Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard

Open: Year Round

As a native of Bernkastel, Germany who emigrated to the Finger Lakes in the 1960s, Hermann J. Wiemer was uniquely qualified to help establish and create a wine region now known for its Riesling identity. His mother's family had been making wine in Germany's Mosel Valley for more than 300 years. His father, Josef, a skilled nurseryman, had been in charge of the Agricultural Experiment Station in Bernkastel and was responsible for restoring vines in the Mosel region after WWII. As a result, he recognized the importance of grafting vinifera on American rootstock. Ultimately, this conviction led Hermann's father to convince Dr. Thanisch - who maintained the most famous Riesling vineyard in the world - to graft Mosel Rieslings onto American rootstock.

Hermann spent the summers of his youth learning to graft by hand and later complemented the skill and knowledge passed from father to son by attending Germany's premier winemaking and viticultural institutions. However, it wasn't until his experience in the Pfalz at the Viticultural Research institute in Neustadt (Forschungsinstitut fur Reblausbekampfung und Wiederaufbau der LLFA Neustadt) that Hermann was finally able to put his life experiences and education to practice. This practical training and research institute, headed by the influential Dr. Helmut Becker, only accepted three admissions per year... and Hermann was one of them.