Cristal

The origin of the Champagne House in Reims lies in the company Dubois Père et Fils, which is first mentioned in 1760. Later, this company was owned by Nicolas-Henri Schreider, who is considered the official founder in 1776. The latter hired his nephew Louis Roederer (1809-1870) in 1827. After Schreider's death in 1833, the heir renamed the company Roederer, which is still used today. He succeeded in opening up new markets in America and England, as well as winning over the Russian Tsar Alexander I (1777-1825) as a buyer of his champagne. In 1870, Louis Roederer II. (1846-1880) took over the management of the company, which had expanded considerably in the meantime.

The Russian court remained loyal to the company even under Tsar Alexander II. (1818-1881), the Russian court remained loyal to Roederer champagne. An extremely sweet champagne was produced for Alexander, which was particularly appreciated at court and in aristocratic circles. Fearing the frequent assassinations at the time and inspired by a champagne bottle by Mercier, the Tsar's cellar master demanded transparent bottles so that a poisoned champagne could be quickly visually identified. Roederer complied with this special request and the champagne was first delivered to Russia in 1876. The brand known as "Cristal" was filled in bottles made of clear crystal glass with a flat bottom. Allegedly, the flat bottom was required in order to prevent a small explosive device from being placed in the indentation of the bottom of the bottle. This brand, which...