1826

On July 1, 1826, Georg Christian von Kessler and his partner Heinrich August Georgii, founded what now is the oldest sparkling wine producer in Germany. The company location was in the winepress of the former ‘Kaisheimer Pfleghof’, in the medieval town center of Esslingen am Neckar. Years earlier Kessler had already experimented with sparkling wine production from German wines on the Kessler family Neuhof estate near Oedheim. This property had been in Kessler family since 1809 and was purchased in 1820 for the Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin company from the older brother Heinrich, who was an elected member of the Württemberg parliament. In 1826, following Kessler’s departure from Reims, the Neuhof was transferred into his possession.