Piper-Heidsieck

Piper-Heidsieck is a Champagne house founded in 1785 in Reims — the official Champagne of the Academy Awards since 1997, producing the Brut NV, Rosé Sauvage, Cuvée Sublime, Essentiel Blanc de Blancs, and the prestige Rare vintage cuvée.

Browse all Champagne and rare and allocated bottles at Wooden Cork.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Piper-Heidsieck the official Champagne of the Academy Awards?

Piper-Heidsieck has been the official Champagne partner of the Academy Awards since 1997 — a commercial partnership that has made it one of the most visible Champagne brands in American popular culture. The association began when Piper-Heidsieck was selected as the house Champagne for the Oscars ceremony and the Governor’s Ball, the official post-ceremony dinner. Prior to this partnership, Piper-Heidsieck already had a historic Hollywood connection — Marilyn Monroe was famously photographed bathing in Piper-Heidsieck and described it as her preferred Champagne. The Oscars partnership renewed and amplified that celebrity association into a multi-decade positioning as the definitive Hollywood Champagne. At its retail price point, the Brut NV is frequently cited as one of the best-value non-vintage Champagnes available from a major house.

What is the Piper-Heidsieck Rare cuvée and how does it differ from the Brut NV?

Rare is Piper-Heidsieck’s prestige vintage cuvée, produced only in exceptional years and released after extended aging on the lees. The name comes from Florens-Louis Heidsieck’s historic 1907 shipment of Champagne to Tsar Nicholas II — a cargo discovered in a Baltic shipwreck in 1916, with bottles remarkably preserved by the cold seawater. The recovered Champagne was described as rare and extraordinary, giving the cuvée its name. Rare is Chardonnay-dominant (vs the Brut NV’s Pinot Noir and Meunier base), aged 8–10 years before release, and produces a more complex, creamy, autolytic character. It is designed for extended cellaring and represents a fundamentally different wine from the accessible, fresh Brut NV.