Henkell

Sekt house · Wiesbaden · Sekt since 1856

Henkell is a German Sekt house in Wiesbaden whose history goes back to Adam Henkell, who founded a wine merchant business and began producing Sekt in 1856.1,2 It is the core of Henkell Freixenet, the group formed after Henkell & Co. took a majority stake in the Spanish cava house Freixenet in 2018.1

Adam Henkell

The company dates its origins to 1832 and 1856: Adam Henkell first founded a wine merchant business and began producing Sekt in 1856.1 The firm is registered today as Henkell & Co. Sektkellerei KG, with its seat in Wiesbaden.2

Söhnlein and Oetker

In 1864 J.J. Söhnlein founded a sparkling wine cellar in the Rheingau. In 1958 Rudolf-August Oetker acquired Söhnlein Rheingold Sektkellerei, and in 1987 Henkell and Söhnlein merged, which the company describes as the foundation of the present group.1

The group

The group's timeline lists a series of acquisitions in sparkling wine:1

YearCompany joining the group
1992Törley, Budapest
2000Hubert J.E. (Slovakia), Gratien Meyer and Alfred Gratien
2008Mionetto, Valdobbiadene
2018majority stake in Freixenet
2022Bolney Wine Estate, England
2026100% of Freixenet

Through these deals the Wiesbaden house is linked to Freixenet in Cava and Gratien Meyer in Saumur.1 German Sekt rules are described on the Germany page; the other large German house in this section is Rotkäppchen.

See also

GermanyRegionsRotkäppchenProducersFreixenetProducersGratien MeyerProducersTank methodMethods

Sources

  1. Henkell Freixenet. History
  2. Henkell Freixenet. Legal notice (Henkell & Co. Sektkellerei KG)

Facts checked on 2026-10-20