Champagne knocked off the F1 podium by a wine called Ferrari
In what is surely a case of nominative determinism, Ferrari Trento sparkling wine has been named the official partner for Formula 1.
From next season, it will be sparkling wine dousing the podium finishers instead of the customary champagne, with the 119-year-old winemaker taking the honours from incumbent brand Carbon.
Other champagne brands associated with Formula one include Mumm and Moet, although Ferrari Trento – no relation to the carmaker – has been used in the past.
Ferrari Trento will unleash its first Jeroboam at the first race of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship in Bahrain on March 27-8. The three year partnership will also see Ferrari Trento’s award-winning Italian metodo classico sparkling wine sold around race tracks across the world.
The winery has been producing luxury Trentodoc wines since 1902, and has been run by the Lunelli family since 1952.
It’s an achievement that demonstrates the renown that our wines enjoy internationally,” says Ferrari Trento’s President and CEO Matteo Lunelli. “It’s a starting point because we are just beginning this extraordinary adventure that will allow us to bring the Italian ‘art of living’ to the celebrations of Formula 1.”
The first bottle of ‘shampoo’ was presented to the winning driver at the first French Grand Prix at the Gueux circuit. But it traditionally remained unopened. The first driver to pop one was Jo Siffert in 1996 at the Le Mans 24 Hour. The next year, American Dan Gurney established it as a tradition.
GH Mumm Cordon Rouge, Carbon and Moet & Chandon have all been official suppliers of Formula One Racing.
Booze hasn’t always been a mandatory celebration tool – at the first Bahrain Grand Prix in 2004 drivers substituted fizz with a pomegranate, trinj and rose water drink. When sponsored by Saudian Airlines, the Williams team celebrated with orange juice.
Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, said: “Celebrating success is in our DNA and having Ferrari Trento at the heart of the sport’s most iconic celebratory moment makes them a natural partner for us.”
In January, Ferrari Trentodoc launched a limited edition Ferrari Maximum Blanc de Blancs to celebrate its partnership with the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team as it challenges for the 36th America’s Cup.
Ferrari wine was founded by Giulio Ferrari. All Ferrari labels are bottle fermented sparkling wines produced with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. A Ferrari Trentodoc Jeroboam bottle made its first Grand Prix podium at Monza in 1980. The sparkling wine chosen for the new season is said to have a very appropriate “crescendoing finish”.