Founded in 1882 by Czech immigrants Francis, Anton, and Joseph Korbel, the Guerneville estate has been the Heck family's home since 1954. One of America's oldest operating sparkling-wine houses, Korbel sits on 600 acres along the lower Russian River, its brick winery and rose garden listed on the National Register.
Korbel's story begins in 1862 when three Korbel brothers — Francis, Anton, and Joseph — emigrated from Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) and made their way to California's Russian River. They first worked as lumbermen, clearing redwoods from the steep hills above Guerneville, then planted their first vineyards in the 1870s. The first sparkling wines were produced in 1882 under the direction of Frank Hasek, a Czech-trained winemaker. The brick winery tower, completed in 1886, still stands today as an emblem of the estate. The Heck family — Adolf, Paul, and Ben Heck, all Champagne-trained winemakers themselves — purchased Korbel in 1954 and has steered it through three generations.
Natural Russian River Valley Champagne — The driest and most refined cuvée; estate-area Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, méthode champenoise.
Brut California Champagne — The flagship; lively bubbles with apple, cherry, and citrus.
Brut Rosé — A méthode-champenoise rosé with bright red-fruit character.
Blanc de Noirs — A richer, Pinot-driven sparkling.
Master's Reserve Blanc de Blancs — A small-lot, all-Chardonnay reserve bottling. Korbel has made sparkling here since 1882 — North America's oldest continuously operating sparkling-wine house.
Today Korbel is the largest méthode champenoise sparkling wine producer in California, with the Heck family continuing as proprietors under chairman Gary Heck. Winemaker Paul Ahvenainen leads the cellar with longtime sparkling specialist Patricia Ortiz; the lineup ranges from the broadly distributed Brut and Brut Rosé to limited library releases of vintage and tête-de-cuvée bottlings. The estate covers 600 acres along the lower Russian River, with vineyards, the original brick winery, a 19th-century train depot used as the tasting room, and the Antique Rose Garden listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Tours of the cellars and gardens run daily, and the tasting room is open without reservation — a rarity in modern Sonoma.
Born in Helsinki, Finland, Paul Ahvenainen emigrated to the United States as a child in 1968 and went on to earn an enology degree from UC Davis, followed by two years as a distiller for a subsidiary of the French Cognac house Rémy Martin. He joined Korbel in 1985, working through the laboratory, cellar, grower relations, and the assistant winemaker role — and teaching wine chemistry at Sonoma State — before being promoted to winemaker ahead of the 1996 harvest and to senior winemaker in 1998. Named director of winemaking in 2003 and vice president of operations and winemaking in 2022, he now oversees all of Korbel's wine and brandy production. He champions a blend of world-class fruit, modern technique, and traditional hand-craftsmanship across the méthode champenoise sparkling wines that have made Korbel an American institution since 1882.
Gary Heck is the second-generation steward of Korbel, the Russian River Valley sparkling-wine house his father, Adolf Heck, bought in 1954. Gary started full-time in 1965, working from purchasing agent to sales rep before becoming president in 1982 and chairman after his father’s passing. Under his leadership, Korbel grew from 150,000 to more than 1.5 million cases a year, becoming the largest producer of méthode champenoise sparkling wine in the United States — the bubbly poured at every presidential inauguration since Reagan. The Heck family has owned and run the 1882-founded cellars for more than seventy years.
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Natural Russian River Valley Champagne — The driest and most refined cuvée; estate-area Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, méthode champenoise.
Brut California Champagne — The flagship; lively bubbles with apple, cherry, and citrus.
Brut Rosé — A méthode-champenoise rosé with bright red-fruit character.
Blanc de Noirs — A richer, Pinot-driven sparkling.
Master's Reserve Blanc de Blancs — A small-lot, all-Chardonnay reserve bottling. Korbel has made sparkling here since 1882 — North America's oldest continuously operating sparkling-wine house.
Korbel's story begins in 1862 when three Korbel brothers — Francis, Anton, and Joseph — emigrated from Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) and made their way to California's Russian River. They first worked as lumbermen, clearing redwoods from the steep hills above Guerneville, then planted their first vineyards in the 1870s. The first sparkling wines were produced in 1882 under the direction of Frank Hasek, a Czech-trained winemaker. The brick winery tower, completed in 1886, still stands today as an emblem of the estate. The Heck family — Adolf, Paul, and Ben Heck, all Champagne-trained winemakers themselves — purchased Korbel in 1954 and has steered it through three generations.
Today Korbel is the largest méthode champenoise sparkling wine producer in California, with the Heck family continuing as proprietors under chairman Gary Heck. Winemaker Paul Ahvenainen leads the cellar with longtime sparkling specialist Patricia Ortiz; the lineup ranges from the broadly distributed Brut and Brut Rosé to limited library releases of vintage and tête-de-cuvée bottlings. The estate covers 600 acres along the lower Russian River, with vineyards, the original brick winery, a 19th-century train depot used as the tasting room, and the Antique Rose Garden listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Tours of the cellars and gardens run daily, and the tasting room is open without reservation — a rarity in modern Sonoma.
Born in Helsinki, Finland, Paul Ahvenainen emigrated to the United States as a child in 1968 and went on to earn an enology degree from UC Davis, followed by two years as a distiller for a subsidiary of the French Cognac house Rémy Martin. He joined Korbel in 1985, working through the laboratory, cellar, grower relations, and the assistant winemaker role — and teaching wine chemistry at Sonoma State — before being promoted to winemaker ahead of the 1996 harvest and to senior winemaker in 1998. Named director of winemaking in 2003 and vice president of operations and winemaking in 2022, he now oversees all of Korbel's wine and brandy production. He champions a blend of world-class fruit, modern technique, and traditional hand-craftsmanship across the méthode champenoise sparkling wines that have made Korbel an American institution since 1882.
Gary Heck is the second-generation steward of Korbel, the Russian River Valley sparkling-wine house his father, Adolf Heck, bought in 1954. Gary started full-time in 1965, working from purchasing agent to sales rep before becoming president in 1982 and chairman after his father’s passing. Under his leadership, Korbel grew from 150,000 to more than 1.5 million cases a year, becoming the largest producer of méthode champenoise sparkling wine in the United States — the bubbly poured at every presidential inauguration since Reagan. The Heck family has owned and run the 1882-founded cellars for more than seventy years.
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