Heidsieck

In 1777, the German emigrant Florenz-Ludwig Heidsieck (1749-1828) settled in Reims. He originally came from Westphalia (Borgholzhausen). With his newly acquired French citizenship, his name changed: from then on he was called Florens-Louis Heidsieck.

Shortly afterwards, he married the daughter of the wealthy textile merchant Nicolas Perthois and founded a company in 1785, initially trading in textiles together with his son, but shortly afterwards turning his attention to the production of champagnes.

In 1794, the company name was changed to Heidsieck & Co. However, his son died unexpectedly at a young age. Mr Heidsieck therefore decided to invite his three nephews, who were still living in Germany, to join his company in Reims.

In 1795, his nephew Henri-Louis Waldbaum joined the company. Another nephew, Charles-Henri Heidsieck, followed in 1805. Christian Heidsieck, Charles-Henri's younger brother, then joined the company in 1808. The nephews' parents and friends from Germany also followed.

Family names such as Waldbaum, Piper, Deliuse and Kunkelmann were closely associated with Heidsieck. From then on, Heidsieck & Co. was equipped with capable, ambitious family members and friends, which seemed to secure the long-term future of the house of Heidsieck & Co.

In 1818, Charles-Henri Heidsieck married a lady named Émelie Henriot (the name Henriot would prove to be very important in connection with 'Heidsieck' years later).

Charles-Henri Heidsieck died in 1824, leaving behind his widow and a young son named Charles-Camille Heidsieck. Four years later, the founder of the house, Florens-Louis Heidsieck, also died. It is assumed that these family losses had a serious impact on the two remaining nephews. They decided to temporarily suspend trading at the house. A short time later, Henri-Louis Waldbaum and Christian Heidsieck resumed trading their Champagne through. However, this new alliance soon fell apart and the two nephews went their separate ways.

Henri-Louis Waldbaum founded Waldbaum-Heidsieck & Co. in 1834. Today's house Heidsieck & Co. Monopole has its historical origins in this house.

Christian Heidsieck also founded a company in 1834 and traded champagne under the 'Heidsieck' brand. However, he died just one year later, whereupon the house was run by his widow and became known as Veuve Heidsieck. His widow married her brother-in-law, a Mr Henri-Guillaume Piperk, in 1837. He himself was a great-nephew of the original Heidsieck founder Florens-Louis Heidsieck. In 1845, the name Piper-Heidsieck appeared on the labels, although the Heidsieck brand was retained at the same time. At the same time, Charles-Camille Heidsieck, the aforementioned son of Charles-Henri Heidsieck, joined the company. In 1851, Charles-Camille Heidsieck left Piper-Heidsieck again and joined Henriot Frères, Soeur & Co. Together with a Mr Ernest Henriot, the house Charles Heidsieck was founded in the same year.

From the original roots of Heidsieck & Co., three strong and independent champagne houses emerged, which are now world-famous as the renowned houses Heidsieck & Co. Monopole, Piper-Heidsieck and Charles Heidsieck.

Disputes between the houses over the exclusive use of the Heidsieck name were already inevitable at the time. There is no doubt that, historically speaking, all three houses had (and still have) a legitimate claim to the name Heidsieck.

When the house of Heidsieck & Co. Monopole celebrated a centenary in 1885 (using the founding year of the original Heidsieck & Co. as a basis), there was legal trouble with the house of Charles Heidsieck, according to historian Nicholas Faith. However, as the house of Charles Heidsieck was founded later than Heidsieck & Co. Monopole and Piper-Heidsieck, the court at the time allowed both Heidsieck & Co. Monopole and Piper-Heidsieck to refer to 1785.

Heidsieck & Co. Monopole in turn tried to prohibit Piper-Heidsieck from invoking the date 1785. However, this was not legally successful, as the lawyers of Heidsieck-Monopole had themselves indirectly conceded the disputed founding year to Piper-Heidsieck in the original legal dispute with Charles Heidsieck.

The dispute between the three houses has long since been buried, especially as at the time of writing both Charles Heidsieck and Piper-Heisieck belong to the Rémy-Cointreau group and Heidsieck-Monopole is now part of the well-known Vranken empire.

All three houses continue to produce outstanding champagnes. However, despite their common roots in the history of Champagne, the three houses have their own very special individuality, which no Champagne fan should miss out on a closer look at. With this in mind (in alphabetical order):

Charles Heidsieck
Heidsieck & Co. Monopole
Piper-Heidsieck

 

 

 

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