Korbel Champagne Cellars is a

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

based in Guerneville, California. Since 1882, Korbel has primarily manufactured California sparkling wine, using the '' méthode champenoise'' process. In this process, sparkling wine is fermented inside the same bottle from which it is served. The company is a division of F. Korbel Brothers, and also makes

brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...

and still wine, and imports Prosecco from Italy. F. Korbel & Bros. is a private company owned and operated by the Heck family. Brown-Forman"Brown-Forman Annual Report 2008" has handled Korbel's marketing and sales since 1965.

History

Korbel was founded in 1882 by three

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

brothers named Korbel. It was purchased by Adolf Heck in 1954. Heck's son, Gary, took over in 1982, and over time increased production from 150,000 to 1.6 million cases per year, making Korbel the 16th largest wine producer in the United States as of 2022. The popular origin story of the brandy old fashioned (an old fashioned made with brandy instead of whiskey, popular in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

) goes that during the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, the Korbel brothers were offering samples of their wine and brandy. Central European immigrants from

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

took a liking to the Bohemian Korbel brothers' brandy, and brought it back to Wisconsin and began using it in cocktails. This story is probably false, however, and the more likely origin is due to the availability of brandy during post-

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

liquor shortages.

Use of "champagne" on labels

Korbel has followed regulations regarding use of the word “

champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

” on wines made in and marketed in the United States, specifically regulations established by the U.S. Department of Treasury in the 1930s.Our Champagnes
Korbel corporate website These regulations allow U.S. producers to use names of geographical significance that also designate a class or type of wine. Such names – like champagne,

sherry Sherry ( ) is a fortified wine produced from white grapes grown around the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is a drink produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versio ...

and

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

– are called semi-generics, and may be used on labels only in direct conjunction with an appropriate appellation of origin (place in the United States where the grapes were grown) and only on wines that conform to the standard of identity for that class or type. In 2006, all 27 EU-member countries, including France, signed the Bilateral U.S.-EC Trade Agreement on Wine reaffirming this right. This Agreement takes the laws of all involved nations into account, halts the development and use of new brands with semi-generic terms by U.S. wineries, while protecting U.S. producers – such as Korbel – who have made substantial long-term investments in trademarks, brand names and marketing of their products.

Popularity

Korbel California sparkling wines have been served at 10

United States presidential inauguration Between seventy-three and seventy-nine days after the presidential election, the president-elect of the United States is inaugurated as president by taking the presidential oath of office. The inauguration takes place for each new president ...

s. It was also one of the wines served on January 20, 2009, at the Congressional Inaugural Luncheon for

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

. Korbel's

has a particularly strong following in the state of

, where over 50% of Korbel's

production is consumed.

References

External links

* – official site {{coord, 38, 30, 28, N, 122, 58, 1, W, region:US-CA_type:landmark, display=title Brown–Forman brands Sparkling wines Wineries in Sonoma County, California