There's no doubt about it, champagne and celebrations are practically synonymous. Just seeing a bottle of champagne, even if they never open or drink it, makes people feel as though the day or the occasion were special. That feeling of importance, of significance, is one that you want to have associated with your business or organization.

There are two main ways to take advantage of the good mood that champagne inspires. You can either give our champagne itself, or you can use it as an incentive for something else.

Giving Bottles of Champagne

A bottle of champagne is a perfect way to help a client, customer, or successful employee to celebrate important milestones. An anniversary, the birth of a child, or a business achievement should get recognition, and it can only benefit your company if the label on a bottle of good champagne bears your company's brand, rather than the vineyard's brand. There are several promotional companies that sell bottles of champagne, onto which they will have placed your company's logo. You can then distribute these as the occasion warrants. Another option is to simply order and purchase labels that are printed with your company's logo, and then you yourself can overlay these on top of the usual label on a bottle of champagne that you purchase yourself. Many promotional groups do sell such labels, but going that route tends to lack the professional look that the former option offers.

Bottles of champagne don't always come alone, however. They can be the centerpiece of a gift basket of varying cost and degrees of elegance. Different promotional companies and corporate gift companies offer gift baskets with champagne and chocolate, salmon, an engraved ice bucket for chilling, spa supplies, hors d'oeuvres, a custom-printed wooden box, roses, caviar, and other gourmet foods. Or you can get a French, California, or Italian themed basket with wines and champagnes from each of these regions, or the king of all champagnes, a Dom Perignon gift basket complete with crystal flutes.

Champagne as Fundraisers

Champagne can also be an important part of a successful fundraiser. A champagne brunch or dinner will attract people to your event and give it a sense of exuberance and excitement it might otherwise lack. Beautifully decorated champagne bottles make excellent centerpieces, especially if they are labeled with your brand, in plain sight of everyone at the table. You can then award these centerpieces at the end of the event. Champagne gift baskets, as described above, make excellent raffle items, and can easily win back any money that you spend on purchasing it. Champagne gift baskets also make excellent awards for high-level donors.

A word of caution

Before you give champagne or a champagne gift basket, take time to do your homework. Be aware that champagne is a term only used for the sparkling white wine that comes from the Champagne region of France. If your client is true wine aficionado, he will know the difference between true champagne and sparkling white wine from another region. Also, if your client is a recovering alcoholic, a gift of champagne might not be the most appropriate thing you can give, and you may want to search for some equally elegant gift.