Founder of Cremant d’Alsace

Founded in 1574 around the town of Riwuewihr, Dopff has been Pioneers in the Alsace region. Always on the look-out for new ideas, Julien Dopff attended, at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900, a practical demonstration of the ‘Champenoise method’. This was the starting point of a, great idea: to experiment on Alsace wine, to produce a second fermentation in the bottle. After a two-year training period at Epernay to get accustomed to the peculiarities of champagne, Julien Dopff applied the same method to the Alsace wines which succeeded so well with Champagne. All the right conditions being united - favorable climate, good soil and the natural sparkle of the Pinot Blanc - it was a great success... and the beginning of the wonderful adventure of Crémant d’Alsace which, today, enjoys such a well-earned popularity.

From Alsace to Australia and back

In 1913 Julien Dopff was the first to have the idea of commercializing wine instemmed bottles, the elegance of which, even to this day, distinguishes Alsace wine from other wines. This ‘invention’ was not easily accepted. In order to com- bat reticence and to prove the perfect conservation of bottled Alsace wine, Julien Dopff wagered that his bottles would be able to support the journey from Alsace to Australia and back. The demonstration was so brilliant that the jury of the Strasbourg Exhibition awarded him the highest possible distinction – the silver medal with the inscription ‘for a particularly successful achievement’.