This year, Wilhelm Weil, Weingut Robert Weil in Kiedrich, Rheingau, Germany, teamed up with Ralf Frenzel, Tre Torri Verlag and Fine Das Weinmagazin, and Klaus Westrick, XLS Solutions, for his traditional Sommerfest at Weingut Robert Weil. It was an outstanding event. My wife Annette Schiller and I stayed until 4:00 am in the morning with Wilhelm Weil and others.
The pictures in this posting were provided by Weingut Robert Weil, Dirk Würtz, Desiree Schröder, Barbara Fienhold and myself.
30 top winemakers from Germany and other European countries were among the 500 guests.
I spotted from Germany: Armin and Caroline Diel (and their spouses), Schlossgut Diel, Nik Weis, Weingut St. Urbanshof, Sebastian Fürst, Weingut Rudolf Fürst, Oliver Haag, Weingut Fritz Haag, the wife of Ernst Loosen, Weingut Dr. Loosen (Ernie was sick), Manfred and Katharina Prüm, Weingut J.J. Prüm, Michael Prinz zu Salm-Salm, Weingut Prinz Salm, Dirk Würtz, Weingut Balthasar Ress, Christian Witte, Domäne Schloss Johannisberg and Weingut G.H. von Mumm, Ludwig Jung, Weingut Jakob Jung, Urban Kaufmann, Hans Lang and Eva Raps, Weingut Hans Lang, Dieter Greiner, Hessische Staatsweingüter Kloster Eberbach, Hans Oliver Spanier and Caroline Spanier-Gillot, Weingut Battenfeld-Spanier and Weingut Kühling-Gillot, Fritz Gröbe and his wife, Weingut K.F. Gröbe, Klaus Peter Keller and his wife, Weingut Keller, Bernhard Prinz von Baden, Weingut Markgraf von Baden.
All the winemakers/owners from abroad came a day early to participate in a very special tasting orchestrated by Ralf Frenzel and the European Fine Wine Magazin (see the forthcoming article in the European Fine Wine Magazin).
The winemakers/owners from abroad included: Emelie Borie, Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste, Tommaso Cavalli, Tenuta Degli Dei, Didier Cuvelier, Chateau Leoville Poyferre, Veronique Dausse, Chateau Phelan Segur, Alejandro Fernandez, Pesquera, Martin Foradori, Weingut J. Hofstätter, Gaia Gaja, Angelo Gaja, Stephan Graf von Neipperg, Chateau Canon La Gaffeliere, Anselmo Guerrieri Gonzaga, Tenuta San Leonardo, Axel Heinz, Orellaia, Franz Hirtzberger, Manuel Lozada, Numanthia, Michael Moosbrugger, Schloss Gobelsburg, Johanna Elisabth Pichler, Weingut F.X. Pichler, Walter Polz, Olympia Romba, Monteverro, Veronique Sanders, Chateau Haut-Bailly, Alexander van Beek, Chateau Giscours and Chateau du Terre.
Wilhelm Weil: Man kann nicht nur arbeiten ... feiern gehört auch dazu! Deshalb wird auf Weingut Robert Weil sowohl hart gearbeitet als auch hart gefeiert! Danke an alle Freunde, die bei unserem Sommerfest dabei waren! - Work hard, play hard. That's the philosophy at Weingut Robert Weil where we believe that celebration requires every bit the same passion and dedication as hard work. Our heartfelt thanks go out to everyone who helped make our summer festival such a huge success!
Annette Schiller, ombiasy PR and WineTours: Ja, this was fantastic: 27 wines: the best of the best from Germany, Bordeaux, Italy, US. This great picture above reflects the beauty of the place. This is one of my favorite spots in the Rheingau: sitting on the terrace of Weingut Weil, having a Turmberg, Riesling, Premier Cru, in the glass and looking out to the Turmberg. Life can't get any better!!!
Weingut Robert Weil
Founded in 1875, Weingut Robert Weil in Kiedrich is the Rheingau’s #1 estate and one of Germany’s best. Four generations and over a century ago Dr. Robert Weil, who was a Professor of German at the Sorbonne, was forced to leave Paris because of the Franco-Prussian War (1870/1871). He subsequently joined his brother August in Kiedrich in the Rheingau and established the Robert Weil winery.
Dr. Robert Weil purchased his first vineyards in Kiedrich and moved there in 1875, when he bought the estate manor from the heirs of Sir John Sutton, an English baronet. A man of vision, he built up the estate by purchasing 2 local wine estates and the vineyards of Count von Fürstenberg. Contacts throughout the world and the production of great wines brought rapid growth to the Weingut Robert Weil.
Today, Weingut Robert Weil is managed by Wilhelm Weil, who owns the winery jointly with Suntory from Japan. With 75 hectares under vine, it is one of the largest estates in the Rheingau. The historical manor house, the ultra-modern cellars and the vinothek stand side by side in a beautiful park – the same synthesis of old and new that is reflected in the estate’s philosophy of winemaking.
In 1988, the estate was sold by Robert Weil to the Japanese beverage group Suntory, and his son Wilhelm appointed as estate director.
The vineyards are planted 100% with Riesling. The estate’s dedication to Riesling since 1875 has led numerous observers of the international wine world to regard Weingut Robert Weil as a worldwide symbol of German Riesling culture. A Riesling wine of the 1893 vintage, grown on the Gräfenberg site, made the estate famous. The imperial Habsburg court in Vienna purchased 800 bottles of this wine at a price of 16 gold Marks per bottle in 1900. The 1920 vintage of the Kiedricher Gräfenberg Trockenbeerenauslese is described as a Zeppelin wine, as it was served on board the LZ 127 „Graf Zeppelin” dirigible on its circumnavigation of the world in 1929. Robert Weil’s top botrytis wines are sold today at extremely high prices - they are among the most expensive in the world. The current world record (in 2006) is held by a 1999 Weil Trockenbeerenauslese, at DM 5.000 (EUR 2500).
Weingut Robert Weil’s top vineyards all belong to the group of the highlying sites of the Rheingau: Kiedricher Klosterberg, Kiedricher Turmberg and Kiedricher Gräfenberg. Inclination (up to 60 %), exposure (southwest) and the ability of the barren stony soils to absorb heat are the factors that make for three perfect Riesling sites. These conditions, as well as ideal circulation, enable the grapes to remain on the vine for a long time, ripening well into November.
schiller-wine: Related Postings
Christian G.E. Schiller's Review of the Book: Ralf Frenzel (ed.) - Riesling, Robert Weil. Tre Torri, Wiesbaden, Germany, 2013, in: Journal of Wine Economics, Volume 9, 2014, No. 1, Cambridge University Press
Weingut Robert Weil Goes Facebook, Germany
German Riesling and International Grape Varieties – Top Wine Makers Wilhelm Weil and Markus Schneider at Kai Buhrfeindt’s Grand Cru in Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Visiting Wilhelm Weil at his Weingut Robert Weil in Kiedrich, Germany
Tasting with Wilhelm Weil the 2010 Weingut Weil Wines in Kiedrich, Germany
The German Winemakers at the 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, USA
The 2nd International Riesling Symposium in the Rheingau, Germany
Steffen Christmann (Weingut A. Christmann) and Wilhelm Weil (Weingut Robert Weil) Presented the New Wine Classification of the VDP, Germany
3 Wine Tours by ombiasy Coming up in 2014: Germany-North, Germany-South and Bordeaux