Annette Schiller on facebook: Whoever missed this evening missed a phenomenal dinner. Seldomly I have seen such a perfect and innovative pairing of wine and food. Cudos to Christian Ress and RIS Restaurant.
Renowned winemaker Christian Ress of Weingut Balthasar Ress in the Rheingau, Germany, was in town (Washington DC). Annette and I had the pleasure of enjoying a most entertaining winemaker dinner with him at RIS, one of the top restaurants in Washington DC.
Christian, as he put it, came with 2 hats.
First, fifth-generation owner of Weingut Balthasar Ress, a German elite estate.
Second, as the head of the wineBank family, which is about to expand to the USA, in Washington DC and Austin/ Texas. The original wineBank in Hattenheim, the brain child of Christian, is a members-only lounge with wine storage facilities that is open 24 hours 7 days a week. The wineBank Frankurt additionally has a wine bar which is open to the general public. The wineBANK in Washington DC, which will be called WineLair Washington DC, will follow the Frankfurt model with a bar and a lounge open to the general public.
WineLair Washington DC is scheduled to open in a couple of months in a 5,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by an art gallery along the West End strip (1120 22nd Street NW) that counts the Ritz-Carlton as tenant. WineLair Austin/ Texas is now expected to open after WineLair Washington DC although it was initially thought to be the first WineLair in the USA.
I have been several times to the wineBANK Hattenheim, including on a Germany wine tour by ombiasy WineTours. At another time, I was a guest at the wineBank Hattenheim for a special event with Ernst Loosen, owner of world-renowned Weingut Dr. Loosen in the Mosel Valley. The winemaker dinner with Christian Ress at RIS was the same kind of thing: an event of the WineLair Washington DC special wine event series (that has just begun).
Christian Ress talked about his wineBank project that he started 10 years ago and is now going to the USA. He talked about Weingut Balthasar Ress in Hattenheim, one of Germany's elite wine estates, of which he is the fifth-generation owner. A seven-course menu by RIS’s James Beard-nominated chef, Ris Lacoste, was carefully chosen to accompany the wines. Incidentally what was announced as "passed hors d’oeuvres" was a 7-course dinner. I particular, I loved the wild mushroom risotto which was served towards the end of the dinner.
The wines were outstanding as was the 7-course menu by Chef Ris Lacoste. Restaurant RIS DC has a plate and 2 forks in the 2020 Michelin Guide. It was a most enjoyable evening foreshadowing what is gonna come with the WineLair Washington DC. When we got home it was almost midnight. Thanks Christian Ress and Steven Buttlar for a great evening.
Invitation
Join Businessman Christian Ress, known above all as the owner of the Balthasar Ress vineyards, and founder of wineBANK, for an intimate dinner and presentation of his award winning wines from Rheingau, Germany. Enjoy a seated masterclass wine tasting at RIS located in the heart of Washington DC’s West End. Passed hors d’oeuvres by RIS’s James Beard-nominated chef, Ris Lacoste, have been carefully selected to accompany the wines.
Taste a selection of six wines from Rheingau, Germany
Learn about climates and Rheingau wine classifications
Understand how natural factors influence wine style
Learn about biodynamic and organic viticulture
Hone your wine tasting skills
You will have an opportunity to place wine orders for direct shipment after the event
Join us on a hard hat tour of wineLAIR’s upcoming location in Washington, DC
Thursday, October 24, 2019
7:00pm-9:30pm
RIS- 2275 L Street NW
Washington, DC 20037
Limited to 30 participants
WineLair: An Elite European Wine Club Is Checking In Next to the West End Ritz-Carlton
WineLair will double as a members-only storage facility and wine bar
by Tierney Plumb Feb 7, 2019
Apparently some D.C. oenophiles have bottles so pricey or rare they feel uncomfortable keeping them at home. Luckily for them, a secure wine vault-slash-bar — complete with climate-control capabilities and insurance — is expected to land in D.C. soon.
WineLair, the American branch of the German-based WineBank, is sliding into a vacant 5,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by an art gallery along the West End strip (1120 22nd Street NW) that counts the Ritz-Carlton and Equinox as tenants. The business already has its liquor license approved and was originally expected to open by the end of 2018.
Along with a private members cellar and personal lockers for safekeeping, the wine cave will also house a bar and lounge open to the public. Along with wines available by the glass and the bottle, the menu is expected to feature meats, cheeses, breads, and light fare “brought in from neighboring restaurants,” according to the ABRA notice posted on the door. Ris, Rasika West End, Westend Bistro, and Upper West Side Cafe all sit nearby.
WineBank was started a decade ago by Christian Ress, the owner of Balthasar Ress vineyards in Germany. WineLair’s first U.S. location is expected to open in Austin, with D.C. trailing behind. Ron Wight, who ran the now-shuttered Uncorked Tasting Room and Wine Bar in Austin, is spearheading the U.S. expansion. Eater reached out to Wight for comment.
Along with invites to private tastings and events, U.S. club members are granted access to the brand’s nine locations across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Each site sports its own opulent style, so it’s unclear what D.C.’s inaugural location will look like.
D.C. got another exclusive drinking club last year with the arrival of Scotts Restaurant & Bar’s adjoining whiskey den, accessed by members via a fingerprint scan.
WineLair’s membership prices are dictated by the size and location of the vaults inside, but a 35-bottle vault in Frankfort runs 99€ monthly ($112). Invoices tack on expenditures on food and drink throughout the month, much like a country club tab.
D.C.’s WineLair can hold 199 people and hopes to open daily at 8 a.m. and serve late until last call, according to the ABRA license.
Weingut Balthasar Ress
Area under vine: 42 ha / 109 acres
Main grape varieties: Riesling, Spätburgunder
Bottles per year: 250,000
Christian Ress: In 1870, the Balthasar Ress winery was founded in Hattenheim. What began with a butcher's shop and a restaurant quickly developed into a wine trade and a winery, which today is one of the leading businesses in the region and in the country. Today, almost 150 years after its foundation, the Balthasar Ress Winery is still completely owned by the Ress family. Stefan and Christian Ress are the fourth and fifth generation. Oliver Schmid, who joined the estate in 2014 as vineyard manager, has become operations manager in 2018 and is now in charge of the entire production, making - together with the support of winemaker Stephan Sänger - Balthasar Ress wines what they are today.
We are Rheingau winegrowers and our wines reflect what our soils, microclimate and philosophy can achieve. We produce native wine - the counter-design to the interchangeable mainstream. Wine with character and great potential. Since 2010, we have slowly and continuously incorporated "organic viticulture" for our vineyards. Every year, we have converted additional areas and in 2019, the entire company got certified. We work with nature and not against it and take the right time into account in everything we do.
History of Weingut Balthasar Ress
The Ress family is an old, established family in Hattenheim. For generations, they were butchers, and the butcher shop "Metzgerei Ress" exists to this day. In 1870, Balthasar Ress, who was a butcher himself, founded the inn "Gasthof Ress" on Hattenheim's main street, thereby laying the cornerstone of a long tradition in the hotel and restaurant business as well as the wine estate and wine business.
Since then, Carl, Paul, Stefan and now Christian Ress have been at the helm of the Ress Empire. By the 1920s, a thriving wine business had developed. In 1947, Carl Ress founded "Balthasar Ress KG - Wine Estate Proprietor, Winery, Hotel Ress." After Paul Ress’ death in the early 1980s, the family's entire properties were redistributed. Stefan Ress' siblings received the properties in Rüdesheim; he remained the proprietor of Weingut Balthasar Ress.
In 1999, Stefan's son Christian Ress entered the business as the fifth generation of the founding family. He became General Manager in 2010. Since then, he has continued to expand the wine estate, which today comprises 42 hectares. Christian Ress has achieved considerable attention in the wine trade for innovative projects, such as planting Germany's most northerly vineyard on the island of Sylt, near the border with Denmark, in 2009 and opening the wineBANK in Hattenheim in 2009.
Christian Ress
Since 1999, after several professional apprenticeships in Germany and abroad, Stefan's son, Christian Ress, entered the business as the fifth generation of the founding family. In 2004, he became a co-proprietor of the estate with his parents, and in 2010, assumed responsibility as director of business operations. Since then, he has continued to expand the wine estate, which today comprises 46 ha (ca. 114 acres). Christian Ress has achieved considerable attention in the wine trade for innovative projects, such as planting Germany's most northerly vineyard on the island of Sylt, near the border with Denmark, in 2009; opening the wineBANK in Hattenheim in 2009; "sinking" bottles of RESSpekt in 2010; and last but not least, through his tireless, quality-oriented efforts within the realm of sustainable viticulture.
Christian Ress has consistently pursued opportunities to steadily develop the brand Balthasar Ress in numerous, principal export markets by founding, in conjunction with strategically important partners, his own import and distribution company in Oslo, B&R Wine AS, and the sales agencies/brokers Veritable Wines & Estates KG and Veritable Vins & Domaines KG
Picture: Christian Schiller with Christian Ress in Berlin in 2010. See: Germany's Grosses Gewaechs Wines - Premiere 2010 in Berlin
RIS Restaurant Review
Gayot.com
Ris Lacoste, formerly the executive chef of 1789 Restaurant, cooks at her own establishment in the West End, which features creative American comfort food. RIS may come across as an exclusive setting, but Lacoste herself sees this venue as the ultimate in neighborhood drop-in places, ideal for a cup of coffee while working on a computer, after-work drinks with chums, and fancier dinner parties in one of the private rooms. (Note that despite the casual approach, proper attire is required, so don’t plan to straggle in with sweats on.) Although the emphasis is on familiar eating, RIS stresses local sourcing, so some of the appetizers, such as the spring onion and red snapper sashimi, or the entrée of rabbit pappardelle, are high-end and likely farm fresh. Many of the desserts have a homemade touch, including the butterscotch pudding and the Rissy's Peanut Butter Cup. A take-out menu is available.
The Dinner
It was a most enjoyable evening foreshadowing what is gonna come with the Wine Lair DC. When we got home it was almost midnight.
The Food
The wines were outstanding as was the 7-course menu by Chef Ris Lacoste. Ris DC has a plate and 2 folks in the 2020 Michelin Guide.
Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad
Jumbo Lump Crab Cake
Shrimp Tempura
Chef's Selection of Cheese
Pear Ginger Sorbet
Wild Mushroom Risotto
Warm Pear Almond Tart
The Wines
Christian poured 5 wines. Actually, these were the wines that Total Wine had ordered and were ready to be shipped to the USA. Then came the Trump decision to levy an additional 25% tax on German and other wines, Christian explained, and the order was stopped. The wines are sitting and Germany and Christian Ress and Total Wine are waiting for how things will develop.
NV Weingut Balthasar Ress Riesling Sekt Brut VDP.Gutswein
2017 Weingut Balthasar Ress Hattenheimer NUSSBRUNNEN Riesling GG trocken VDP.Grosse Lage
2018 Weingut Balthasar Ress Hattenheimer Riesling trocken VDP.Ortswein
2017 Weingut Balthasar Ress Hattenheimer Schützenhaus Riesling Kabinett VDP.Erste Lage
2017 Weingut Balthasar Ress Von Userem Pinot Noir trocken VDP.Gutswein
schiller-wine: Related Postings
UPCOMING Tours/ Wine Dinners/ Tastings - Annette and Christian Schiller/ ombiasyPR & WineTours/ schiller-wine, Germany, France, USA (Issued: October 1, 2019)
Annual Riesling Party at the Schiller Residence in Washington DC, USA (2019)
Upcoming: American Wine Society (AWS) National Conference on October 31 to November 3, 2019, at St. Pete Beach in Florida, with 2 Events by Annette Schiller on "Renaissance of Terroir in Germany: Back to the Roots" and "Syrah and Shiraz: Is there any Difference, do they Taste the Same?", USA
Tasting at Weingut Balthasar Ress, Hattenheim, Rheingau, with Stefan Ress, Germany
German Wine in Singapore
German Wine and Culture Tour by ombiasy, 2013
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