Von Kesselstatt winemaker dies

Annegret Reh-Gartner, owner and winemaker at Mosel estate Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt, has died aged 61.

Forthright and an extremely talented winemaker who managed the estate for over 30 years, Annegret passed away on 2 October of pancreatic cancer.

Granddaughter of Carl Reh who founded the eponymous wine business in 1920, Annegret took over management of Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt in 1983 – it had been acquired by her father in 1978.

A keen proponent of terroir, she initially reduced the vineyards from 185 acres to 100 and focused on driving up the quality of the estate’s output.

In her time at the helm of the property it regained its former reputation for excellence. The estate boasts parcels in some of the Mosel, Saar and Ruwer’s most acclaimed sites including Piesporter Goldtröpfchen and Scharzhofberger, Bernkastler Doktor and Wehlener Sonnenuhr.

Annegret was also a keen advocate of using wild rather than cultured yeast strains.

The chairman of the VDP Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Carl von Schubert, said that in the week before her death Annegret had been calm and collected and he hailed her as one of the region’s most “charming and engaging” ambassadors.

She is survived by her husband Gerhard whom she married in 1988.