The winery is located in the municipality of Vogtsburg-Oberrotweil (Kaiserstuhl area) in the German wine-growing region of
Baden. The family's origins date back to the 15th century. The great-grandfather of the current owners Josef Bercher was already bottling wine in 1900. In the 1950s, the Wiedemann and Bercher families jointly ran the winery Josef Bercher Erben. It was taken over by Beate Wiedemann-Schmidt and Franz Wilhelm Schmidt in 1985. Since 2007, son Fabian Schmidt has been responsible for the vinification of the wines. The vineyards cover ten hectares of vineyards with a total of 52 scattered plots in the single vineyards
Feuerberg (Burkheim), Enselberg, Rosenkranz and
Steinbuck (Bischoffingen), as well as
Henkenberg and
Käsleberg (Oberrotweil). They are planted with the red wine varieties Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo, as well as with the white wine varieties Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Silvaner, Auxerrois, Kerner, Gewürztraminer and Muscat
Quality criteria in the vineyard are healthy grapes without pest infestation through elaborate foliage work, as well as yield reduction through strict pruning and
thinning out. The healthiest and optimally ripe grapes are harvested through selective harvesting in several passes. The wines are vinified separately according to site or soil/microclimate in order to bring out the different characters. The white wines are fermented without aromatic yeasts and aged classically in steel tanks (no barrique). The red wines are matured in large wooden barrels or partly in barrique. Since the 1999 vintage, wines from the top vineyards have been awarded 3 stars. In years with suitable weather conditions, ice wines are also produced. Beate Wiedemann studied painting at the University of Applied Sciences in Freiburg. She designs artistic labels and regularly holds vernissages at the winery
