Bernkasteler Doctor 1953 Auctioned for 25,000 Dollars

On September 20, a bottle of Bernkasteler Doctor 1953 from the Wineries Wegeler (Mosel and Rheingau) was auctioned at the RR auction house in Boston. The unopened Riesling rarity fetched a price of $25,000.

The wine is a Spätlese from the Mosel, which was served in 1955, 70 years ago, during the historic meeting of Chancellor Konrad Adenauer with the Soviet state and party leadership at the dacha in Sosnowka, west of Moscow. The occasion of the meeting was the negotiation for the release of about 10,000 German prisoners of war from the Soviet Union.

The identification of the wine was made possible by a recently rediscovered original menu, which wine historian Dr. Daniel Deckers has brought attention to. In the search for this wine, a few bottles were discovered in the historic wine cellar of the Wineries Wegeler under the Bernkasteler Doctor. Their drinkability and quality have been confirmed by experts.

The bottles are stored by the Wineries Wegeler in the Bernkasteler Stollen under optimal conditions, but without labels, which are only applied later.

(ru)