Maison Deutz

This famous French Champagne House actually comes from Germany. In 1830, two associates, William Deutz and Pierre-Hubert Geldermann, left the Kingdom of Prussia to cross the Rhine River, hoping to make a fortune in France. William was hired by the Maison Bollinger in 1832, while Pierre-Hubert opened his wine store. In 1838, they founded the "Maison Deutz & Geldermann" together, in the city of Aÿ (Marne department). The two friends quickly bought many grands crus and premiers crus vineyards, and started to export their wine. Of course, Germany was the first destination, as well as the United Kingdom, Russia (the czar and his court were quite fond of fine wines) and the United States. Deutz and Geldermann's strength was the combination of German work ethics and French wine prestige.

Later on, the Deutz and Geldermann families were united through marriage, changing the Champagne house's name to simply "Maison Deutz". Several generations of these two families would manage the estate throughout the years. An estate which now was a heavyweight on the international wine scene. During the Great Depression though, Marie Deutz (Alfred Geldermann's wife) was forced to fund the company with her own money, in order to avoid bankruptcy. In 1938, Jean Lallier (son of René Lallier, who was the son-in-law of René Deutz) inherited the entire estate and he decided to modernize the equipment and the winemaking techniques. Finally, more than 50 years later, in 1993, the Rouzaud family (working for the Louis Roederer brand), bought back the Maison Deutz.

Despite the buyout, the family business started by Deutz and Geldermann kept its independence. Today, the Maison Deutz owns 350 hectares of vineyards (growing Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes), as well as 3km of underground cellars. The Champagne house has a total output of 2,5 million bottles per year. The true connoisseurs all over the world enjoy the quality of the famous "Deutz Style", a combination of reasoned agriculture and low yields, which proved its worth over the years.

Check out the Deutz champagne.