Berry Bros. & Rudd USA - A Celebration of Women in Wine: Eva Fricke, Weingut Eva Fricke, Rheingau, Germany (March 2026)

 

Pictures: Tasting at Weingut Eva Fricke in Eltville, Rheingau, with Eva Fricke - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours 

 

Berry Bros. & Rudd is a famous wine store in London, U.K. Recently they branched out to the USA and opened their first store, in Washington DC. In March, celebrating women in wine, they offer 5 wines, all made by female winemakers. 

 

One them is Eva Fricke, Weingut Eva Fricke, Rheingau, Germnay. We visited her on our last Germany Tour by ombiasy WineTours in 2024. See below. 

 

The next Germany wine tour by ombiasy WineTours is scheduled for June 28 to July 9, 2026. There are still 2 rooms available. Go to ombiasy WineTours if you are interested.  

 

Berry Bros. & Rudd USA   

 

A Celebration of Women in Wine

Our story starts with a woman. In 1698, Widow Bourne opened a shop at No. 3 St. James Street in London and, in doing so, laid the foundation for what would become Berry Bros. & Rudd. Her business acumen built something that has endured for over three centuries; it's a legacy we're proud to carry forward. This Women's History Month, we're honoring her spirit by celebrating the talented women who continue to shape the world of wine today with a curated collection by female winemakers, producers, and château founders. Each bottle shares a story of passion, precision, and craft.  Here are the wines we're proud to share with you this March:

SHOP THE WOMEN IN WINE COLLECTION

2019 Gusbourne Estate, Blanc de Noirs, Kent ($99.95) Raised in Scotland by a farming father, Mary Bridges started out working in hospitality before a love of wine led her to Plumpton College to study viticulture and enology. From there, she picked up harvests in the South of France and California, where she learned one of the most important lessons of her craft: "You can't just make wine by numbers... you've got to know when to close the spreadsheet and simply smell and taste."    Mary did her first Gusbourne harvest in 2018 before officially joining the team in 2020. In September 2023, at just 30 years old, she was appointed Head Winemaker, stepping up to lead the estate's largest-ever vintage.   This bottle is a perfect expression of the estate's character: generous and rounded, with ripe red cherry, strawberry, and red apple notes alongside a mineral streak of slate and toasted pastry.

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2024 Riesling, Trocken, Eva Fricke, Rheingau ($39.95)    At 17, Eva Fricke discovered her love of wine while working harvests in Germany and South Africa and she never looked back. She went on to study viticulture and enology at the renowned Geisenheim University, interned across Spain and Australia, and produced her very first vintage in 2006.    Today, Weingut Eva Fricke spans 17 hectares, is fully certified organic, and in 2020 became the first Rheingau estate to ever receive three 100-point ratings from top reviewers. None of this is accidental. Eva's philosophy is rooted in listening: "It is my ambition to decipher the individual expression of the soils, the local climate, and the specific details of each vintage," she said.    That ambition is beautifully captured in this 2024 Trocken. The fruit has immediate impact, yet there's a familiar firm core of steely intensity that carries it all forward with notes of white fruit, and a hint of honey.

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2023 Il Frappato, Arianna Occhipinti, Sicily ($69.95)   Arianna Occhipinti has been making wine in Sicily's southeastern Vittoria since she was 22 years old. She makes, in her own words, "human wine" - wines that are a pure expression of their territory, shaped by natural and biodynamic practices and indigenous grapes.   That philosophy of patience and stewardship runs through everything she does. As she writes in her memoir Natural Woman: "I read a sentence by Saint Exupéry: We don’t inherit land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. I like it because it ties me to that which I am, to my way of working the land, and at the same time it throws me toward the future.”   The wine itself delivers on every promise. Bright black raspberry, red cherry compote, and rose water lead the way, with hints of white pepper, cinder, and hay in the background. The texture is silky and mineral-driven, finishing with a mild dusty tannic bite that is fruity, smoky, and long.

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2005 Castillo Ygay, Gran Reserva Especial, Marqués de Murrieta, Rioja ($299)   María Vargas has a simple philosophy: "To make a wine, there's only one secret... the best grapes." It's a deceptively straightforward belief, but in the hands of the woman who serves as Technical Director of both Marqués de Murrieta in Rioja and Pazo de Barrantes in Rías Baixas, it becomes a blueprint for greatness.   Vargas was entrusted with the technical direction of Marqués de Murrieta at just 25 years old. She has guided the historic estate toward a philosophy that balances tradition with modernity, always with elegance and harmony at the center. In 2021, that work earned her the title of Best Winemaker in the World at the Women in Wine & Spirits Award, a fitting recognition for someone who has spent her career letting the vineyard speak. The supreme quality of the raw materials has resulted in a wine of great character and depth. The nose is a jamboree of cherries, spice-box, and forest floor and the palate is silky and charming.

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2021 Dalla Valle, Collina, Napa Valley ($159)   Dalla Valle Vineyard was founded in 1986 by Naoko and her late husband, Gustav. After his passing in 1995, Naoko continued to run the business and, in 2017, Dalla Valle became a generational winery when Maya Dalla Valle joined as director. Prior to joining the family business, she earned a master’s degree in viticulture and enology from Cornell University, and a master’s of business and science degree in vineyard and winery management from France’s prestigious Bordeaux Science Agro. She gained hands-on winemaking experience at Pétrus, Château Latour and other prestigious estates.     “Dalla Valle is my home. It is also my family’s legacy,” says Maya. “I am so excited to be working alongside my mom. Dalla Valle is her life’s work, and what she has created is remarkable. I also know that the greatest wineries are judged in terms of decades and generations, and that our story is still being written. I am honored to be carrying our family’s legacy into a second generation.”   This wine has a deep and alluring profile of ripe black cherries, plums and cassis, alongside a layer of freshness and vibrant acidity that balances it brilliantly.   Tasting at Weingut Eva Fricke in Eltville, Rheingau, with Eva Fricke - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours    See:  Pictures: Tasting at Weingut Eva Fricke in Eltville, Rheingau, with Eva Fricke - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours  Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours took place from August 28 – Friday, September 06, 2024. We spent 10 days visiting top wine estates in five wine regions, tasting fabulous Rieslings and Pinot Noir (aka Spätburgunder), meeting world-renowned wine makers, travelling through the world’smost beautiful wine regions, cruising on the romantic Rhein river, looking at dizzying steep vineyards along the Rhein and Mosel rivers, and delving deep into German history and culture: Rheinhessen • Rheingau • Mittelrhein • Mosel • Nahe Rheingau The next two days we explored the Rheingau wine region, by many considered the jewel in the crown because of its legendary aristocratic history of world-famous wine estates. It is a fairly small wine region with about 8,000 acres of vineyards. The Rhein river originates in Switzerland and flows north where it empties into the North Sea in the Netherlands. The Taunus mountains force the Rhein river to make a sudden turn. Near Wiesbaden the Rhein turns west at a right angle and continues flowing east to west for about 19 miles before it turns north again. The Rheingau is the narrow strip on the south-facing slope of the Taunus along the Rhein river. We are here at 50° north of latitude but the huge body of water and the protective Taunus hills make the Rheingau perfect for grape growing. It is a predominantly Riesling region with a historic pocket of perfect terroir on the steep south-facing slopes around Assmannshausen for producing stunning Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir). Tasting at Weingut Eva Fricke in Eltville, Rheingau This was a tasting only event. We were received by Eva Fricke and two staff members. This wine estate was only founded in 2006, and has an unusual upbringing. Eva Fricke was not born into a winemaker family. She was born in Bremen – both her parents were physicians – and wanted to become a beer brewer. Still in her teenage years, during one summer she was working at a wine estate in South Africa and she was bitten by the wine bug.  After studying oenology at the famous Geisenheim oenological university and doing stints at many wineries around the world she returned to Germany and started working at wineries in the Rheingau.  In 2006 she was able to produce her first vintage and since then she has established her winery in Eltville and farms 42 acres in top sites in the Rheingau. She concentrates on producing Riesling, she has a tiny bit of Pinot Noir, Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) and Silvaner which she also uses for producing ‘Winzersekt’, the German term for sparkling wine made in the traditional method by a second fermentation in the bottle. Her wines have received many high scores from famous international wine critics including a perfect 100-point score from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. From the start Eva worked according to organic and biodynamic methods, fermentation is done spontaneously and her wines spend many months on their fine lees to gain weight and complexity, while at the same time arresting freshness. Stephan Reinhard Robert Parker Wine Advocate 2020 Eva Fricke is going Burgundy. In fact, she not only travels to Burgundy occasionally, due to her pure passion for Pinot Noir, she also goes Burgundy on her wine labels. While the legal information is put on the back label, the front label only shows what's really important: the name of the region (Rheingau), the village (either Kiedrich or Lorch) or the single vineyard (i.e., Krone, Schlossberg or Seligmacher) and, if it comes to the (German) predicates, the term Spätlese or Auslese. Like this, German wine labels are very easy to understand. For example, Kiedrich contains nothing but Riesling, and the Riesling originates only from Kiedrich. A Kiedrich is always classified as quality wine from the Rheingau. If it was a sweet wine, you would see an added predicate too. As long as there is no predicate given, the wine is either dry (trocken) or at least kind of dry (which means it tastes dry even with some grams of residual sugar due to low pH levels).  James Suckling/ Stuart Pigott 2024 ...There could hardly be a greater contrast to all this history and tradition than Eva Fricke, who founded her garage winery in 2006 with just 0.1 hectare of vineyards in Lorch at the western tip of the Rheingau. She now has 18 hectares of vineyards, the focus still on Lorch, which Stuart describes as the lost world of Rheingau riesling thanks to these steep vineyards with stony soils remaining stubbornly under the radar. Today, the Eva Fricke winery is housed in an extremely modern light industrial unit on the edge of the Rheingau town of Eltville. The properly dry Eva Fricke Riesling Rheingau Krone Trocken 2023 has a mind-bending concentration of yellow peach and Amalfi lemon character with a mineral freshness that’s like the beam of a lighthouse shining to the horizon. At the other end of the sweetness spectrum there is the equally astonishing Eva Fricke Riesling Rheingau Schlossberg Trockenbeerenauslese 2023. Yes, this is a luscious, nobly sweet wine, but it is also incredibly compact and focused with gigantic energy and acidity. It should live for many decades, if you can resist it during the next few years. Production was extremely limited. Stuart was also very impressed with the wines Eva Fricke will release from later this year under the name “Eltville Collection.” They come from a very old vineyard close to the Eva Fricke winery that used to belong to the legendary Schloss Eltz estate. It wound up operations just before James and Stuart first met, but collectors still hunt down the Schloss Eltz wines on the secondary market. On the basis of these first wines, they may well do the same for the Eltville Collection in the future. Arriving Tasting with Eva Fricke The Wines Bye-bye Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours: Already Released and Forthcoming Postings Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Braunewell in Essenheim, Rheinhessen, with Stefan Braunewell - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Tasting at Weingut Thörle in Saulheim, Rheinhessen, with Christoph Thörle, Johannes Thörle and Uta Thörle - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Grauburgunder (French: Pinot Gris - Italian: Pinot Grigio) and Dinner at Restaurant Lumen - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Tasting at Weingut Eva Fricke in Eltville, Rheingau, with Eva Fricke - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Cellar Tour and Tasting at Wein- und Sektgut Barth (VDP) in Hattenheim, Rheingau, with Mark Barth and Alexia Putze - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Lunch at the Abbey Tavern and Guided Tour of Eberbach Abbey (founded by Cistercian monks at about the same time as the famous Château de Clos de Vougeot in Burgundy) - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Kloster Eberbach (VDP) in Eltville, Rheingau, with Head-winemaker Katrin Puff - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Wine-pairing Dinner with Wines of Weingut Balthasar Ress at Restaurant Kronenschlösschen, with Weingut Balthasar Ress Senior Boss Stefan Ress, Kronenschlösschen Head-sommelier Florian Richter  (Best German Sommelier 2024 - Sommelier Union), Chef Roland Gorgosilich and Owner Johanna Ullrich - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Georg Breuer in Rüdesheim, Rheingau, with Theresa Breuer - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Schloss Johannisberg (VDP), with Dieter Salomon - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Lunch and Impromptu Tasting of Weingut Familie Allendorf Wines with Ulrich Allendorf and Max J. Schönleber at Restaurant Allendorf am Rhein - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Tasting at Weingut Peter Jakob Kühn (VDP) in Oestrich-Winkel, Rheingau, with Peter Bernhard Kühn - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Tasting at Weingut August Kesseler (VDP) in Assmannshausen, Rheingau, with August Kesseler - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Lunch, Tasting and Vineyard Tour at Weingut Lanius Knab (VDP) in Oberwesel, Mittelrhein, with Jörg Lanius - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Cruise on the Rhein, from Boppard to Koblenz, passing the famous Loreley Rock - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Tour of the Fortress Ehrenbreitstein - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Lunch and Impromptu Wine Tasting of the Wines of Weingut Madame Flöck, with Weingut Madame Flöck Owner/ Winemaker Robert Wade, Verbene Bistro Chef Tim Johnston, Restaurant Verbene Michelin starred Chef/ Owner David Weigang and Partner Verena Schimmel - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Tasting at the 2024 Weinfest in Winningen - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Tour of Eltz Castle, a True Fairy-tale Medieval Castle in the Hills above the Mosel, Built more than 850 Years ago by the Eltz Family - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Lunch at Restaurant Heim in Hotel Reiler Hof (Michelin Bib Gourmand) in Reil - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Melsheimer in Reil, Middle Mosel, with Thorsten Melsheimer - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Tasting at Weingut Clemens Busch (VDP) in Pünderich, Middle Mosel, with Oda Berthold - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Weingut Dr. Thanisch, Erben Müller-Burggraef Wines and Overnight Stay at the Brand-new, High-end Deinhard’s Hotel in Bernkastel-Kues - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Tasting Weingut Dr.Loosen (VDP) in Bernkastel-Kues, Middle Mosel, with Anne Juchem - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Tasting at Weingut Max Ferdinand Richter in Mülheim, Middle Mosel, with Dirk Richter - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Tasting at Weingut Hermann Ludes in Thörnich, Middle Mosel, with Julian Ludes - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Tasting at Weingut Günther Steinmetz in Brauneberg, Middle Mosel, with Sammy Steinmetz - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours  Tasting at Weingut Matthias Hild in Wincheringen, Upper Mosel, with Matthias and Jonas Hild - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Lunch with Wines from Luxemburg at Koeppchen Bistro-Brasserie in Wormeldange-Haut in Luxembourg - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Van Volxem (VDP) in Wiltingen, Saar, with Lukas Büchner - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Asian Themed Wine-pairing Dinner at Dian's in Bernkastel-Kues, led by Janet Cam and Annette Schiller - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Tasting at Weingut H. Dönnhoff (VDP), Oberhausen, Nahe, with Anne Dönnhoff - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Lunch at Hermannshöhle Restaurant Weck in Niederhausen - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours  Tasting at Weingut Korrell Johanneshof in Bad Kreuznach, Nahe, with Sonja Reinbold and Martin Korell - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Wine-pairing Dinner at Restaurant Kruger-Rumpf, Weingut Kruger-Rumpf (VDP), with Stefan Rumpf - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours Tasting and Bottling at Schlossgut Diel (VDP) in Rümmelsheim, Nahe, with Sylvain and Caroline Diel - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours