Rotkäppchen (Rothcaphen, Little Red Riding Hood) - a winery in Freiburg that produces the same sparkling wine .
| Rotkäppchen | |
|---|---|
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| Type of | |
| Base | September 28, 1856 |
| Location | Freiburg , Germany |
| Industry | winemaking |
| Parent company | Rotkäppchen-Mumm Sektkellereien (RMSK) |
| Website | rotkaeppchen.de |
Is a producer of traditional sparkling wine Rotkäppchen ("Little Red Riding Hood"), or, as it was called, "communist champagne" - the only sparkling wine produced in the GDR . The brand name is a neck wrapped in dark red foil.
The company became the first East German company that absorbed West German competitors, which is why it is often cited as an example of a successful East German company.
History
The company was founded in 1856 as a Kloss & Foerster liquor store by the brothers Moritz and Julius Kloss and their friend Karl Ferster, and in the same year they decided to produce wine. The first bottle of sparkling wine was discovered at the wedding of Julius Kloss on June 17, 1858. In 1861, wine under the brand name Monopol was first presented to the public. But in 1894, in connection with the entry into force of the first German law ( WBG ) on the protection of trademarks, this name had to be abandoned. The rights to it remained with the French distillery company Heidsieck & Co.
The first wine under the brand name "Rotkaphen" was released on February 20, 1895. In 1896, the largest wine barrel in Germany with a volume of 120 thousand liters was built from 25 oaks at the plant.
After World War II, the plant was run by the Soviet military administration in Germany . Gunter Kloss, the grandson of the founder of the plant, was arrested in West Germany in November 1945, and later founded a new plant in the city of Rüdesheim am Rhein .
Since July 1948, the company became known as the " People's Enterprise Rotkephen Champagne Wines Plant in Freiburg on Unstrut." In the last years of the GDR's existence, the plant produced 15 million bottles of sparkling wine each year.
After the reunification of the country, there was a sharp decline in sales - in 1991 only 2.9 million bottles of Little Red Riding Hood were sold.
In 1993, headed the plant, and with four other plant managers bought the state-owned enterprise with financial support from businessman Harald Ekes-Chantre, the heir to the owner of Eckes AG .
Since 1994, the company began to actively promote the Rotkepchen brand in the West German market, and by 2000 became the leader in the German sparkling wine market, selling about 50 million bottles a year.
In 2002, the company absorbed the West German brands GH Mumm , Jules Mumm and MM Extra, and a year later the elite brand Geldermann , which culminated in the creation of Germany’s largest wine producer Rotkäppchen-Mumm Sektkellereien (RMSK) , 58% of which belong to the Ekes family, and 42% - the family of Gunther Heise.
In 2006, the company acquired another West German company producing brandy Chantré and cognac Mariacron .
In 2011, the company's sales amounted to 220 million bottles, of which 116 million bottles of Little Red Riding Hood wine, and the company became the leader in the German wine market with a market share of 33%.
Links
- Claudia Prevezanos - Little Red Riding Hood: sparkling wine for a united country , Deutsche Welle , 02/28/2009
- The Little Red Riding Hood is stronger than all, or Success Stories of East German Firms , Deutsche Welle , 09/08/2010