We get a regularly recurring question at Waterfront Charters, and certainly understand why it is posed. It goes something like: “Why do you serve sparkling wine on your Champagne Sunset Cruise, and not Champagne as advertised?”

It’s a good question, and we are always happy to address it. Firstly, an aside that rather humorously covered a similar issue in the early nineties: Cadillac, an intrinsically American motor manufacturer, started an advertising campaign that said – ‘Cadillac: the Rolls Royce of motor vehicles.’ As can be imagined, Rolls Royce (that eminently English establishment, despite being owned by BMW) did not take kindly to this approach, and rather swiftly took legal steps to counter the claim. It was soon cancelled, and the underlying legal reasons fit perfectly as examples of why we can label our cruise ‘Champagne’ while serving ‘sparkling wine’. You cannot use the name of an existing product to brand a similar product, Cadillacs and Rolls Royces for example, but you can utilise the word to describe the experience.

The Champagne in our cruise name refers to the sunset cruise; not the drink. Champagne has always been associated with enjoyment, celebration and achievement, and we loved the idea of the message in that branding. Legal opinion is clear on this: if a product completely dissimilar from sparkling wine has been using the term ‘champagne’ for a period of time prior to the law changing the usage of the word for sparkling wine, the company can continue to market the product under that name or description. Waterfront Charters have been hosting Sunset Champagne Cruises since 1991. The legislation limiting the brand name ‘champagne’ to sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France by traditional methods was only introduced in 1994, by which time the full title of Champagne Sunset Cruises was a registered and recognised brand, referring to a cruise – not a drink.

So why not serve true champagne? The short answer is that, essentially, we do. Sparkling wine produced outside France, whether it be in the Western Cape, Italy or elsewhere reproduces the ‘traditional method’ of champagne production; it differs only in name. Obviously there are vintages that rise above others, but the quality of local available sparkling wine is generally superb. And, importantly, we want to keep our cruises priced to suit all pockets: should we offer up Moët & Chandon, Verve Clicquot or Dom Perignon as a staple, we’d have to increase our rates – rather a lot.

So, in summary: the Champagne in the title refers to the ‘superior quality ’of the product; the Sunset Cruise. The ‘sparkling wine’ in our marketing refers to the actual wine served: made in the ‘traditional method.’ We highly recommend that you enjoy a tasting of our sparkling beverage as you watch the sun set; your venue the deck of one of our luxurious catamarans anchored off the Cape Coast. It’s truly a champagne experience.