Today, there are three different champagne houses in Reims that use the name Heidsieck in their company name. The complicated story began when Florenz-Ludwig Heidsieck (1749-1828), of German origin from Westphalia, settled in Reims in 1777 and henceforth called himself Florens-Louis Heidsieck. Shortly afterwards, he married the daughter of the wealthy textile entrepreneur Nicolas Perthois. As early as 1780, he began to produce his own wine and founded his own champagne house with his son in 1785. In 1785 he was received by Queen Marie-Antoinette (1755-1793). When the founder's son died at a young age, Florens-Louis Heidsieck took three of his nephews into the company.
The first to join the company was Henri-Louis Waldbaum in 1795, followed by Charles-Henri Heidsieck in 1805 and Christian Heidsieck, Charles-Henri's younger brother, in 1808. The production was mainly based on the sales of all European princely and royal courts at that time, because champagne was the very popular drink of the ruling class. Shortly before Napoleon (1769-1821) invaded Russia in 1812, Charles-Henri Heidsieck initiated a sensational publicity stunt. He announced that he would travel from Reims to Moscow on a white horse. In fact, he rode into Moscow a few weeks before the French army with several cases of champagne in his marching baggage.
Charles-Henri died in 1824, four years before his uncle Florens-Louis Heidsieck. His son Charles Camille Heidsieck (1822-1893) later founded one of the three Heidsieck houses (see below). The remaining nephews decided to temporarily suspend the trade. A little later, Henri-Louis Waldbaum and Christian Heidsieck started trading champagne again. Soon after, this alliance fell apart and the nephews went their separate ways. As a result, three companies with the name Heidsieck developed, which meant that legal disputes were inevitable. When Heidsieck Monopole celebrated its centenary in 1885, there was trouble with Charles Heidsieck. However, since Charles Heidsieck was later founded as Heidsieck Monopole and Piper-Heidsieck, the court allowed both Heidsieck Monopole and Piper-Heidsieck to refer to 1785. However, the long dispute has long been buried.
Heidsieck & Co. Monopole
Henri-Louis Waldbaum founded Waldbaum-Heidsieck & Co. in 1834 together with his brother-in-law Auguste Heidsieck. After the death of Auguste Heidsieck in 1870, the house traded under different names such as Veuve Heidsieck and Luling, Goulden & Co. until 1910. In 1923, Edouard Mignot bought it and the name Heidsieck&Co. Monopole was consolidated. The company was gradually taken over by the Champagne house Mumm until 1985 and then bought by the Vranken empire in...
