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Swiss canton awards 100 bottles of wine to residents who turn 100

Officials in Fribourg, Switzerland, said the local government is awarding 100 bottles of wine to each resident who reaches age 100. Photo by Wokandapix/Pixabay.com
Officials in Fribourg, Switzerland, said the local government is awarding 100 bottles of wine to each resident who reaches age 100. Photo by Wokandapix/Pixabay.com

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Aug. 30 (UPI) -- A Swiss canton is rewarding its long-lived residents by offering 100 bottles of wine to those who reach age 100.

Fribourg state bailiff Claude Freiburghaus said preparations are currently underway to present a resident named Marie-Antoinette with a bouquet of flowers and an offer for 100 bottles of wine when she turns 100 on Nov. 5.

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Freiburghaus said the canton first came up with the scheme in 2000 and formerly offered a free armchair as a substitute for the wine, but the chair was discontinued in 2015 due to a lack of interest from local centenarians.

He said the current program offers a charitable donation or a voucher for use at a local merchant or craftsman to residents who decline the wine offer, but most 100-year-olds opt for the alcoholic beverage.

"In 2020, we celebrated 27 centenarians. Five of them opted for the donation and two for the gift voucher," Freiburghaus told newspaper Le Matin Dimanche.

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