limited-edition collection. “When I was old enough to toast for the first time, that was just my point of reference: Moët & Chandon. I suppose it’s just a tradition. It’s the ritual.”
The megastar behind “Happy” and “Get Lucky” has long had his fingers on the food and wine pulse. He collaborated with Dean & Deluca on the Williams Family Collection of specialty products inspired by some of Pharrell’s favorite personal recipes. Pharrell collaborated with Camila Cabello on the song “Sangria Wine” in 2018, and Spanish pop star Rosalía reported on TikTok in 2023 that he was responsible for turning her onto her favorite wine, Sancerre.
And not only is he a rising star in the Miami restaurant scene, in 2023, Pharrell was named the new men’s creative director for Moët & Chandon sibling brand Louis Vuitton, also in the LVMH portofolio. (And why not? Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter may have just taken Album of the Year honors, but Pharrell was bravely pioneering cowboy chic more than a decade ago. Ask Arby’s if you need receipts!)
The Pharrell X Moët & Chandon collection includes red, gold and blue color variations on the winery’s standard non-vintage Brut Impérial (92 points) and Impérial Rosé (91), priced at $56 and $65, respectively. The entire collection is tied together by a bow theme on the foil wrapper, recalling the original cloth bows that adorned bottles of Moët & Chandon in the 19th century and symbolizing “togetherness, generosity, joy and surprise.”
If you want the real-life beaded fabric bow by Parisian embroiderers Atelier Baqué Molinié—which can also be worn as a brooch!—you’ve got to shell out for the Bow Capsule collection of magnums: Brut Impérial ($790), Nectar Impérial Rosé ($850) and the 2003 Grand Vintage ($1,150).
Pharrell’s tête de cuvée, if you will, is the Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial Jewel Masterpiece, a 3-liter jeroboam in mirrored chrome, hand-lettered in embossed relief pearls by artist Astrid de Chaillé. It’s also adorned with a bow/brooch by Baqué Molinié, this one requiring more than 300 hours to create using more than 7,000 pearled beads. Presented in a handcrafted wooden case, only 30 bottles were created; some will be available at Moët’s Epernay boutique, priced at €30,000, placing them squarely in the company of the World’s Most Expensive Bottles of Wine. Then again, your birthday only comes one day a year. Get Happy!
Nota bene: If you still have “Happy” stuck in your head, Champagne will help.
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