Robert Haller, the long-tenured and very much respected director of the Würzburg Bürgerspital (which he presided over for eighteen years) is going to retire and he will certainly be missed at the winery. Fortunately, he plans to continue on a little more as Franken VDP chairman, good news for the Franken and all those who love its wines, as it cannot be argued that the man has done a great job for the region, its wineries and its wines.

Haller enjoyed a stellar 40-year career as a cellar master, winemaker, and estate manager, who celebrated his retirement with about eighty invited guests, including colleagues from the Bürgerspital, members from VDP Franken, dignitaries from the Bundes-VDP, sommeliers and wine journalists. Haller has many achievements under his belt he can be proud of, not the least of which are some truly amazingly good wines made at the estate over the decades, but his crowning glory may well have been to gain EU protection for the prestigious, historically important Wurzburger Stein site (the wines of which are now protected much as Prosciutto di Parma is). Thanks to Haller’s drive and determination, and the three main biggest wineries of Würzburg teaming together (the Bürgerspital, the Juliusspital and the Staatlicher Hofkeller), this legislature was successfully pushed through, with the Stein’s central, highest quality thirty-eight hectares now recognized in all their worth (the “Würzburger Stein-Berg”, after a bureaucratic procedure requiring several years, is now recognized as a Protected Designation of Origin or PDO).

Starting in September, Haller’s successor at the Burgerspital will be Karl Brand, a long-time employee and the current head of viticulture and oenology. Everybody here at the Ian D’Agata Wine Review wishes him our very best and deep, heart-felt congratulations.