Introducing Weingut Groebe
Posted on 03 January 2020
The Dee Vine Wines team is ecstatic to welcome Weingut Groebe to its portfolio. This winery is a gem and we feel extremely lucky to be able to offer the wines to you!
We first were introduced to the wines and owner/winemaker Friedrich (he goes by Fritz) at the Bad Kreuznach wine auction in 2018. In fact, this was Fritz Groebe’s first time presenting at the auction, where the likes of Emrich-Schönleber, Keller, Dönnhoff and Schäfer-Fröhlich are amongst the more sought-after estates.
Fritz Groebe offered a couple of very attractive wines from 2012 and 2017. This motivated us to approach Fritz right after the auction ended to see if he had representation in California. Luckily he did not, and thus we requested a visit in the spring of this year.
On the same day we had a visit scheduled with Klaus-Peter and Julia Keller in the afternoon, we arrived in the village of Westofen at 10:00am beginning with a tour of the vineyards; namely Kirchspiel and Morstein. This was followed by a tour of the winemaking facilities, which were fairly recently modernized to state-of-the-art equipment, all meticulously maintained throughout, in addition to a very impressive “Schatzkammer” for the purpose of cellaring older vintages.
Not far from there, Fritz very proudly escorted us into his small, ancient vaulted-ceiling barrel holding cellar dating from the 16th century. Wow! Was that cool! The Groebe family has been making wine for over 250 years, so they’re no rookies! Then we headed back into the new, very attractive tasting room, where we sampled his entire 2018 collection with a couple of 2017s to compare vintages of GGs.
Groebe has been a member of the VDP since 2000, which is right around the time Dade first met him at ProWein in Düsseldorf. The estate owned by Fritz and his wife Manuela comprises 9 hectares (about 22 acres), exclusively located in the best sites of old Westhofen and sustainably farmed. The rather modest size of the vineyard area fits our small, hands-on producer profile to a tee!
The fact that Fritz is also very close friends with the Kellers and came highly recommended by them, made for an easy decision on our part. In fact, that evening, following our visit to the Kellers, we all dined together at a wonderful newly-renovated hotel/restaurant down the road from the Groebe estate. Fritz is a very open, friendly, gregarious type, who loves to play Beethoven sonatas, which certainly did not deter us in our desire to add him to our portfolio.
He is planning to visit us here in California next year, and we can’t wait!
VDP interviewer: Why did you become a vintner?
Fritz Groebe: "Another profession never came into question for me. Being a winegrower means passion for wine, for creativity and for freedom."