Founded by the 9 brothers and sisters of the Castel family in 1949, the Group started out as a wine merchant.
In the 50s and 60s, they embarked upon an internal expansion by setting up bottling plants.
Later, in the 60s and 70s, growth continued with a succession of acquisitions, first of regional, then national, and finally international companies trading in the wine sector.

One such example is in 1992 the Société des Vins de France, its main rival in the wine sector, France’s second largest wine trader.
In 1999, Domaines Virginie, exporters of top of the range wines from Languedoc Roussillon, were next to come under the Castel umbrella, along with Malesan, specialized in wines from France and other wine-producing countries, in 2003.
In 2007, Castel acquired Sautejeau-Bauquin (n°1 in Muscadet) and Friedrich (n°1 in BIB) in the Loire region, and Oeno Alliance in Bordeaux (among the 10 leaders).

Meanwhile, Castel were also busy establishing a reputation in the beer and soft drinks sector in French-speaking Africa. They became one of this area’s key players when they acquired BGI (Brasseries et Glacières Internationales) in 1990.

And from 1973 to 2008, the development of a major water activity (n°3 in France) with about 30 mineral springs and brands among the most famous in France (including Cristaline), an activity which was recently sold.

Close to Bordeaux,
the largest oak barrel facility
in Europe