The birth of the family winery took place in 1857, so to speak, when Julius Wegeler (1836-1913) joined the
Deinhard wine and sparkling wine 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, sales flourished and the business with the British Empire grew steadily. Julius Wegeler, 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 company. 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 board of the German Wine Growers' Association, of which he was also the first president from 1893 to 1905. In 1893 Julius Wegeler was appointed privy councillor. During his period of activity 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 today's Rheingau wine region. He coined the motto which is still valid today:
"Quality is our philosophy". The manor house, which he 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 vineyards remained in the family's possession. Since 1998 they have been managed by Anja Wegeler-Drieseberg and Dr. Tom Drieseberg
In 1973, Rolf Wegeler leased vineyards from the
von Winning winery in Deidesheim (Palatinate). This made
Deidesheim the third winery to be established. However, this commitment was terminated after the 2006 harvest. The two remaining estates,
Gutshaus Oestrich and
Gutshaus Bernkastel, now operate completely independently and autonomously with regard to vineyard management and winery, including bottling, but under a common quality philosophy. Both are members of the
VDP (Verband deutscher Prädikatsweingüter). The management and distribution of the wines is carried out by Gutshaus Oestrich. Just as at the foundation at the end of the 19th century, both estates focus exclusively on Riesling
The
Oestrich estate in the
Rheingau cultivation area (with the common administrative headquarters) covers 45 hectares in the individual locations
Berg Roseneck,
Berg Rottland and
Berg Schlossberg (Rüdesheim),
Doosberg,
Lenchen and Klosterberg (Oestrich),
Hasensprung and
Jesuit Garden (Winkel),
Hölle (Johannisberg),
Kläuserweg and
Rothenberg (Geisenheim), as well as
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 manor house was founded in 1900 by the purchase of a part of the famous Bernkasteler
Doctor vineyard in today's
Moselle growing area. At that time, a legendary 100 Goldmark had to be paid for a vine. In the Bernkasteler local part Kues a manor house was established in 1903 according to the
gravitation principle. The partly terraced vineyards 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.