Why it matters
The producer
Weinhaus Bettina Schumann is a young Baden producer founded in the Kaiserstuhl in 2015. Bettina Schumann began without family-held vineyard land, so each wine starts with grapes bought from selected sites farmed by growers she knows, then takes shape in rented cellar space. That structure puts selection at the centre of the bottle: the grape source can change, while fermentation, barrel choice and ageing provide continuity across the range.
Since April 2018, Schumann has worked with Melanie Panitzke, a sommelier, in a two-woman operation. The result is not an estate built around one named vineyard, but a producer whose labels follow Burgundy varieties, sparkling wine and small special releases through a shared cellar approach.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
The Kaiserstuhl sits within Baden, and that regional address is the starting point on every Weinhaus Bettina Schumann label. For this producer, place arrives through selected growers rather than a single estate holding: a Grauburgunder, a Pét-Nat Rosé and a Spätburgunder can each begin in a different chosen site before reaching the same cellar. The label therefore matters alongside the regional name, because it tells which grape and bottle style the grapes became.
The current base is in Königschaffhausen, in the Kaiserstuhl. It is a practical home for a business built without inherited land: fruit comes in from growers, then the work of fermentation, wood and ageing determines whether it becomes an everyday red-shoe wine, a gold-shoe bottle or a special release.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Schumann buys grapes from selected sites farmed by friendly growers, then makes the wines in rented cellar space. That arrangement makes vineyard choice a recurring task rather than a fixed inheritance: the fruit must be selected before the cellar can preserve its character.
Fermentation starts spontaneously with natural yeasts. The wines then mature in wooden barrels and receive long ageing. Schumann selects the wood, barrel size and proportion of barriques individually, specifically to avoid excessive oak impact. In practical terms, the barrel is intended to support fruit and texture instead of covering them with a heavy woody taste. The house’s stated style—brisk acidity balanced by fruit—has room to show through because the wood programme is adjusted wine by wine.
Wines to know
The range in view
The red-shoe, or Rotschuh, labels are the everyday branch of the range; gold-shoe, or Goldschuh, labels are reserved for wines intended for special occasions. Special releases sit separately, allowing the cellar to make room for bottles that do not fit the two main label signals.
Within that structure, the wines move through Burgundy varieties and sparkling wine. Famose Schose à la Pink 2019 is Grauburgunder matured in barrique, with nutty aroma noted in professional tasting material. That combination brings a white grape and wood together: the wine’s fruit is joined by a nutty, barrel-shaped note rather than presented as a purely fresh, stainless-steel style.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Choose the 2019 Famose Schose à la Pink. It is a Grauburgunder matured in barrique, and its recorded nutty aroma makes the cellar decision immediately tangible. The wine joins white-fruit character with barrel-derived texture and a nutty edge, while the producer’s brisk-acidity-and-fruit approach keeps the oak from becoming the whole story. It is a useful first bottle because grape, barrel and house style are all legible in one glass.