Christian Ress owns Weingut Balthasar Ress in the Rheingau. Christian was in Washington DC as the boss of a renowned German winery but also as the "father" of the European/ American WineBANK/ WineLAIR family.
Christian is one of those winemakers who also have a strong entrepreneurial mind. When he moved the winery from the old facilities in the center of Hattenheim, where Christian and Stefan Ress continue to live, to more modern facilities at the entrance of Hattenheim, he used some of the space that became idle to open the wineBANK Rheingau in 2009, a members-only lounge with wine storage facilities that is open 24 hours 7 days a week.
Over the following years, the WineBANK Rheingau expanded into a network of WineBANKS in Europe. The WineBANK Frankurt additionally has a wine bar which is open to the general public. There are now 8 wineBANKS in Europe.
A couple of years ago, Fred Ellemann from Washington DC and Texas, a long-time fan of Weingut Balthaar Ress wines and regular visitor of the Riesling Gala, an annual celebration of Riesling at Kloster Eberbach in the Rheingau, suggested to Christian to expand the WineBANK family to the USA. The first American WineBANK, called WineLAIR in the USA, opened in 2019 in Washington DC during the covid-pandamic. It opened 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.
As of now, it is the only WineLAIR in the USA, but Fred plans to expand the network of wineLAIRS in the USA rapidly over the coming years. His plan is to open 2 new WineLAIRS every year and he has hired Jonathan Krinn, formerly Clarity Restaurant in Vienna/ Virginia, to make his dream true.
I have been several times to the WineBANK Rheingau, including on a Germany wine tour by Ombiasy Public Relations and Wine Tours. I am a regular guest of the WineBANK Frankfurt, when I am in Germany.
I have also met Fred Elleman several times over in Germany at the annual Riesling Gala at Kloster Eberbach in the Rheingau.
Thera are now 9 WineBANK and wineLAIR clubs in the world with 2000plus members. As a member of one club, you have access to all WineBANK and WineLAIR clubs in the world.
Thanks Fred, Christian and Jonathan for a wonderful evening.
The dinner was the first of a series of wine dinners with Christian Ress over several days while he was in Washington DC. Here is Jonathan Krinn on facebook:
The Dinner at Wainlair, Washington DC
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.
Pictures: Christian and Annette Schiller at WineBANK Frankfurt
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.
Pictures: Annette Schiller, Christian Schiller and Stefan Ress in the wineBank in Hattenheim in 2013 during the: German Wine and Culture Tour by ombiasy, 2013. See: Tasting at Weingut Balthasar Ress, Hattenheim, Rheingau, with Stefan Ress, Germany
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.
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.
Picture: Christian Schiller with Christian Ress in Berlin in 2010. See: Germany's Grosses Gewaechs Wines - Premiere 2010 in Berlin
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