German-born Frederick deBary settled in New York and made his fortune by importing Mumm Champagne. Using this wealth, and looking for a winter hunting home, he found land in Florida and built his winter retreat.

While there, he built an orange plantation and created a commercial shipping business, but what of the wine he imported back in the 1800s? According to the Champagne Mumm website at www.mumm.com/en/histoire “The von Mumm family, whose lineage boasts barons and knights, can be traced back to the 12th century. In 1761, Peter Arnold Mumm started a wine production and distribution business in Cologne.”

With good relations between France and Germany at the beginning of the 19th century, the website adds that P.A. Mumm’s three sons – Jacobus, Gottlieb and Phillip – were able to establish a champagne house in Rheims, the coronation city of French kings.
They recognized the sales potential of this wine, much-prized by Europe’s royal families. Travelling the world and growing their business as they went, the directors of G.H. Mumm prospered from their contacts with different cultures and nationalities. To this day, the House of G.H. Mumm retains a multicultural approach and openness to new ideas and perspectives, according to the same website.

It was in 1827 that the champagne House was formally established. The champagne was created in Rheims. To ensure its champagnes were of the highest quality, the House of G.H. Mumm quickly decided on an unusual supply strategy: Buying grapes directly from growers in the best areas, rather than buying grape juice or must. This enabled G.H. Mumm to control the quality of its grapes, in line with the House policy of demanding, in its words, “only the best” or “everything available from the best crus.”

By establishing direct links with the growers, the company was able to oversee what it refers to as one of the most vital stages in the making of champagne: Pressing the grapes. In 1852, Georges Hermann de Mumm, son of one of the founders, took control on Nov. 16, 1876; he registered the “Cordon Rouge” name with the legal authorities in Rheims.

It was around 1827 that the company began to think about foreign expansion. By  the start of the 20th century the House of G.H. Mumm had around 20 foreign subsidiaries in the major markets, including the United States, Russia and Canada, as well as in “travelled to all four corners of the globe.”

Readers with questions or comments for Cindy Ladage may write to her in care of this publication.