Iconic ‘communist champagne’ to take pride of place

Germany: For over a century, a German sparkling wine named after a fairytale character has been used to toast personal milestones and the highlights of the country’s turbulent history. But “Rotkaeppchen”, or “Little Red Riding Hood”, also represents a rare success story -- it is the only product from the former communist East Germany to have conquered the West. With its iconic red foil tops, the sparkling wine dubbed “communist champagne” is part and parcel of Germans’ New Year’s festivities, especially when hundreds of thousands gather at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Corks are just as likely to pop on bottles of the four-euro ($5.20) German Sekt to celebrate a big family occasion. And as the only bubbly available to East Germans during the Cold War, it was drunk in copious amounts at the euphoric fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989.

It was precisely this abrupt opening up of the East that enabled “Little Red Riding Hood” to gobble up the “Big Bad Wolf” -- a competitive market economy.

The company was created in 1856 and launched the Rottkaeppchen brand in 1895.

The firm, which was nationalised by the communist regime after World War II, now holds, together with its subsidiaries, 46.8 percent of the German sparkling wine market producing more than 162 million bottles annually.

AFP