Champagne - A Global Symbol of Contemporary Consumer Culture

This chapter explores how champagne has become one the most famous wines and a global symbol of contemporary consumer culture. First, a brief look is taken into the history of champagne and champagne marketing, exploring how champagne has assembled and expressed myths about magic, heritage and class in the past. Recent shifts in champagne's role as a global cultural symbol can be better understood by evaluating how consumers and managers negotiate cultural expressions of champagne in the context of social media. Results from an empirical study highlight how marketers and consumers visually express some of the most popular champagne brands on Instagram – as an important symbol to gain attentional capital. Despite and because of these shifts, an image of champagne emerges that is triumphant and imperishable, one that has shaped global consumer culture and consumption ideologies for centuries.