The winery is located in the municipality of Vogtsburg-Oberrotweil (Kaiserstuhl area) in the German wine-growing region of Baden. The origins of the family go back to the 15th century. The great-grandfather of the current owners, Josef Bercher, was already bottling wine in 1900. In the 1950s, the Wiedemann and Bercher families jointly ran the Josef Bercher Erben winery. It was taken over by Beate Wiedemann-Schmidt and Franz Wilhelm Schmidt in 1985. Since 2007, their son Fabian Schmidt has been responsible for the development of the wines. Beate Wiedemann studied painting at the University of Freiburg. She designs artistic labels and regularly organises openings at the winery.
The vineyards cover ten hectares of vines with a total of 52 scattered plots in the single vineyard sites Feuerberg (Burkheim), Enselberg, Rosenkranz and Steinbuck (Bischoffingen), as well as Henkenberg and Käsleberg (Oberrotweil). They are planted with the red wine varieties Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo, as well as the white wine varieties Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, SilvanerSilvaner, Auxerrois, Kerner, Gewürztraminer and Muscat.
Quality criteria are healthy grapes without pest infestation thanks to extensive foliage care, as well as yield reduction through strict pruning and thinning out. Healthy and physiologically ripe grapes are harvested through selective harvesting in several passes. The wines are vinified separately according to vineyard or soil type and microclimate in order to emphasise the different characters. The white wines are fermented spontaneously and matured classically in stainless steel tanks. The red wines are matured in large wooden barrels or, in some cases, in barriques. Since the 1999 vintage, wines from the top vineyards have been labelled with 3 stars. Ice wines are also produced in years with favourable weather conditions.
