Château Avenue Foch 2017, which was put up for auction, sold for $2.5 million, breaking a world record. In addition, the bottle, which cannot reach an astronomical price due to its rare vintage, comes to its owner with NFT ownership of the Bored-Ape Mutant artwork on it.

The project was created by British entrepreneur and luxury champagne expert Shami Shinh, who previously sold a bottle of champagne called Taste of Diamonds to One Direction member Liam Payne.

Because NFT is a financial security system made up of digital data stored on a blockchain, Shinh has partnered with The Bored Ape Yacht Club, a digital collection of 1,000 unique Bored Ape NFTs and 20,000 Mutant Apees on the Ethereum blockchain, each selling for around $200,000. Initially, it was made available on OpenSea for 2500 ETH ($2.5 million), although the sale was allegedly made for dollars on the spot of the cryptocurrency.

The physical bottle is covered with pure pewter diamond-cut Swarovski crystals embedded in the design while at the same time carrying artist Mig’s artwork. Produced from 100% Premier Cru grapes produced at the family estate in Allouchery Chamery, champagne has been acquired by Italian crypto investors Giovanni and Piero Buono. Chances are, they won’t be opening this bottle anytime soon.

Explaining about the champagne, Shinh said: “Since it is sold as NFT, I expect it to be traded several times in the market before it reaches the right person to HOLD the physical bottle,” he added. “Champagne itself is a work of art and a unique quality”.

Describing NFTs as the new diamonds, Shinh said he hopes there will be more awareness and wants people to understand NFTs now.