Oh, The Things They Think Of!

I came across this crazy champers for billionaires and thought, hey! What a great 'rich baiting bubbles' addition. It would be perfect for a story I was researching. That is, if it were true. I made inquiries. Who produced the wine inside this Le Billionaire Champagne,---of which only five of the bottles (Salamanzar) of the jewel encrusted bottles, entering the market, priced at $2.75 million? No answer I mean, is there champagne inside instead of processo or seltzer? No answer. However I did get this: 'The production of the billionaire version is very complex. It is manufactured completely manually. Every diamond or rather crystal is manually stitched on the designer dress. It takes all in all 5 days (!) until one bottle is completely manufactured! This is the reason for the high price.' Is there a cheaper bottle? Yes, there is. Turns out if you want to buy a 750 ml bottle, if you found it (not on winesearcher) you will find a bargain at less than the cost for Krug's Clos Ambonnay. Only $2,750.00! Who is Leon Verres? As below, directly from their email. ++Leon Verres has been supporting needy children for years. However, he does that without shouting it from the rooftops. He knows what it means to grow up without a lot of money. Therefore, a big part of the earnings from our champagne goes directly to needy children under the motto 'I stand for children!' Additionally, Leon Verres lives very unassumingly compared to his designer colleagues. No yacht. No private jet. No 5 cars. No 30 room villa. The only luxury which he allows himself is his freedom...his independency! Why would they launch in April, in one of the worst champagne markets in history? Where luxury cuvees are down 85% or more? Ballsy no? No answer. I did get the fluffy press release and emails from their press officer, but the tone seemed juvenile. Oh, I thought, benefit of the doubt, their English was rustic. The subtleties didn't translate. Or perhaps they passed the copy through an electronic translating device. But, with no information to speak of other than tack and hyperbole, I canned the emails. Couldn't substantiate this product or 'luxury company' existed, so, I promptly forgot and filed my story. This morning? They asked to see my story before it went to print. For some reason they assumed I was writing about them instead of merely making inquiries. I asked a few more questions. I suggested that if this whole deal might be a hoax, a prank, I was interested and can use it in the WSJ Magazine story. Then I got this email. ++ HATERS MAKE THE LE BILLIONAIRE CHAMPAGNE FAMOUS! DANKESCHON! LVLG - LEON VERRES LUXURY GROUP to me, legal-advice, shapiro show details 3:07 PM (0 minutes ago) Hey Alice.... have you a problem with us? Check our page and stop talking bullshit! Check our luxury shoes and stop talking bullshit! Check our fragrance and stop talking bullshit! Check our credit card dresses and stop talking bullshit! And don´t forget: Our champagne is ultra limited! Born to win! Created for the luxury elite...created for true verresians! Vive La Champagne Revolucion! Angry? Shocked? Are you crazy? Your envy is our pride and your hate is our victory! We are VERRES! We are harder than a diamond! Stronger than the power of the universe! Leon Verres will give you the right anwser! Promised! See ya in the States! See ya in Brooklyn! FYI: Forbes have a Video Network! Your reactions tells us a lot! Best regards to your Moet Chandon friends! In Leon Verres we trust! Goodbye, Sabine Forster Legion Verres Management ++ I searched for a German dwelling Sabine Forster. One exists on Facebook. She is a Courtney Love look-a-like. Her photo features an extended middle finger-- she cited belonging to a German Youth group. The tone was sympathetic with the emails I've been getting. My spies tell me there really is company LVLG. It's an Ltd, and it is in Germany. This all compounds the mystery. Is this real, trying to lure those who truly want to flash money and have no clue what champagne is? You know, champers for pashas, oligarcs and shieks? Or is this a kid prank a modern version of a phony phone call? But with technology, complete with their own websites and network? Quite the macquereau, amusing, food for thought especially when this is put in context. Over the past few years there have been champagnes put out there just so people can flash money. Let me think: how many bottles of Larmandier-Bernier can I get for the price of one plump bottle of Leon Verres? If you want to see the video, check out this URL....and weep. The Champagne for Millionaires Video