Korbel Champagne Cellars is a

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

based in

Guerneville, California Guerneville ( , ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County, California, United States. The town is historically known for the logging community, formed in the late 1800s. Guerneville ...

. Since 1882, Korbel has primarily manufactured California champagne, 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, Inc., 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 with ...

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

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...

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.

Use of "champagne" on labels

Korbel has been a producer of fine California méthode champenoise champagnes for 140 years".Our Champagnes
Korbel corporate website Korbel has scrupulously followed regulations – both in letter and in spirit - regarding use of the word “champagne” on wines made in and marketed in the United States, regulations established by the U.S. Department of Treasury in the 1930s. 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 and port - 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 champagnes have been served at 10

United States presidential inauguration The inauguration of the president of the United States is a ceremony to mark the commencement of a new four-year term of the president of the United States. During this ceremony, between 73 to 79 days after the presidential election, the pre ...

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 of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

. Korbel's

has a particularly strong following in the State of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, 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 Wineries in Sonoma County Brown–Forman brands Sparkling wines