The family winery was born, so to speak, in 1857 when Julius Wegeler (1836-1913) joined the
Deinhard wine and champagne house in Koblenz. Wegeler was given the special task of representing and expanding the export business in England, Belgium and the Netherlands. He was very successful in this, sales flourished and business with the British Empire continued to expand. Julius Wegeler, by now married to Deinhard's daughter Emma, was appointed to the management in 1864, took over the parent company in Koblenz and became a shareholder in the business. The company was now renamed Deinhard & Co. After the early death of August Deinhard, Wegeler took over the management of the company together with his brother Karl and his later brother-in-law Johann Jacob Hasslacher. In 1876, Wegeler became a member of the presidium of the German Winegrowers' Association, of which he was also the first president from 1893 to 1905. In 1893, Julius Wegeler was appointed a privy councillor. During his time in office, the two famous sparkling wine brands "Deinhard Cabinet" and "Deinhard Lila" were created, which are still produced today
In 1882, he entered the wine-growing business by purchasing a vineyard in Rüdesheim in what is now the Rheingau wine-growing region. He coined the motto that is still valid today:
"Quality is our philosophy". The manor house, which was also acquired at that time, is the administrative headquarters. The Deinhard company was managed by Rolf Wegeler and his cousin Hanns Christof Wegeler until 1997. In that year, the trading house and sparkling wine production part of the company was sold to the
Henkell company, but the three vineyards with a total of 80 hectares of vines remained in the family's possession. Since 1998, these have been run by the married couple Anja Wegeler-Drieseberg and Dr. Tom Drieseberg
Rolf Wegeler leased vineyards from
Weingut von Winning in Deidesheim (Palatinate) in 1973. This was the third winery to establish the
Deidesheim estate. However, this commitment was terminated after the 2006 harvest. The two remaining estates,
Gutshaus Oestrich and
Gutshaus Bernkastel, operate completely independently in terms of vineyard management and winery, including bottling, but under a common quality philosophy. Both are members of the
VDP (Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates). The wines are managed and distributed by the Gutshaus Oestrich. Just as they did when they were founded at the end of the 19th century, both estates focus exclusively on Riesling
The
Oestrich estate in the
Rheingau wine-growing region (with the joint administrative headquarters) covers 45 hectares in the single vineyard sites
Berg Roseneck,
Berg Rottland and
Berg Schlossberg (Rüdesheim),
Doosberg,
Lenchen and Klosterberg (Oestrich),
Hasensprung and
Jesuitengarten (Winkel),
Hölle (Johannisberg),
Kläuserweg and
Rothenberg (Geisenheim), and
Schönhell (Hallgarten). The flagship is "Geheimrat J. Spätlese", which is only vinified in the best years (not in 1984, 1987 and 1991)
Today's
Bernkastel estate was founded in 1900 through the purchase of part of the famous Bernkasteler
Doctor vineyard in what is now the
Moselle wine-growing region. At that time, a fabulous 100 gold marks had to be paid for a vine. In the Bernkastel district of Kues, an estate was built in 1903 according to the
gravity principle. The vineyards, some of which are terraced, cover 15 hectares in predominantly Moselle steep slopes. These are
Bratenhöfchen,
Doctor,
Graben and
Lay (Bernkastel),
Himmelreich (Graach), and
Sonnenuhr (Wehlen). Premium wines are Bernkasteler Doctor and Wehlener Sonnenuhr
