The Wegeler and Krone wineries (Rheingau and Mosel) have now received reinforcement. The versatile oriented wine expert Ralf Frenzel took over shares. He and the owner family Drieseberg want to give the traditional estates, both members of the VDP, new impetus and lead them to the top of the world.
GERMANY (Oestrich-Winkel) – It all began in 1882 with Privy Councillor Julius Wegeler (1836-1913), who was successful with the Deinhard sparkling wine cellars in Koblenz, but also devoted himself to still wine and acquired the Baron von Wetzel-Karben winery in Rüdesheim and, a little later, the A. Wagner winery in Oestrich. This was the foundation stone for the Rheingau Weingut Wegeler, which still resides in Oestrich-Winkel today, but has long since ceased to have anything to do with the House of Deinhard ( which was swallowed up by its former competitor Henkell in 1997; in the fall of 2020, the brand was sold to the Peter Mertes winery in Bernkastel-Kues).
Today, Wegeler is an independent family business, also with sites on the Mosel (in 1900, land was purchased in the top Bernkasteler Doctor site, among others). In 2007, the five-hectare Krone estate in Assmannshausen was taken over as a good addition to the white range. Julius Wegeler is present by name through the 4th generation Anja Wegeler-Drieseberg, who is the owner with her husband Dr. Tom Drieseberg. But they are aware that, despite a good current status with convincing wines from numerous top sites (19 sites are classified Große Lagen according to VDP guidelines on the Mosel and in the Rheingau) and ambitious farm managers (Michael Burgdorf in the Rheingau and Norbert Breit on the Mosel), they have to think long-term and set the course for this in good time. The 19-year-old son cannot be relied on for this; according to his father, he does not yet have a proper relationship with wine.
The partnership
The couple sought and now found a strong partner with a lot of wine expertise, who is to further advance the business and at the same time is important for securing the future. In the nineties, Drieseberg (63) got to know not only Alfred Biolek in management at AEG Hausgeräte, but also his culinary consultant Ralf Frenzel for the TV show “Alfredissimo”. He was Germany’s youngest sommelier in the Wiesbaden “Ente vom Lehel” in the eighties, then entered the wine scene with the Wein Wolf Group and trading companies (Leibbrand) and was subsequently extremely active in numerous culinary projects. In 2004, the gourmet thausendsassa still founded the Tre Torri publishing house, which successfully focused on the topics of food, drink and pleasure and, among other things, publishes the quarterly wine magazine FINE.
Frenzel is to help give the Wegeler winery, with its 55 hectares, and the Krone red wine operation (five hectares) new impetus in sales and marketing. Above all, the contacts of the experienced 58-year-old sales and communications professional in the trade are important for Tom Drieseberg. Frenzel himself states that he wants to contribute to leading the wineries to the absolute top of the world. For the time being, however, no personnel or structural changes are planned. Frenzel’s shares in the wineries are also not very high, as the VDP statutes set an upper limit in the low double-digit percentage range in such a case. “We also had the entry approved by our regional associations beforehand,” Drieseberg lets it be known. Otherwise, he is happy with the new partner. “We’ve been friends for a long time, each knows what makes the other tick.”
