Piper-Heidsieck may have been the highest profile drinks sponsor of the Oscars after party, but the biggest (unintentional) celebrity endorsement on the night was for canned water.
Best Supporting Actor winner Brad Pitt gleefully posed for the cameras as his statue was engraved at the Governor’s Ball, swigging a can of San Benedetto, an Italian mineral water.
The brand’s marketers must be beside themselves with glee …
As was Rebel Wilson, when Pitt posed with her … and a glass of (unbranded) water for an Instagram selfie.
Pitt wasn’t the only one eschewing Champagne, Best Actor winner Joaquin Phoenix was seen waving away the drinks tray as he waited for his Oscar to be engraved.
Phoenix was more excited by the food at the Governor’s Ball (above), following his impassioned acceptance speech about veganism. Chef Wolfgang Puck had created a 70% plant-based menu for the night.
Phoenix showed his appreciation by heading to the kitchen to thank Puck and pose for a photograph with the celebrity chef’s family.
“One of the best moments last night with Best Actor winner, Joaquin Phoenix, and actress Rooney Mara, visiting us in the kitchen at the Govenors Ball last night with my beautiful wife Gelila and sons Alexander and Oliver,” Puck said on Facebook.
The Governor’s Ball is the the official Oscars after party and celebs’ first stop following the ceremony, with 200 technicians working over 10 days to bring the room to life.
Dozens of dishes are especially prepared by Puck – enough to feed 1600 guests.
This year’s menu also featured boozy milkshakes, including a Bailey’s Irish Cream Milkshake and two vegan options – one with oatmeal milk, banana, salted caramel and bourbon; and an orange sorbet old fashioned with bitters granita.
Also on offer were limited-edition magnums from Piper-Heidsieck and new reserve bottlings from six-time Oscar winner and winemaker Francis Ford Coppola.
Six-time official Oscars bubbly Piper created limited-edition Cuvée Brut magnums for the occasion, with labels that paid homage to the old bootlegging days of the Roaring Twenties.
More than 8500 glasses of the brut, along with the prestige cuvée Rare 1998 and 2006, were served throughout the night, with winners Laura Dern and Taika Waititi both spotted sipping glasses during their award engravings.
Charlize Theron, on the other hand, chose to head to her hotel room after the ceremony to drink her Champagne in bed with make-up artist Kazu Hiro, who won his second Oscar for his work on Bombshell.
It was the fourth year in a row that Coppola has provided his wines for the night. The 2017 Reserve Chardonnay from Dutton Ranch and the 2018 Reserve Pinot Noir from King Vineyard made their Oscar debut, while his Sofia rosé 2019, Director’s Cut Cabernet Sauvignon 2017, Director’s Cut Chardonnay 2018, Eleanor red blend 2016 and Mille Vernaccia 2018 were also on offer.
Tequila Don Julio was the spirits partner of the Governors Ball, with mixologist Charles Joly (below, left) curating a specialty bar experience for the night.
Among the appreciative guests were comedian Colin Jost (above).
Joly and his team spent countless hours prepping to curate more than 12,000 specialty Oscars cocktails that will be served throughout the evening, including the When You Have Passion, Nominees’ Negroni, Hollywood Highball, Cinemargarita and The Golden Age.
The cocktails required 1000 individually manicured orange peels, more than 5000 drops of bitters to balance and aromatize, 3600 hand-peeled and marinated tomatoes, and half a mile of sustainable gold straws that matched the statues at the Oscars after party.
At the end of the night, Puck and his crew raised their own glasses in a toast to another successful evening.
