Mumm was founded by three brothers, Jacobus, Gottlieb and Phillip Mumm, German winemakers from the Rhine valley and G. Heuser and Friedrich Giesler on March 1, 1827 as P. A. Mumm Giesler et C°. P.A. stood for the initials of Mumm senior (Peter Arnold Mumm), a successful wine merchant from Solingen. Mumm's label is famous for its red ribbon (Cordon Rouge), patterned after and resembling the French Grand Cordon of the Légion d'Honneur. The French confiscated all of the Mumm's property, although they had lived in Champagne for almost a century before World War I, because they had never become French citizens.