Does this Bordeaux go with my Noe bag?

LVMH conducted an odd experiment in corporate synergy Thursday night when it held an intimate party pairing its handbags with its wines. (Bags were matched to wines, according to "personality" and "heritage," and not because, say, a bag's caramel leather details suggested a wine's buttery finish, the company said.) Vuitton's Noe bag, which was paired with a Cheval Des Andes, was chosen because it was originally designed to hold five bottles of Champagne (three on the bottom, with two inverted on top). A Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, a bright citrus-y white was paired with the Papillon, because both are "youthful" and "exhuberant."

The effort might not reverse Vuitton's recent slowdown in luxury goods sales. In its latest quarter, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA reported a 9% growth rate, as compared to 15% in the same period a year earlier. However, during the company conference call, finance director Jean-Jacques Guiony reported that September revenue had risen after a slowing in August, and sales at Louis Vuitton rose 12% in the first week of October.

Pouring wine at Louis Vuitton.

Despite the turbulence on Wall Street, the Fifth Avenue Vuitton store, where the event was held, has had strong sales since the beginning of 2008 based on a core customer base and an influx of tourists, according to Geoffroy van Raemdonck, senior vice president at Louis Vuitton. He's "cautiously optimistic" going into the holiday season, adding that there has been no change in Vuitton's marketing strategy in light of recent economic events. "In a tough time you go for the things that you know," Mr. van Raemdonk said. "You go for what's credible, for what will last for a long time."

The company is also hoping its wines and spirits division will weather the economic turmoil better. Third quarter results showed an uptick in Russian and Chinese sales but not elsewhere.

"If you look at the total amount of cases sold (in the next three months), it doesn't decrease during the crisis, it continues to go up," says Cristian Yanez, vice president of estates and wines at Moet Hennessy USA.