RAINER, CHRISTINA & DAVID
Rainer and Christina not only share a desk but also the work in the cellar and in the vineyards. Additional support now also comes from David. Cooperation is a top priority and is essential for us in order to get the perfect result in every bottle.
The Winery
“To put my own produced bottle of wine on the table, which not only bears my handwriting but also shows my name on the label” in the company of my friends and family. That has been Rainer Wess’s dream ever since his childhood. Rainer was able to fulfill this dream with the founding of his winery in 2003, in a small rented cellar in the Unterloibner Kellergasse. Wine was made from purchased grapes from the best locations in the area. However, this cellar soon became too small and in 2009 they moved to the Krems area into an empty cellar of Wilhering Abbey. A modern, gentle and energy-saving grape reception was added to the old building. Today, the Winery Rainer Wess cultivates about 15 hectares and is a member of the Association of Austrian Traditionsweingüter. With Christina & David the second generation came to work at the Rainer Wess winery. To work together with Rainer in the pursuit of bringing the locations into the bottle – as unadulterated, inartificial and pure as possible.
Sustainability
In our relationship with our vineyards, the same basic principles are important to us, which we also consider important in our dealings with each other. These are: respect, support and sensitivity in all our actions and inactivity. Especially “the inactivity ” and accepting the natural imperfection – far away from perfectionism – is a concern for us. After all, a vineyard is not only a cultivated area for us but moreover a habitat and cultural heritage. Since the founding of the winery, it has always been clear that we not only want to maintain our vineyards as well as possible but we also want to give something back to them and to ourselves with sustainable management. This is also accomplished with the renunciation of herbicide, insecticide or even a copper-reduced plant protection. The harvest by hand is also one of the basic principles of the winery, together with a selected harvest to avoid a botrytis influence, since each grape is taken individually in our hands.
Tasting
Tasting at the winery
If we arent in the vineyards, the office or working in the cellar we are looking forward to meeting visitors at our winery. Whom we will show not only the winery itself but the differences of our wines. Tastings and guided tours are taking place from Monday – Saturday, from 9am to 6pm and for 2 to twenty people but by appointment only. On request, we also prepare a traditional “Heurigen” plate with products of or family butchery to have a relaxed ending of your experience at our winery.
We are very much looking forward to welcome you at winery Rainer Wess. For booking please write an email to info@weingut-wess.at or call +43 2732 72389.
Rainer
“our boss”
Rainer, who is always in control of everything that goes on at the winery. Whether in the cellar, in the vineyard, on the tractor or at a tasting. Rainer is tirelessly at work and is always in a good mood and has an open ear for each of us. Rainer comes in every day with a smile on his face and motivation to do something better than yesterday, which we all appreciate and admire.
Christina
Christina is the other half of the father-daughter-duo at the winery together with Rainer – that’s why teamwork and a harmonious atmosphere at the winery are of the utmost importance to her!
She ‘s always in a good mood and full of optimism! One could say Christina ‘s (wine) glass is always half full!
Her creative nature drives her to constantly develop new ideas. Her warmth and love of detail cannot only be tasted in every bottle but also but can also be found, for example, in the decoration of each special wine package!
David
“our Tyrolean”. David is Christina’s future husband and therefore Rainer’s future son-in-law. David was born in Innsbruck, but his love of wine (and Christina) brought him to Krems. In the meantime, he is the third member of the winery management team with Rainer & Christina. David is studying “International Wine Business” at the IMC in Krems and always brings new ideas and views into the winery.
Helga
The toughest wine critic we know. No points and critiques are as honest and above all as meaningful as Helga’s. You will also find her signature on every menu as well as in every enjoyment package for Easter, Father’s Day or the Adventcalendar.
Alonso
Our Alonso, also affectionately called “Fonsl” by us, has been part of the winery for almost a year. The more strenuous and tiring it gets in the vineyard, the more his heart swells and no one can stop him. Except Alice, our labelling machine, who can do that, but for a long time they are (mostly) not angry with each other.
Melissa
Who not only organises and shapes us on social media, but is also always there with and for us. And therefore, we can’t imagine the winery without her.
Michaela & Günther
No one proofreads our newsletters faster than David’s parents. Also, they always have an open ear and often a tip from a completely different point of view for us. This often inspires us a lot.
Gabriel & Jürgen
David’s brother and his partner Jürgen are always on the spot when there is a lack of helping hands when it comes to pruning trees, serving at the Heurigen or filling bottles.
Barbara & David
“Besides drinking Riesling, Barbara also likes to help with the grape harvest. David is not so keen on harvesting, but he is always on hand to adjust the shelves in the wine cellar.
Our vision – where we want to go
“Not the biggest but the best” – that’s what we want you to think when you open a bottle of wine from us. This idea, or mantra, drives us to do our best every day.
generations at our winery.
Why a change does not have to be an exchange
Of course, not everything is always sunshine and not always harmonious. However, we which means Rainer, David and Christina, are very happy that we get along well and never take this for granted. Rainer and Christina have been working together for some time now, but of course the third member changes the dynamic a bit. In our case, David brought a bit of seriousness together with level-headedness and patience to the creative, good-humoured duo of Christina and Rainer. What has not changed, however, is the awareness that one can not only always learn something but can also always learn something from each other. This awareness is a very important one, because it makes everyone realise the value and contribution that each individual brings to the table. Coupled with deep respect for each other’s knowledge and motivation, who would want to fight alone here instead of advancing as a team? We are very happy to be able to do the second one.
How does a bottle of wine arrive at your table?
You need to know that this is, after all, our goal. Namely, that you sit down at home and look forward to opening a bottle of wine from us. That bottle of wine took a fair amount of work, knowledge, creativity and patience. There is often an understandable myth clinging to the minds of wine drinkers: that we winegrowers have a lot of work during the harvest, a little in the summer and the rest of the time it’s very cosy at a winery like this. This myth is quite wrong. When you work with nature – it can never be completely calm, because nature is not either.
A short excerpt, let’s say the harvest is over and it’s the beginning of November. Now we are thinking about where we are going to spread our pommes and whether the weather is still suitable for sowing greenery in the vineyard or whether we will do it in spring. Then the vines will be made fit for winter, i.e. “heaped on”, while we write the harvest report and observe the new wines in the cellar and enter them in the cellar book. The first wines are already racked after fermentation and the cellar has to be cleaned. In the meantime, the Advent calendar is prepared, new price lists are written and it is decided when and where we will start pruning. In the new year, the first bottling is divided up. Bottles, caps and boxes have to be organised and a team has to help.
After pruning, the vines are chopped with the tractor, pheromones are applied, the wire frames of the vineyards for “tying up” the vines are repaired and tightened. When all the shoots are tied to the wires, things are moving at a brisk pace and budbreak is imminent. Now it is time to work out a plant protection strategy, which for us is of course an organic one, to have healthy and clean grape material for the next harvest. And so, the year begins anew!
