REGION: Baden/ Kaiserstuhl – VILLAGE: Endingen am Kaiserstuhl
Bettina always wears red shoes, you cannot miss her!
Weinhaus Bettina Schumann is a stunning, female-run winery with incredible wines and a focus on Burgundy varietals and winemaking style. Her approach to being a wine producer is different. As I described earlier, a Weinhaus doesn’t have their own vineyards but in this case a close relationship to their growers. On top of that, Bettina is considered a “Quereinsteiger” in the winery scene. Quereinsteiger means coming from a different field and entering a new profession.
About Bettina and Melanie
Bettina, the founder of the Weinhaus, is from Berlin. I would only consider her a Quereinsteiger because she didn’t grow up in a winemaking family but her fascination for wine started when she was only 12 years old. On a vacation to Italy with her parents, she got to sip 1905 Vin Santo, which got her hooked. Instead of reading teen magazines she read wine magazines, started to collect and purchase wine through her dad rather than buying nail polish in every color there is. At 16 she met the owner of a wine shop who started to mentor her. From that moment it was clear to her that her future will be in wine, forever! She studied Viticulture and Enology at the University of Geisenheim (Science of grape-growing and winemaking) and also in Udine in Italy and gained additional wine-making expertise in New Zealand, Italy, and Austria. Since 2015 Bettina has been a “flying winemaker” and consults wineries throughout Germany and Europe. She also made her dream of making her wine come true.
In 2017, Bettina made her first wine under her label. The following year, she met the sommelier, Melanie, who quickly became part of Weinhaus Bettina Schumann. They are both running the show together now. Melanie is from the northern part of Germany but the great food, wine, and vineyards pulled her further south. She ended up in Cologne and decided at 25 to complete her Sommelier Degree. For eight years she has been responsible for one of the most extensive and beautiful wine lists in Germany at the restaurant Wein am Rhein (Wine at the river Rhine). From here her path went further south into the region Kaiserstuhl to be with her wife Bettina and together they are running Bettina Schumann Weinhaus.
I met Melanie and Bettina at a small wine show featuring Pinot Noirs of Germany. I grew up near Cologne and I guess I could call myself a regular at Melanie’s restaurant checking out her wine list regularly.
About their wines
The “Red Shoe Line” is her brand’s flagship, with “The Gold Shoe Line” being the top-tier option. Most of their wines are aged in neutral oak, with only a few getting a hint of new oak. Bettina’s stunning Rosé is only available in a limited number of magnum bottles because it is said to be the perfect size for the wine to show its full potential. All names associated with her wines are about her hometown Berlin – Mittenmang, Famous Schose, and Achtkantig.
Burgundy varieties Producer
Weinhaus Bettina Schumann defines itself as a Burgundy producer, focused on Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Gris. Their focus is on winemaking while trusting the vineyard growers who share the same values in farming and what they believe to be a healthy vineyard. Bettina and Melanie work with 5 different vineyard sites in the Kaiserstuhl region to source their fruit. None of the vine-growers use Glyphosate (herbicide commonly known as RoundUp) to protect the integrity and biodiversity of the soil and groundwater.
Two of these vineyards are Demeter certified, a rigorous biodynamic farming certification. Since the beginning. Weinhaus Bettina Schumann has been working closely with growers to establish a sustainable work relationship based on good communication and fair prices.
Weinhaus Bettina Schumann’s wines are intense, bright, and made with a lot of thought and care put into them. They love to try different techniques and are constantly experimenting to create the best possible wine with each variety every year. They make wines from traditional Burgundian Pinot Noir to skin-fermented Pinot Gris that has is pink.
Their wines have a recognizable stylistic which is defined by spontaneous fermentation, maceration time, and precise use of oak integration to the wines. All the wines have something special to them, a kick!
If you ever thought a rose can’t be serious, complex, elegant, and mind-blowing (if you ask me) this winery will show you something else!
