In the Pauillac appellation of Bordeaux, Claire Villars-Lurton owns Château Haut-Bages Libéral—a Fifth Growth. Claire is a champion of sustainable viticulture and a leader of the agroforestry and agroecology movement in Bordeaux. Château Haut-Bages Libéral was granted the title of Grand Cru Classé in 1885 and was bought by the Villars family in 1983 who eventually passed it onto Claire.

While Saale-Unstrut may sound unfamiliar to some, it’s home to centuries of German winemaking history and dedicated vintners. Vines have been cultivated in Germany’s most northerly wine region since AD 998, typically with low yields due to tough growing conditions and conflict in the 20th century. 

In the 21st century, came Konni and Evi, local heroes in the return to quality wine from Saale-Unstrut. The couple has continued to work together to make spectacular Saale-Unstrut wines since launching the Konni & Evi brand in 2016, where they are involved in every part of the winemaking process, from vineyard to bottle.

Originally from Alsace, the Baly family has managed the Château Coutet vineyard – one of the largest and oldest in Barsac – for two generations. With the help of his two sons, Phillipe and Dominique, Marcel Baly set out to revamp the vineyard and its historic buildings in 1977. 

Aline Baly, granddaughter of Marcel, is the most recent member of the Baly family to join the business, though she did not always picture herself following in her family’s footsteps. After a life-changing experience interning with Château Rothschild in 2007, however, Aline resolved to return to the family business. She began working at Château Coutet in 2018, working day-to-day with her uncle and managing the marketing and communications for the estate.  

Located in the Kaiserstuhl area of Baden, the Salwey estate sits on top of an extinct volcano in Germany’s most sun-drenched and southernmost region. While the family’s viticultural roots reach back to the 18th century, the name Salwey didn’t join the family-operated winery until three generations ago.

Today, Konrad Salwey is responsible for the strategic direction of the winery, working to maintain the balance of rich tradition and industry-altering innovation. Salwey is best known for experimenting with new techniques and procedures, working to advance the style of vinification.

The Milhade family established their roots in the Saint-Emilion region of Bordeaux in 1938, beginning with the historic Château Recougne. Well-known in Saint-Emilion, Château Recougne has produced wines for over 400 years. Its name is said to have been given by King Henry IV in the early 17th century in “recognition” of the fine quality of its wine.

Over the last decades, the Milhade family has solidified Château Recougne and its 247 acres of vines as a leader in Bordeaux Supérieur red wines, though its dry whites and rosés are also renowned for their high quality and immense aging potential. Each generation of the Milhade family was raised among these vines, living and breathing winemaking since childhood.

Born on Christmas Eve in 1989, Julia Baltes (née Bertram) grew up in Dernau in the German wine region of the Ahr – one of the smallest and most northerly regions of Germany’s 13 official wine regions.

Wine was always a part of Julia’s life. Her family has grown vines and produced wine in the Ahr Valley for more than a century. She interned at the nearby Meyer-Näkel estate after graduating high school and went on to study viticulture and oenology at the acclaimed Geisenheim Institute in the Rheingau region. Soon after receiving her degree, Julia was elected the 64th German Wine Queen, serving as international ambassador for the German Wine Institute from 2012-2013 (Fun fact: Julia’s grandmother Rosemarie was elected Dernau’s wine queen in 1959!)

She then returned to the family business as the fifth generation to lead the estate, producing her first line of wines in 2014. Julia officially took over the estate from her mother and aunt in 2017 and transitioned to organic viticulture in 2019.

Today, Julia and her husband, Benedikt Baltes, run the family estate together. Benedikt is also a winemaker from the Ahr with a similar passion for Pinot Noir. He currently splits his time between the Bertram estate and Weingut Steintal – formerly Stadt Klingenberg – in Franken.

With Benedikt joining the Bertram family estate, Weingut Julia Bertram officially changed its name to Weingut Bertram-Baltes in March 2020.

Marketing, Communication, Events and Procurement Manager

Carole Lecourt is young, versatile, and comes from a noble line of winemakers at Château Lecourt Caillet. Not afraid to get her hands dirty, Carole is equally involved on the farm, in the vineyards and cellar, and mingling at events. With her deep family knowledge of wine, Carole has been an integral force in creating younger fans and drinkers of Lecourt wine with her label Rosé Princesse by Carole Lecourt.

Since 2011, Pierre Brunot has been laser-focused on producing superior product from his 2,436 grapevines. Having learned the wonders of wine production from his grandfather on the very land he tends to now, Brunot’s experience and love of wine runs deep. In order to continue on the legacy of the vineyard, Brunot has enlisted the services of renowned oenologist and consultant, Emmanuel Villega. Early positive feedback on their collaborative vintages has validated his work, and he is paying equal attention to the label and packaging of his flagship product. Looking to the future, Brunot is opening a tasting room to greet visitors interested in discovering such a small, well-preserved terroir (0.38 hectares) that produces a truly home-grown wine.

Simona Maier is an accomplished young, transgender winemaker in the Baden region, just finishing her term as local wine princess. Her father worked in grape production, and her childhood was rich with memories of being in the vineyards. She began a winegrowing apprenticeship directly after graduating high school and won a national competition for Best Young Agrarian, receiving a diploma from Angela Merkel. Prior to transitioning, Simona won a national competition for Best Young Agrarian, receiving a diploma from Angela Merkel. She works part-time as a winemaker for a wine estate and spends the rest of her time building up her own estate near Heidelberg in the Baden region. She produces two sparkling wines called Rosa Liebe and Bunte Liebe (Pink Love and Colourful Love).

Philipp Freitag is the natural winemaker behind the viral hashtag #NakedFriday, which playfully borrows from the translation of Freitag, meaning Friday in German. Truly natural in all of his endeavors, each #NakedFriday post he publishes features the winemaker naked in the vineyards or in his wine cellar. New to wine, Philipp finished his viticulture training in 2016, and has since been named one of the best winemakers in the region of Rheinhessen. Philipp produces a line of “Casual Freitag (Friday)” and “Thank God It’s Freitag (Friday)” wines, ideal for casual drinking, and when you’re ready to “switch to Friday mode.” Philipp truly knows how to mix business and pleasure!

Their story sounds like a modern fairytale: 4 sisters who grew up on a vineyard and one day, over a glass of wine, decided they would run it together and turn their family ties into a brand. Voilà! That’s how Weinschwestern, or Wine Sisters, was born. Amélie, Desiree, Beatrice and Cathryn Bihlmeyer all occupy different fields within the business and in the 9 years since taking over the estate from their parents, they have grown the company considerably, currently producing a total of 100,000 bottles per year. “Eat, Sleep, Riesling, Repeat” is not just the name of one of their wines, it’s also part of their life’s motto. They describe their wines as “uncomplicated, fragrant, refreshing and damn delicious,” the type of wine that will effortlessly carry anyone through a warm summer night.

The best wine gets made when the knowledge and quality of long-standing soil and tradition meets the progressiveness of a young heart passionate to continue a family legacy. This is very much the case of Daisy Sichel whose family immigrated to Bordeaux from England in 1961, the year her grandfather Peter Sichel first purchased Château Angludet. The entire family has since been involved in the business and have pushed Château Angludet into the limelight as one of Margaux’s most important vineyards. Daisy herself is the 7th generation of winemakers in the Sichel family. When she speaks of the estate’s wine, she sometimes refers to it as “magic liquid,” no doubt a sign for someone who lives and breathes for their craft.

The world-renowned village of Saint Émilion is home to some of the finest wines coming out of Bordeaux. It’s also where Paul-Arthur Bardet grew up on his family’s vineyard. First established in 1704, the Bardets look back on an impressive history of making wine. These days, the estate produces over 300,000 wines per year. Fun fact for Game of Thrones fans: the fictional Dornish wine characters like to drink on the series was turned into reality by these savvy winemakers, after Paul-Arthur’s brother, a die-hard GoT fan, had the idea of turning the legendary drink into an actual product.

Niko Brandner is proof that one doesn’t need a family in the wine business nor many years of experience to start one’s own wine brand and lead it to success. Niko was a young banker in Frankfurt when he realized that wearing suits and working 9-5 every day was not enough for him. He was 25, successful and miserable. It was then and there that he decided he would go into wine-making. He studied viticulture for 3 years and was subsequently offered a job running the sparkling winery Griesel which he has since turned into one of Germany‘s most eminent Sekt (sparkling wine) producers.

Eva Fricke hails from Bremen in the north of Germany, far away from the country’s wine growing regions. She grew up with parents who were both doctors, so wine seemed an unlikely path for Fricke. She decided to take up viticulture after being inspired by her grandmother, and soon found herself working on wine estates in Australia, Spain, Italy, and Germany before she hired a small vineyard of 0.25 hectares. Taking a hands-on, DIY approach, she virtually made her first wine in a garage. Her passion, expertise, and production has grown exponentially since then. Today, she has her own wine-estate in Rheingau with 10 hectares. Though not from Rheingau, Fricke has loved the challenge of the land, and has always “believed in the potential” in the region.

With a degree from the Bordeaux Institute of Oenology, Sandrine Garbay earned the admiration of her peers by climbing the ranks to become cellarmaster at Château d’Yquem, a superior producer of sweet white wines. While she witnesses more women entering the profession—a dozen women are currently cellarmasters in Bordeaux—Sandrine Garbay remains the only one in charge of a first grand cru classé. Her favorite vintages from Yquem are unexpected, at best: 2002 or 2004. “‘They’re not famous Sauternes vintages, but they give me most satisfaction because they were so difficult,” she says. It is that very dedication to hard work that has led Garbay to achieve greatness at Château d’Yquem.

Wine has always been part of Malika Faytout’s life story. With a lineage in winemaking that goes back six generations, Malika, born in Lescaneaut, is the eldest daughter of François Faytout, who worked the vineyards until 2001. Malika married Pascal Boueix in 1997, who, after completing his training as an architect, enthusiastically took on the study of viticulture and oenology. Pascal took the reins of the wine estate in 2002 and has since focused on natural wine that is mindful of the terroir. A graduate with a Doctorate in Psychology, a DUAD, and proud mother of three children, it is alongside Pascal that Malika returns to her first passion: wine.