Host Martin Seidler led the evening with grounded questions and plenty of charm, moderating with a sensitivity that allowed the specialist knowledge and passion of the guests to shine. The atmosphere was also buzzing in the Backstage Club, an exclusive area of the Geisenheim Unikeller that was fully booked out by over 50 distinguished guests, including alumni, wine experts, media representatives, and industry insiders. Over time, 6Glasses1Bottle has become something of a networking hotspot for the German wine industry.
The guests for Sunday’s roundtable provided interesting insights into their experiences at Geisenheim:
Johannes Tesch is a young winemaker at Tesch winery who is in his second year of studying the International Wine Business degree program at Hochschule Geisenheim University: “For me, Geisenheim stands for friendship, support, and expertise. I love having the ability to draw on the knowledge of friends and professors when I’m at a loss, whether that’s with frost damage or a problem in the cellar.”
Charlotte Weihl is the reigning German Wine Queen and a student at Geisenheim: “Hochschule Geisenheim University has opened many doors for me. Knowledge exchange is the top priority at the university, and it’s a place where wine brings together a wide range of characters.”
Caro Maurer, Master of Wine, also emphasized the importance of education and the transfer of theory into praxis: “I’m always delighted when students decide to follow the path to a Master of Wine qualification; Geisenheim offers them an excellent starting point.”
The focus of the program was on the Nahe wine region as a ‘terroir wonder’, home to over 180 types of soil as well as many innovative young winemakers. Johannes Tesch presented a Riesling from the Laubenheimer Krone vineyard – a wine that Stuart Pigott praised as “super racy, lean, focused, and full of radiance”.
One topic raised during the discussion was social commitment: the Tesch winery works together with a sheltered workshop, offering people with disabilities the chance to work in the vineyards under the motto: “Riesling knows no disability.”
Caro Maurer also spoke about the experience of becoming the first German Master of Wine in 2011, and how she – unable to get her hands on any champagne – celebrated with a Rotkäppchen piccolo on one of Usedom’s beaches: “the best wine of my life.”
Michael Apitz, a well-known artist from the Rheingau, drew a live caricature of the reigning wine queen Charlotte Weihl – now something of a tradition for prominent guests of 6Glasses1Bottle.
The next 6Glasses1Bottle will take the audience abroad to Tuscany on June 22, 2025. A recording of the most recent event is available at www.6glasses1bottle.de.
