Kessler sparkling wine
| Kessler sparkling wine
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | GmbH & Co. KG |
| founding | July 1, 1826 |
| Seat | Esslingen am Neckar , Germany |
| management | Christopher Baur |
| Number of employees | 67 |
| Branch | Sparkling wine production |
| Website | www.kessler-sekt.de |
| As of May 31, 2018 | |
The Kessler Sekt GmbH & Co. KG is a 1826 founded champagne cellars and the oldest sparkling wine producer in Germany. The annual production is about 1.3 million bottles.
profile
The company with 28 employees (as of 2006) is based in the historic Speyrer Pflegehof in Esslingen am Neckar. The sparkling wine is primarily produced in bottle fermentation , part of which is shaken by hand, the classic production process developed in Champagne ( méthode traditional ). The wines from the best locations mature in the medieval vaulted cellars under the Kessler house on Esslingen's market square.
After the bankruptcy in 2004/2005, the company is run by Christopher Baur , a business economist from Esslingen . The aim is to combine the company's tradition with modern corporate principles.
In 2013, Kessler announced that the company had entered into a "strategic alliance" with the Cavit cooperative winery from Trento ( Italy ), "which will involve a substantial capital increase".
history
In 1807 Georg Christian Kessler was employed by the champagne house Veuve Clicquot-Fourneaux & Cie. hired as clerks (accountants). In 1810 Kessler received power of attorney from Barbe-Nicole Clicquot and in 1815 became a member of the management. After the Congress of Vienna (1815), Kessler built up the international business for Veuve Clicquot . He achieved great success, especially in Russia. In 1821, Kessler became a partner in Madame Clicquot with the option to take over the company entirely in 1824.
On July 1st, 1826 the company G. C. Kessler & Compagnie was founded in the former wine press of the Speyrer Pflegehof . It was here that the first 4,000 bottles of German sparkling wine were made from Esslingen's early Burgundy wine, which, as the newspaper Rheinische Provinzialblätter wrote , “went on sale immediately” . The journal Oeconomische Nachrichten und negotiation reported in 1827 (as the oldest printed news item about the company): “Last autumn, Mr. Keßler in Esslingen made attempts to prepare must from Clevner and Elbling the champagne way and both types of wines, especially the Clevner, have, as far as they can be assessed in the first six months, delivered a very favorable result in terms of taste, color and mousse. ” In the same year, Kessler received the“ Great Württemberg Agricultural Merit Medal ” from King Wilhelm I of Württemberg .
In 1829 exports to Russia, Great Britain and the USA began. In 1832 the first vaulted cellars in Speyrer Pflegehof were bought , which is still the company headquarters and production site of the sparkling wine manufacturer Kessler. In 1835 Carl Weiss-Chenaux became a partner in G. C. Kessler & Co. After Kessler's death in 1842, members of the Weiß family led the company for 170 years. King Wilhelm I of Württemberg granted Kessler the personal title of nobility in 1841. Georg Christian von Kessler died on December 16, 1842 in Stuttgart.
The “Kessler Cabinet” brand appeared for the first time at the Leipzig Trade Fair in 1850 and on wine and menu cards in good restaurants. This makes it the oldest known sparkling wine brand in Germany. At the Paris World Exhibition in 1867 , Kessler received a silver medal in the “Vins mousseux” category. In 1881 Kessler became purveyor to the royal Württemberg court . In 1892, Kessler was one of the founding members of the Association of German Sektkellereien . Wilhelm II of Württemberg and Queen Charlotte of Württemberg visited the vaulted cellars in 1893.
In 1904, Kessler took over the Rottweil sparkling wine cellar from the heirs of the Rottweiler mechanical engineering and powder manufacturer Max von Duttenhofer (1843–1903). The company was one of the first companies in Esslingen to receive electric light and a telephone connection with the number 13. In 1929, “Kessler Hochgewächs” was served during the world voyage of the airship “ LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin ”. There was also Kessler sparkling wine in the “ Dornier Do X ” passenger aircraft . In 1956, after a visit, Konrad Adenauer decided in favor of “Kessler Hochgewächs” as the sparkling wine of the federal government for state receptions.
In December 2004 the traditional winery filed for bankruptcy. In 2005 the company restarted with a new group of shareholders as an independent sparkling wine producer under the name Kessler Sekt GmbH & Co. KG . In 2007 the company presented itself in the new "Kessler Karree 18" on Esslingen Town Hall Square. In March 2012, the city council of Esslingen decided to rename the square in front of the former Speyrer Pflegehof as Georg-Christian-von-Kessler-Platz.
Portfolio
- Kessler creation . The prestige line, introduced in October 2007, includes special single-vineyard and vintage sparkling wines that are sold in limited numbers through specialist beverage shops and restaurants.
- Kessler classic . Kessler's core brands have been on the market since the mid-19th century. Kessler Cabinet is the oldest sparkling wine brand in Germany, it appeared on menus around 1850. Kessler "Hochgewächs", a blanc de blancs made from pure Chardonnay wines, was served on the airships of the Zeppelin shipping company in the 1920s and, after a visit to the winery by Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer on February 3, 1956, became the official "Chancellor Sekt" Federal Government receptions.
- Kessler Edition . Sparkling wine accessories and individual projects in small editions for enthusiasts and collectors. Based on the historical ties between the house and the regional art scene, special events and partnerships. The editions are limited in terms of quantity and time.
Trademark
The hallmark of Kessler are two little waiters ("piccolos") who rush over with a champagne cooler. In 1904 they were drawn by the Simplicissimus graphic artist Josef Benedikt Engl (1867–1907). Since the 1920s, the original advertising motif gradually developed into Kessler's trademark.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Annual financial statements as of May 31, 2018 in the electronic Federal Gazette
- ↑ Der Kanzlersekt ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.4 MB). In: Szenario_7, 03/2009
- ↑ Company / History / 2013 ( Memento from November 7, 2017 in the Internet Archive ), kessler-sekt.de, accessed on October 30, 2017
- ↑ Cavit Annual Report 2014/15 (Italian) ( Memento of November 7, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Eßlinger Zeitung, March 7, 2012, ( online version )
