Deinhard KG
Over 200 years of experience in crafting the finest wines and best sparkling wines
Wine merchants with an eye for exports
Johann Friedrich Deinhard, real wine connoisseur, lays the cornerstone of Deinhard’s success when he founds his wine-selling business in Koblenz in 1794 amid the turmoil of the French Revolution, which also affects life along the Rhine and Moselle. At the start of the 19th century, he concentrates his efforts on the highly profitable export sector, by shipping wines to Britain and other countries. By the time Deinhard died in 1827, his business had already become the largest wine seller in the entire Koblenz region.
Deinhard conquers the USA with its sparkling wines
Champagne begins to increase in popularity in Germany, so the Deinhard company decides to start its own sparkling wine production in 1843. The English are particularly fond of the new “Sparkling Mosel” wines and, via the British colonies, Deinhard’s products are shipped around the world to places as far away as India and Australia. The Deinhard family’s role in the business ends in 1857, when one-time employees and later co-owners Julius Wegeler and Johann Jakob Hasslacher assume control of the entire company. Its sparkling wine business flourishes, and in 1997, Deinhard & Co. increases its US exports by 4,000 gallons to 87,988 gallons in barrels and crates. One year later, Deinhard Cabinet is launched, and today it is still the company’s bestselling brand.
Production methods based on champagne bring success
In 1892, Deinhard acquires the German patent for the disgorging process used by French champagne makers. At the Paris Exhibition in 1900, the company’s improved manufacturing techniques prove their value: two Deinhard products receive grand prizes. Deinhard is now the largest wine and sparkling wine company in Germany. It launches Deinhard Lila in 1910, a product specially created to cater to the growing taste for especially dry wines.
Between the wars, the company loses almost all of its foreign subsidiaries and decides to concentrate on the sparkling wine market. It retains a high profile among consumers thanks to its popular advertising images, such as the famous “Deinhard Woman”, and German slogan “Dein Sekt sei Deinhard” (“Deinhard – it’s your sparkling wine”), which remains in use until the 1960s.
Top-selling Deinhard sparkling wine in the post-war years
After World War II, the company faces ruin: 80 per cent of its above-ground and 40 per cent of its below-ground facilities were destroyed, and its warehouses and stock were plundered. But Deinhard gets production back on its feet and is able to start its famous export business to the UK and Commonwealth nations as early as 1947. Popular brands Deinhard Cabinet and Deinhard Lila are particularly successful during the years of Germany’s economic miracle. Between 1952 and 1965, sales of sparkling wine increase tenfold and the company expands its export business. Soon, wine and sparkling wine from Koblenz is available in 70 different countries all around the globe.
Keeping up with changing times: Yello and Henkell
Marking its 175th birthday in 1969, the company launches a sparkling wine for the discerning connoisseur: the Deinhard Tradition cuvée, available only for a short time during the anniversary year and made only from Riesling from the Mittelrhein wine-growing area. The company adds Deinhard Rubin to its range, a red variety made from French red wines. In 1970, the company is restructured as a limited partnership with shares, though the Wegeler and Hasslacher families remain the personally liable partners, and later, on the occasion of its 200th anniversary, it becomes a public company so that it can better adapt to a changing market environment. Its fresh, modern line of Yello products enables it to appeal more to younger consumers. In summer 1997, the family-run company transfers its entire stock capital to the Henkell & Söhnlein Group, putting it on even surer footing for the coming century.
Wider product range and a relaunch for the 21st century
Deinhard starts the new century by significantly expanding its product range: Deinhard Medium Dry and several trademarked wines grace its catalogue as of 2001, and Deinhard Rosé de Blanc et Noir is added in 2004 to cater to the current popularity of rosé on the sparkling wine market. At the end of the decade, a complete relaunch of the sparkling wine and wine ranges gives the brand a contemporary, fresh image, and in 2010, the company celebrates a very special anniversary – the 100th birthday of the Deinhard Lila brand.
