In 1870, Balthasar Ress set up a restaurant with its own wine business on the main street of the village of Hattenheim in the Rheingau. Ten years later, he purchased the estate next door, and after extensive renovations, opened “Hotel Ress.” It developed into one of the Rheingau’s leading hotels and helped shape the hospitality industry in the region for nearly a century. Today, as “Hotel Kronenschlösschen,” it once again enjoys an outstanding reputation.



The second generation – Balthasar Ress had seven children – was actively involved in the family business. The eldest son, Paul, took over the gatehouse at the nearby monastery Kloster Eberbach. Karl Ress, the prominent personality behind the hotel in Hattenheim, acquired the “Heimes Haus,” to expand the Ress winery. It is still owned by the family and serves as the estate manor. Good customer relations with hotel and restaurant guests led to a solid clientele for the wine estate and wine business. At that time, Karl Ress was solely responsible for managing both “Hotel Ress” and “Weingut Balthasar Ress.”

Karl Ress had no children. In 1946, he founded a limited partnership with his nephews Paul and Friedel Ress. Soon thereafter, the hotel was the site of historical events. In what is known today as the “tower suite,” Konrad Adenauer, Theodor Heuss and Carlo Schmidt met for days and weeks of discussions in 1947/1948 to prepare the postwar German Constitution.

Karl Ress died in 1966. He bequeathed his property to his nephews, but his will stipulated that the properties must remain intact during the ten years following his death. As such, it wasn’t until 1977 that the hotel and wine estate were divided between them. Paul Ress assumed ownership of the wine estate and Friedel Ress took over the hotel. At that time, the wine estate owned only a few hectares of vineyards. It wasn’t until after World War II that the estate’s holdings grew through the systematic lease or purchase of top sites in Hattenheim.

Paul Ress died in 1980 and left the wine estate to his son Stefan, who expanded its holdings to the present size of 46 ha (113 acres). In 1993, Ress purchased the former buildings of the local village cooperative winery at Rheinallee 50. With their impressive atmosphere, the various rooms and cellars at the original location (estate manor) have become sought-after venues for very original events.



Christian Ress, the son of Stefan Ress and fifth generation of the founding family, became actively involved in the family estate in 1999, after diverse professional training in Germany and abroad. In 2004, he became co-owner with his father, and in 2010, the director of business operations.

Thus, within five generations, the Balthasar Ress family business has developed into one of the leading wine estates of the region and a global player in the wine trade. A considerable portion of its wines are exported to markets around the world.

The capsules on Balthasar Ress wines have borne the logo of the VDP, or Prädikat Wine Estates, since 1990. The VDP logo, a stylized eagle bearing a cluster of grapes, is internationally recognized as a symbol of the finest wines of Germany. Since its founding in 1910, the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter has been an association of fine wine estates whose members’ excellent reputations guarantee the high quality of their wines. Membership in this group of elite estates is granted only after an estate has been put through its paces. Balthasar Ress’s membership in the VDP confirms that the estate voluntarily complies with VDP standards regarding vineyard maintenance and cellar practices. These exceed the minimums prescribed by law and are based on working with respect for nature.