Founded in 1827 by Gottlieb, Jacobus, and Philipp Mumm, G.H. Mumm & Cie is a German-born French Champagne brand once beloved by the British royals. Originally from the Rhine Valley, the three brothers recognized the quality of the sparkling wines coming from the Champagne region, and figured they too could be successful producing and selling wines of their own. So they consulted with local Frenchmen G. Heuser and Friedrich Giesler, established an office in Reims, and their Champagne business was born.
A quarter-century later, Georges Hermann Mumm, one of the founder’s sons, took over operations at the maison, renaming it in his honor. It was also G.H. who introduced the house’s current motto: “Nec plus ultra,” which translates to “only the best.” Today, G.H. Mumm owns over 530 acres of vineyards, approximately 395 of which are classified as Grand Cru.
From the brand’s historic ties to the monarchy of the United Kingdom to its affiliation with the fastest man alive, here are 11 things you should know about G.H. Mumm.
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The Mumm family was involved in wine long before the establishment of its Champagne house.
G.H. Mumm may not have been established until 1827, but by that point, the Mumm family had already been involved in the winemaking business for 66 years. In 1761, the patriarch of the family, Peter Arnold Mumm, founded P.A. Mumm, a business of wine producers and merchants based in Cologne, Germany, that owned several vineyard sites in the Rhine Valley. Having had hands-on experience in the wine industry in Germany, Peter Arnold’s three sons didn’t have too tough a time crossing the border into France and establishing an offshoot of the family business in Reims. For the first 25 years of its existence, the maison was known as P.A. Mumm Giesler et Co.
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Mumm intentionally priced its Champagnes higher than other producers in the region.
Operating with the motto “only the best,” Mumm convinced customers of this message by pricing its Champagnes higher than its competitors. According to the brand, the average wholesale price for a bottle of Champagne in 1827 was 2.75 francs. By comparison, G.H. Mumm Champagnes were priced at 3.50 francs wholesale. When the brand launched a brand- new cuvée in 1900, it attached it to a new slogan: “The most expensive, therefore the best.” The strategy appears to have paid off. In 1879, G.H. Mumm was selling approximately half a million bottles per year. By 1913, that number had skyrocketed to over 3 million, making Mumm the top-selling Champagne brand at the time.
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G.H. Mumm was the first Champagne house to source grapes directly from growers.
While it’s now commonplace for Champagne producers to supplement fruit by sourcing grapes from growers, in the 1800s it was unheard of. Instead, the majority of négociants purchased unfermented grape juice they could then use for production under their own labels. In 1840, G.H. Mumm broke from tradition, opting to acquire whole grapes from its growers instead of grape juice. The change allowed winemakers to not just have full control over the vinification process, but it also allowed them to assess grape quality, assuring that only high-end fruit wound up in their Champagne.
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The brand’s iconic red sash was introduced almost 150 years ago.
In 1876, George Hermann Mumm was looking for a way to recognize and pay tribute to some of his most prestigious clients. As such, he had the neck of every bottle of G.H. Mumm Brut Champagne adorned with a red silk ribbon inspired by those bestowed upon individuals receiving the Legion of Honor. (Established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, the National Order of the Legion of Honor is the highest French military and civil award, with each recipient decorated with a vibrant red sash known as the Grand Cross.) The red sash quickly became a fixture of the brand and served as a way for G.H. Mumm to distinguish itself among the sea of Champagnes. Originally appearing around the neck of each bottle, G.H. Mumm later transitioned to wrapping the red sash around the bottles’ middles. In 2016, the brand unveiled a new bottle design with the red ribbon, or “cordon rouge” indented directly into the glass. To this day, every bottle of G.H. Mumm Grand Cordon, Grand Cordon Rosé, and Cordon Rouge is accessorized with the scarlet sash.
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G.H. Mumm was an official Champagne supplier for the British Royal Family.
For centuries, the British royal family has demonstrated its love for Champagne, with each presiding monarch hinting at their favorites by awarding them with royal warrants. For King Edward VII, one of those favorites was G.H. Mumm. The brand’s Champagne was served at his coronation at Westminster Abbey in 1902, and two years later, Mumm was named an official Champagne supplier to British royalty. The maison retained its royal warrant through the rule of George V, Edward VIII, George VI, and Elizabeth II, though it all came to a screeching halt earlier this year. After 121 years, G.H. Mumm’s royal warrant was revoked by King Charles III, who also did away with royal warrants for Champagne Lanson and Krug, which similarly supplied the royal family for over a century.
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The House was once seized by the French government.
It’s no secret that World War I wreaked havoc on the Reims, which was subjected to near-constant shelling by the Germans. Despite the city serving as a front line, the French government pushed for Champagne producers to continue making their wine, concerned that supply would run dry if they didn’t. To conserve stocks, the French declared that all exports were banned, with all domestic production instead reserved for French citizens to prevent a shortage. In order to protect Champagne even more, the Syndicat du Commerce put forth measures to prevent Champagne houses from being accused of “trading with the enemy,” with that enemy being Germany. Given G.H. Mumm’s German roots, the maison was a prime target for these measures. If Champagne houses could not prove the French roots of their ownership or had founders who had not taken the French citizenship test, all assets were confiscated by the French government. Despite the fact that the Mumm family had been in France for almost a century, they never became French citizens, so G.H. Mumm and all its assets were seized by the French government in 1914. At the end of the war, the company was auctioned off to the Société Vinicole de Champagne, with only a portion of the business returned to the Mumm family. Ownership of the brand changed hands several times over the course of the 20th century until it was finally acquired by current owner Pernod Ricard in 2005.
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All Mumm Champagnes mature in Reims’s crayères.
Reims is known for its extensive network of chalk pits, also known as crayères, that run beneath the town and make for an ideal place to age Champagne. Some of these pits date back to the Roman period, with the earliest quarries dug in the third century to extract minerals to construct the city itself. While G.H. Mumm does not age its Champagnes in the same crayères that have received UNESCO World Heritage designation, it does age each bottle of sparkling wine in its own chalk cellars that took 70 years to excavate. Located approximately 40 meters (131 feet) underground, G.H. Mumm’s network of cellars spans about 15 miles and is home to 25 million bottles of Champagne. While the Champagne region mandates each non-vintage bottle be aged for a minimum of 15 months, G.H. Mumm sees its NVs rest for two and a half years while vintage bottlings rest for at least five years — two years longer than Champagne’s minimum requirements. Some of its most prized cuvées may even mature for 10 or 12 years before they are ready to hit the market.
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In 2016, G.H. Mumm appointed the greatest sprinter of all time as ‘CEO.’
Three months after securing gold medals in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, and 4×100 relay for the third time at the 2016 Rio Olympics (the triple triple), Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt was appointed CEO of G.H. Mumm — chief entertainment officer. In his role, Bolt has served mainly as a celebrity figurehead for the brand, promoting the Champagne at various events including the Kentucky Derby. In 2019, G.H. Mumm launched a collaborative Champagne with the world record-holding sprinter, aptly dubbed Mumm Olympe Rosé. Designed to reflect Bolt’s preference for sweet Champagnes, the wine is aged for two years in the cellar before it receives its dosage from a sweet wine aged in Cognac barrels.
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Two years later, he took part in a zero-gravity flight promoting Mumm Cordon Rouge Stellar.
In 2018, Mumm launched a new cuvée, one that was intended to be enjoyed in a rather unorthodox setting: the stratosphere. Intended to be onboard future Axiom Space missions, Mumm Cordon Rouge Stellar was the first Champagne that was designed to be drunk in space. To accomplish the feat, Mumm consulted with a vast team of engineers, astronauts, researchers, and oenologists. It also partnered with SPADE founder Octave de Gaulle, whose company specializes in manufacturing objects for outer space, as a unique bottle design and closure is necessary in zero-gravity conditions. Once the wine was complete, the Mumm team — which included Usain Bolt — took to the skies in a zero-gravity flight above the vineyards in Reims. There were a few challenges while in the air, including how to get the gaseous liquid out of the bottle to drink. Interestingly enough, in weightless conditions, the wine actually leaves the bottle as a foam and needs to be inhaled rather than sipped. Once in the mouth, a capillary action takes place, converting the foam into liquid, which can then be consumed.
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Sports are a critical part of G.H. Mumm’s marketing strategy.
In addition its long-term partnership with Usain Bolt, G.H. Mumm has served as the official Champagne of multiple sporting events. From 2000 to 2015, the brand was the official Champagne of Formula 1, with bottles of brut used as the official podium Champagne. Following its partnership with F1, Mumm was named the official Champagne of Formula E, the world’s first all-electric series. The sponsorship continued until 2024. Outside of car racing, G.H. Mumm is also the official Champagne sponsor of the Kentucky Derby and the Melbourne Cup.
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G.H. Mumm has an offshoot in Napa Valley.
A century and a half after G.H. Mumm was founded in Champagne, the brand made a jump across the Atlantic. From 1976 to 1979, Guy Devaux, Mumm’s then-winemaker, traveled throughout the United States’s multiple wine regions to uncover which would be best for growing and producing traditional Champagne-style wines. With its impressive terroir, California’s Napa Valley was an easy choice. Established in the late 1970s, Mumm Napa (originally known as Domaine Mumm) produced its first cuvée in 1983, and has continued to make sparkling wines in accordance with the French traditional method ever since.