Schlumberger

Schlumberger is not a brand that makes up its history – it wrote it itself. Robert Schlumberger, an Alsatian cellar master who learned his craft at Ruinart in Reims, founded Austria's first sparkling wine cellar in Vienna in 1842. He brought the Méthode Traditionnelle with him, refined it, and made the Viennese house a purveyor to the imperial and royal court. What began back then as the import of a French technique is today Austrian cultural heritage.

The underground cellars in the 19th district – Döbling, on the edge of the Vienna Woods – are the oldest of their kind in Austria and are still in operation today. Here, the bottles are stored on the yeast, for at least twelve months, often longer. Riddling is done by hand. The base wines come exclusively from Austrian contract winemakers, whose grapes bring the freshness and fruit that make Schlumberger sparkling wines so clear and precise.

At the Vienna Opera Ball, Schlumberger has been in the glass for decades – not as decoration, but because the sparkling wine delivers what the occasion promises: elegance without effort, depth without heaviness. Anyone who wants to understand Austrian sparkling wine starts here.