With its distinct bottle shape and rich, textured flavor profile, it’s not surprising that the wines from Champagne Charles Heidsieck are so highly regarded. But there’s a deeper reason this brand is one of the most important Champagne houses in the U.S.
Founder Charles Heidsieck introduced the American market to Champagne and spent a lot of time across the Atlantic in cities like New York and New Orleans promoting his brand. He won over the U.S. with his charm, eventually earning the nickname Champagne Charlie — though he also ran into some legal trouble during his time in America. Heidsieck’s adventurous lifestyle is now legendary, and his energy and innovation still live on in the Champagne that bears his name.
Read on to learn more about Champagne Charles Heidsieck and its spirited founder.
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Several members of the Heidsieck family founded their own Champagne houses.
No, it’s not just a coincidence that the Heidsieck name appears on the labels of several different Champagne brands. All three houses that share the name were founded by members of the Heidsieck family. In 1785 Florens-Louis Heidsieck and Agathe Pertois founded the Champagne Heidsieck et Cie House, which later split into Heidsieck & Co. Monopole and Piper-Heidsieck when the family went into business with Henri-Guillauame Piper in 1838. Charles Heidsieck, who founded his own eponymous brand, was also the grand-nephew of the original founder, Florens-Louis
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Charles Heidsieck founded the Champagne house before he was 30.
Born in 1822, Charles-Camille Heidsick grew up as part of the prestigious Champagne Heidsieck et Cie House. But he was known to be adventurous and independent, so instead of sticking with the family business, he went out on his own at just 29 years old to start his own winery in 1851.
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Charles Heidsieck developed a market for Champagne in America.
Heidsieck felt that the Champagne industry in Europe was too saturated, so he decided to target the American market. In 1852 he sailed to Boston and spent time developing a foothold for his brand in the States. While a few other houses like Veuve Clicquot and Ruinart had started sending small amounts of wine to the U.S., he had a more ambitious goal of selling 300,000 bottles overseas.
He established an importing firm in New York City, and quickly drummed up excitement and demand for Champagne across the East Coast. He took the marketing of his brand seriously, and took out ads in New York newspapers promising the authenticity and quality of the Charles Heidsieck Champagne. American consumers embraced his charismatic personality and dubbed him “Champagne Charlie,” a nickname that stuck and helped build his brand. He surpassed his 300,000 bottle goal by 1861.
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Charles Heidsieck was accused of being a confederate spy.
After having such a breakout success in the U.S., the Charles Heidsieck brand took a hit when the Civil War started in America. Heidsieck’s once-booming business started to plummet as he dealt with a number of unpaid accounts. He sailed to America to collect the debts, but found one merchant in New Orleans who could only pay his debts in cotton. In an attempt to send the cotton home, Union battleships sank the boats carrying his cargo, bankrupting Heidsieck.
Down on his luck after several failed attempts to save his business, Heidsieck decided to go home to France. He stopped by the French Consulate in Mobile, Ala., to prepare for his journey home, and they gave him a set of paperwork to deliver to the French Consulate of New Orleans. On his journey south to the port, Heidsieck was captured by General Benjamin F. Butler. The pouch of documents made him seem suspicious and he was charged as a Confederate spy. A diplomatic debate ensued — legend has it that Napoleon III, then the emperor of France, personally wrote to President Lincoln on Heidsieck’s behalf. Eventually Heidsieck was released and sent back to France.
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He was also briefly the owner of Denver.
Heidsieck’s complicated relationship with the U.S. doesn’t stop there. Allegedly, a few months after he returned to France, the brother of one of his New York sales agents set out to find him, overwhelmed by the guilt of the outstanding debts. He offered Heidsieck an unusual form of payment: a deed to land in the Colorado territory. The plot of land ended up being about a third of a small, up-and-coming town called Denver. As Denver boomed during the development of the Transcontinental Railroad, Heidsieck sold off the deed, and used the money to revamp his Champagne business.
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The house now makes a special cuvée as a tribute to Champagne Charlie.
Charles Heidsieck passed away in 1893, but the tireless effort and ingenuity that he put into the brand is why it’s still so successful to this day. In honor of him, the winery now produces a special cuvée named Champagne Charlie. The Champagne house first debuted this bottling in 1979, only to stop production in 1985. But in 2022, 200 years after the birth of its founder, the winery released the eponymous wine once again. The current iteration of Champagne Charlie features a selection of reserve wines, including wines aged on lees for up to 25 years, lending to a rich, complex flavor profile.
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The winery is known for its mastery of blending.
Always the contrarian, Charles Heidsieck also went against the grain when it came to production methods. At the time, most Champagne houses were focused on showcasing a specific vineyard area or cru. Heidsieck instead focused on establishing relationships with top vineyards across Champagne so he could blend a well-balanced Champagne each year. The house still values the art of blending, and each bottle of Charles Heidsieck wine can contain almost 60 different crus.
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The Champagne bottles age in chalk cellars that date back to the third century.
Charles Heidsieck was focused on optimizing the quality of his wines, which meant finding the perfect place to store them. So in 1867, Heidsieck purchased the Crayères, a series of chalk cellars dating back to the third century. The five miles of cavernous cellars, located about 100 feet underground, are home to several million bottles of Heidsieck Champagne.
Recent Charles Heidsieck Reviews
This full-bodied and generous Blanc de Blancs exudes aromatic complexity, a signature of Charles Heidsieck wines. Reserve wines make up a ...
Tight bubbles and candied fruit make this wine an intense but balanced, food-friendly wine. The slightly tart sweetness is a nice contrast ...
This is rich, balanced bubbly. It has persistent bubbles and a nice depth of fruit that smells like strawberries and cream. It’s ...
Charles Heidsieck’s signature non-vintage bottling, the Brut Réserve offers a richness and decadence that rivals wines that sell for two ...
