The story began with “I met this cute guy who makes a really good bottle of merlot. (Designed by Stripes Staff)
Along the Mosel, with its picturesque hills and river cruise boats, sit various wine villages. The sun exposure, great drainage and good soil on the hills of the Mosel make these villages “prime real estate” for vineyards and winemaking. For five generations, the Steinmetz family continue to do just that; and, in 2019, Kusan Watson-Steinmetz joined the family legacy.
The story began with “I met this cute guy who makes a really good bottle of merlot.” Watson-Steinmetz is a United States Air Force veteran who fell in love with a German man in the early 2000s and made her stay in Germany indefinite. Steinmetz and her husband Stefan got married, had three children and currently work together at the Weingut Günther Steinmetz in Brauneberg, she works primarily in logistics and marketing roles, while he is the Weinmeister (wine master).
I recently had the opportunity to spend time with Watson-Steinmetz at the winery, and she told me all about her life and transitioning from being an active-duty military member to winemaking in the German countryside.
One fun fact I learned from Watson-Steinmetz is that while the Mosel primarily produces white wines, it was not always that way. The changes in weather patterns over the years caused the region to change from mainly red wine production to white wine. Weingut Günther Steinmetz is actually one of the wineries in the region that makes a larger variety of red wines. Red wine grapes thrive in colder areas, whereas white wine grapes thrive in warmer regions.
Red wine grapes thrive in colder areas, whereas white wine grapes thrive in warmer regions. (Tamala Malerk)
Watson-Steinmetz’s experience as an American business owner in Germany also came up while I visited. According to her, it requires a lot of patience, in particular because the way of life in Germany is slower than Americans are used to.
“There are some challenges,” she stated. “As Americans, we are kind of like ‘I need something done right now,’ and expect that. That’s not going to happen. So, you have to slow down a little bit.”
She also had great things to say about joining a German family business.
“For me, it’s like a dream come true. It’s such a family thing; I’m not working for somebody, or some stranger.”
— Kusan Watson-Steinmetz
She didn’t know it then, but she claimed that her various jobs in the military prepared her for working in a family work environment. “You’re going to have the separations of duties, and my duty [in the winery] fell to office duties, which I had already kind-of been training for in the military anyway.”
Something that really stands out about the winery is that it truly is a family and community business. Weingut Günther Steinmetz has cultivated relationships throughout the generations to ensure a top-quality product. While visiting, a delivery truck dropped of a giant 170-year-old wooden wine barrel after being repaired. It takes about 30 people from grape growers, cultivators, manufacturers and more to put a bottle of Günther Steinmetz wine on your table.
Watson-Steinmetz’s 14-year-old daughter is currently doing her Praktikum (apprenticeship) with another winemaker to learn the trade. All three of her children are excited to carry out the family tradition for a sixth generation.
Dining and Cooking