A Swiss canton is offering 100 bottles of wine to residents who reach age 100, Swiss newspaper Le Matin Dimanche reported.
Non-drinkers can choose between a charitable donation of 1,500 Swiss francs/$1,646 or a voucher to spend in a local retailer – but most senior citizens opt for the wine. “In 2020, we celebrated 27 centenarians. Five of them opted for the donation and two for the gift voucher,” state baliff Claude Freiburghaus said. Previously, the canton gave centenarians a choice of a free armchair or the wine, but the gift was abolished in 2015 due to lack of interest.
In Switzerland, it is common practice to gift senior citizens wine when they reach 100. In Geneva, centenarians can choose between three bottles of wine or a bouquet. Vaud awards its locals twelve bottles of wine, a personalised gift worth 500 Swiss francs/$547 and sometimes flowers, according to Bloomberg. Centenarians in Neuchatel only receive a letter and flowers.
