A question that had been asked several times that evening was: Is it really as long as almost eight years? As Bernhard Breuer’s image has remained fresh in those who knew him well, the image of a slim, wiry spectacle wearer, appearing tough and tenacious, always tensed, brim-full of new ideas, with a tender expression in his face when he was talking about his family (his spouse Marlene and the two daughters Marcia and Theresa), sometimes appearing contemplative, and occasionally angry when something did not work the way he imagined it to work.
On May 20, 2004, the international wine scene was shocked by the news that Bernhard Breuer had died way too early at the age of 57 of a cerebral aneurism. Beforehand, the visionary had set lots of new highlights on his area and, too, in Germany with the “Glorious Days), with the “Gourmet Festival” (both of whom have developed to evergreens), and then with the “Rheingau Charta” that later developed to a “Premier Cru” and used to be the predecessor of the current “Grand Cru” within the VDP (Verband Deutscher Qualitäts- und Prädikatsweingüter, literally: Association of German Quality and Predicate Wine Estates).
When - more or less at the green table but not based on a provable quality in the glass – one of Mr. Breuer’s top vineyards, the Rauenthaler Nonnenberg, fell through the sieve, he was disappointed and, thus, left the vintners’ association and as well the VDP because he didn’t feel supported by both institutions.
Heinrich, his brother, who after Bernhard’s death cared less about the “Rüdesheimer Schloss”, his hotel, but more about the winery, can meanwhile report that the winery has come back to the association’s lap but a new VDP membership is not considered as priority. “We can cope the way we do.”
Several factors had to interact to make the 33 hectare winery with top vineyards in Rüdesheim and Rauenthal further function smoothly after his boss passed away. Hermann Schmoranz, the senior cellarer, stayed in the winery; maybe he worked with more commitment than before. And the solidarity within the family was big. Theresa, his daughter, (27) who at the beginning of 2004 did not really know yet what her profession should be, more and more assumed her responsibility because Marcia, her elder sister (32), had studied fine arts and then become a ballet dancer.
The property situation has been changed. Meanwhile, Marlene, Marcia and Theresa Breuer are the owner of the Georg Breuer winery, whereas Heinrich Breuer, who used to be the co-owner of the winery, and his wife Susanne are focusing on their hotel and restaurant.
Nowadays, Theresa Breuer is the face of the winery; she is a very warm, hot-tempered, cheerful “front woman” who likes to work in the vineyard; Hermann Schmoranz, her companion, is responsible for a durably high quality.
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This became clear in a presentation of a flagship, the 2010 Riesling from the Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg, a top vineyard. 3.5 of the 25 hectares of the vineyard belong to the Georg Breuer winery. The 2010 yield amounted for as few as 19 hectoliters per hectare, a mini amount. Traditionally, the label had again been created by an artist, this year by the “workshop” of Tanja Schneider from Karlsruhe, who was so excited about Theresa Breuer that she wrote a small dedication on the label. The wine itself shows a youthful bite, much play and juice, but it still needs some time until it has reached its top form, which then can persist for long.
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Ripe wines make clear the potential of the Schlossberg: a 1981 wine that appears enormously fresh and is astonishingly racy, a 1995 wine with a great acid play and finesse, as well as a very delicious, elegant, complex 2002 wine - all of them having been vinified under the care of Bernhard Breuer that can still be fun in a few years – if there is something left of them. (r.knoll)
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