A winegrower’s job is old-fashioned? As if! Mainz and Rheinhessen prove the opposite! The region boasts with a lot of talented young winemakers who have decided to dedicate themselves to wine with conviction and passion.
A gem of wine
It is well known that an apple does not fall far from the tree. Growing up on a vineyard does leave its marks. So it did with young Juliane Eller, who grew up at her family’s winery in Alsheim.
But being just a helping hand in her parents’ business was definitely not enough for the determined lady. Driven by her creativity and ambition, already at the age of 23 she decided to completely reshuffle her parents’ winery. And when 29, the award winning winemaker took over full responsibility without further ado. From then on, the harvest would be carried out by hand, the number of grapevarieties were reduced from 25 to only five and the vineyards were gradually being converted to organic farming.
And all this, because she wants to create wines which are produced without compromise and which clearly represent their origin. “I want to create unique pieces“, Juliane stresses. As unique as jewels. And now guess her winery’s name! „JUWEL“ (eng. jewel). Not only does it work as a metaphor, it is also an acronym containing the initials of her names. The “W“ of wine holding them together. A masterpiece simply, by a brilliant mind.
Learn more about winery Eller: www.juwel-weine.de
A breath of fresh air
And then there is Kristin Antweiler. 21 years old, the fourth generation continuing the Antweiler family’s viticulture and by no means less ambitious than her colleague! Straight after her A-levels she continued her training as a winemaker. And how could it be any different when it is simply handed down to you at birth?
“Through my family’s vineyard, my passion for viticulture developed. It is exciting to be there from the beginning to the end – from the vine to the bottle – and to combine nature and our knowledge in order to produce great wines“, Kristin explains her love for the job.
Yet confident Kristin also makes sure to put her stamp on it! With the 2018 vintage she bottled her first own wines. And to make it clear that the wines are her own, she has not only designed her own new label. You can even taste her stamp, for even in the process of production she has of course gone her own way.
Her victory in the nationwide professional competition shows, by the way, that she is indeed Germany’s best up-and-coming winemaker.
Learn more about winery Antweiler: www.weingut-antweiler.de