Korbel Champagne Cellars facts for kids
Korbel Champagne Cellars is a company that makes sparkling wine, which is often called "champagne," in Guerneville, California. Since 1882, Korbel has mostly made California champagne. They use a special way called the méthode champenoise. This means the bubbly wine gets its fizz right inside the bottle it's sold in! Korbel is part of F. Korbel Brothers. They also make brandy (a strong alcoholic drink) and regular wine. Plus, they bring in Prosecco, another type of sparkling wine, from Italy.
F. Korbel & Bros. is a private company. It is owned and run by the Heck family. Another company, Brown-Forman, has helped Korbel with its sales and marketing since 1965.
History of Korbel
Korbel was started in 1882 by three brothers from Czech Republic. Their last name was Korbel. Later, in 1954, a man named Adolf Heck bought the company. His son, Gary Heck, took over in 1982.
Gary helped the company grow a lot. They went from making 150,000 cases of wine each year to 1.6 million cases! By 2022, this made Korbel the 16th largest wine maker in the United States.
There's a popular story about how the "brandy old fashioned" drink became famous. This drink is like an old fashioned but uses brandy instead of whiskey. The story says that at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, the Korbel brothers were giving out samples of their wine and brandy. People from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, liked the Korbel brandy. They supposedly took it back home and started using it in their cocktails. However, this story is probably not true. It's more likely that brandy became popular because it was easier to find after World War II.
Using "Champagne" on Labels
Korbel follows the rules about using the word "champagne" on its labels in the United States. These rules were set up in the 1930s. They allow US companies to use names like "champagne" if they also say where the wine was made in the US. For example, Korbel calls its product "California champagne" because it's made in California.
This means that terms like champagne, sherry, and port can be used on labels. But only if the wine is made in the US and meets certain standards for that type of wine. In 2006, many countries, including France, agreed to let US companies like Korbel keep using these names. This agreement protects companies that have spent a lot of time and money building their brands.
How Popular is Korbel?
Korbel California champagnes have been served at 10 United States presidential inaugurations. These are big events when a new US President officially starts their job. For example, it was served at the special lunch for U.S. President Barack Obama on January 20, 2009.
Korbel's brandy is especially popular in the state of Wisconsin. More than half of all the brandy Korbel makes is bought and enjoyed there!
