Champagne Charlie...a man, an icon, an influencer...was he real???

Type it on google, and you'll see: A man who lives a life of luxury and excess. 'I was a real Champagne Charlie'...but where does it come from then?

Champagne Charlie tells the story of a dashing young Frenchman, Charles Heidsieck, who introduced hard-drinking Americans to champagne in the mid-nineteenth century and became famously known as Champagne Charlie. Throughout his travels, Charles Heidsieck embodied contemporary French glamour. With his distinguished charm and knack for business, he captivated America, becoming a prominent figure of fashionable society in just a few months.

A CHARMING GENTLEMAN ADMIRED BY THE POWERFUL AND THE PRESS. INEVITABLE ICON.

Ambassador of Champagne and of France itself. Charles seduced New York society as well as the business bourgeoisie. And also won over the South, even including the wild Louisiana.

Thanks to his easy-going nature, elegance and breeding, Charles focused on making a name for himself and for his champagne. JOURNALISTS FOLLOWED HIS EVERY MOVE while American high society fought to invite him... and his champagne.

The Americans dubbed him “Champagne Charlie”, a nickname soon popularized by a song, composed by Alfred Lee with lyrics by George Leybourne.

Was he real?

Charles Camille Heidsieck (1822–1893) was a French Champagne merchant who founded the Champagne firm Charles Heidsieck in 1851. 1822 Charles-Camille Heidsieck is born. This happy event took place 37 years after his grand-uncle founded the Champagne Heidsieck et Cie House.

Little Charles grew up in the midst of grapes, loved by his mother, Emilie Henriot, and his sisters, in a family ruled by Reims traditions and Prussian rigour.

Well-educated, he stands out for his integrity and elegance. His distinctive aesthetic choices made the Maison unique and renowned amongst all others, or as was said: Typiquement Charles. In his area as well as today, to be Typiquement Charles means flouting convention, bowing to no influence, pushing the envelope and forgeting long-lastingn steadfast relationships.He is credited with popularizing Champagne in the United States and was known as "Champagne Charlie" during his stay.

CONQUERING A NEW WORLD IS A LONG-TERM ENDEAVOUR.

1852: America. True to his intuitions, Charles Heidsieck leaves for this continent, this country still untouched by any champagne trade.

In 1852, Charles Heidsieck first visited the United States and toured the New England area and New York State. He quickly saw the potential for the American market and retained an agent to facilitate his import sales. The mass import of Champagne was met with roaring success and record sales.

UPON HIS RETURN TO EUROPE, he went on to charm both Belgium and England. Celebrated and decorated at the Universal Exhibitions, his champagne soon began to sparkle in all the royal courts. When Heidsieck returned five years later, he was greeted in New York City with pomp and celebration with massive newspaper coverage and banquet receptions held in his honor. With this and subsequent trips, he developed the persona of Champagne Charlie that was a fixture of the New York high society scene.

During the American Civil War Heidsieck was imprisoned under suspicion of being a spy for the French government and the Confederacy. His imprisonment sparked an international incident between France and US over what became known as The Heidsieck Incident. Several times, French diplomats and even Napoleon III contacted President Abraham Lincoln campaigning for Heidsieck's release. His release was finally granted on 16 November 1862. By this time, he was in frail health with his business bankrupt and his wife selling off family property to pay for his debts. Heidsieck returned to France, demoralized and broke. In early 1863, Charles Heidsieck was approached by an American missionary who helped him and after a few years, Heidsieck was able to sell the land and repay all his debts. With the excess fortune, he was able to relaunch his Champagne house and quickly re-establish it as one of Champagne's premier houses.

CHARLES HEIDSIECK CELEBRATES THE BICENTENNIAL OF ITS FOUNDER'S BIRTH, PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE MAN AND CELEBRATES HIS LEGEND

IN 2022 , the Charles Heidsieck House will celebrate the bicentennial of its founder’s birth.

The House is willing to pay tribute to these 200 years of adventure and has prepared lots of surprises to come all over this special year.

Charles loved the fresh air of freedom and the precious value of time. At the tender age of 29, he founded his own House and gained a nickname. As a visionary, he set his sights on the long term and invested in age-old chalk cellars, the perfect home for ageing his wines.

Charles Heidsieck, 200 years of freedom

As a cosmopolitan, Charles expanded the market for champagne all the way to the United States. Celebrating its bicentennial is paying tribute to his independent thinking and actions.

Thank you, Charles.

1822 : year of birth of Charles-Camille Heidsieck, founder of the House.

2022 : the House of Charles Heidiseck celebrates the 200th anniversary of the birth of its founder. 2022 symbolizes a year of celebration for the House.

In 1989 Hugh Grant performed in Champagne Charlie's role in a short TV series still available:)