He inherited one of the most famous brands of German winemaking from his father when he was very young. That was 30 years ago. Today, Wilhelm Weil manages the estate not only with many years of experience, but also with the energy and passion of a young man with a strong can-do attitude. Our visit to winery Robert Weil.
It was in the late starting phase of the Corona Covid-19 virus when we visited winery Robert Weil. A crazy time where the rules of yesterday did not seem to be valid tomorrow. A wild time where new ideas popped up - just because they were needed. A creative time to try new things and to make mistakes.
You can go mad in times like this. But not Wilhelm Weil. When we meet him, he walks in relaxed. Dressed elegantly-sporty with sneakers and jeans. He is full of energy and he has big plans in his head. The challenges of “Corona times” are the soil that his creativity to blossom.
A well-managed business
The basis couldn’t be any better: The brand Robert Weil is strong. The wines are leading examples of the Rheingau region. Always have been and continue to do. The 2018 collection received outstanding feedbacks. The 2019 wines are on the same level - maybe even better.
Even though Covid19 brought some days of confusion, the road was clear very soon: airlines and airport duty-free business is off, export is different market by market and the private and online business is expanding. Let’s go for it!
But if you look deeper you will see: The fact that Wilhelm Weil is very cool and relaxed these days is the result of solid and foresighted management. The first thing, the winery did when Corona started to hit was the optimization of the cash situation. With the result that they are better prepared than others.
A brand between a long tradition and a great future
One thing you realize quickly when you talk to Wilhelm is that he weights out very precisely what new developments are helpful for his brand and his winery and which are not. If you deal with a huge tradition like that you cannot be the frontrunner in everything that’s new. But he also is not a „late follower“. He is well informed about all new trends - in sales, social media, product development, you name it.
Then something really exciting happens: He seems to work with an idea in his head, to digest it somehow, to develop it. And then he comes back to his team with the next level of the idea, with the Robert-Weil-version of it. Usually, it is the smartest way to deal with things.
That process doesn’t take long, but it is very effective. He listens closely to the people around him while doing that. The young people in the team are as important as the more experienced ones. Wilhelm tries to find the best balance of today (with a little bit of yesterday in it) and tomorrow. And he does really well.
Forming a multi-generational team
We understood quickly that his team plays a super important role for Wilhelm. He spends a lot of time thinking about that - also how to manage a great generational shift for the winery. And also here he came up with a very smart Robert-Weil-way: A while ago the very experienced team grew bigger by hiring a second generation of talented and motivated team members. And these days, Wilhelm is adding a third generation already.
Experience meets fresh ideas, knowledge is transferred from one expert to the next, new ideas pop up because of new perspectives in an ever-changing world. It is big fun to watch how the idea plays out. It really works. Experience does value new ideas, and young people do appreciate broad knowledge. We had to great luck to spend an evening with members of all three „generations“ of this great team. It was one of the best we ever had.
Experiencing true quality
If you want to experience what Robert Weil stands for you have to drink something old. We did that. We drank something really old. And it was eye opening. We were invited to drink to outstanding wines form the excellent vintage 1937 - a Turmberg, which is a Grand Cru owned completely by Robert Weil, and a Gräfenberg - the best of Robert Weil’s Grand Cru vineyards.
What we had in our two glasses was a true surprise: Two still super young, super fresh and highly elegant wines. Even after an hour in the glass they still develop without loosing grip. It’s unbelievable. The learning for us is clear: When you decide for a bottle of Robert Weil, you have truly high quality in your cellar. And you can leave it there as long as you want. The wine will be a bomb whenever you decide to enjoy it.
Over the years we have been drinking many Robert Weil wines. If you want to check out some of the tasting notes - just read our tasting notes HERE.
Read our Tasting Notes here.
Weingut Robert Weil
Mühlberg 5
65399 Kiedrich/Rheingau
Germany
Visit website of winemaker Robert Weil.