The Rothschilds and wine
In 1853, Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild of the English branch of the family bought Brane-Mouton and renamed it Mouton Rothschild – 15 years before the French branch followed suit at Lafite. In 1922, his great-grandson Baron Philippe ( 1902-1988) took over and began a series of innovations, including château bottling ( 1924), the building of the Grand Chai at Mouton ( 1926), the acquisition of Château d’Armailhac ( 1933) and the creation of Mouton Cadet ( 1933). After 1945, he ensured the wine labels were illustrated each year by great artists and opened the Museum of Wine in Art ( 1962). He bought Château Clerc Milon ( 1970) and oversaw the official recognition of Mouton Rothschild as a premier cru classé ( 1973), and the creation of the first FrenchCalifornian wine project, Opus One, with Robert Mondavi ( 1979).
Baroness Philippine de Rothschild created a dry white wine, Aile d’Argent, in 1991, followed by a second wine, Le Petit Mouton, in 1994. She established Almaviva in Chile in 1997, in partnership with Concha y Toro, and then Domaine de Baronarques in the Pays d’Oc, in 1998.