Weinhaftig

Laura Ermert is the ultimate multi-project manager: after completing her studies, the 38-year-old completed various internships and marketed well-known musicals such as Mamma Mia and Sister Act in the musical metropolis of Hamburg. She then worked in various marketing positions, looking after clients from companies such as Krombacher Brewery and Akzo Nobel, and was responsible for implementing communication tools for cross-media campaign development, among other things.
Since 2021, she has been continuing her education in wine enjoyment and, in addition to her job as Head of Marketing at the company ‘UFER LEOWALD GmbH’, she now works part-time as a self-employed sommelier. The wine expert tastes high-quality wines and ensures a sensual experience for the palate with her wine events and her brand ‘WEINHAFTIG’.

What exactly is WEINHAFTIG?

WEINHAFTIG organises special and personal wine events and also creates its own wines. My USP (unique selling point) is that I bring the enjoyment of wine in the form of a wine tasting experience to my customers' own homes. In addition, I also offer public wine events at selected locations of gastronomic partners. The tasting includes seven high-quality international wines from winemakers that I offer. I bring wine utensils such as wine glasses and tasting sheets, i.e. tasting notes on which everyone can make notes about the wine, with me myself.
I offer wine tastings that focus exclusively on wine. I teach people a specific methodology for approaching wine so that they can finally smell and taste what they are drinking. In this way, I create shared moments of enjoyment and connect people through what I do, which is an absolute added value. This helps people to approach wine in a whole new way, namely with all their senses. That's why my motto is: ‘Experience wine with all your senses.’
On the other hand, I offer food and wine pairings, which focus on combining wine and food. It's about how wonderfully wine can complement food and how the pairing can become a highlight of the dining experience. The focus is on a cheese platter with five cheeses and five wines from different vintners, or cheese and charcuterie paired with wine. It's all about finding the perfect combination of wine and food. This is our supreme discipline, which we learn during our sommelier training.

What is an assistant sommelier? What are your responsibilities?

As an assistant sommelier, you first learn about the most important grape varieties. You acquire international knowledge of grape varieties and expertise in viticulture and winemaking – not least in food pairing. You learn to taste wine using a specific method, which I demonstrate to my guests during wine tastings.

What is special about your wine events?

We usually drink wine without giving it much thought. But wine is so much more than just something to drink. It is a moment of pleasure and my way of experiencing the world. This is the focus of my wine events. A wine event is nothing more than enjoyment. The moment it flows into the glass, wine tells a story, namely that of a winery and a specific growing region.
With this experience, I bring people together at my wine events, create strong emotions and memories, and impart exciting wine knowledge in the process. I plan the wine events in their wine flights, and my customers can always look forward to special wines. Sometimes from Germany, sometimes from all over the world. It's a bit like a journey through wine-growing regions and stories from around the world in a glass, in one evening.

When did you discover your fondness for wine?

Wine has always been a topic of conversation in our home. Here in Siegen, we have the Siegerland Wine Convent, and my parents and grandparents have been members for a long time. They have been on many excursions with the Wine Convent, including to the winery where I later made my own wine. During the pandemic, wine has become a special treat. I realised that I really wanted to learn more about wine and discuss it with others. I became so fascinated by the subject that I started training in wine in 2021.

What led to the founding of WEINHAFTIG?

In the summer of 2022, I was lying on the beach on my favourite North Sea island listening to my favourite podcast, ‘TuA – Terroir und Adiletten’ (Terroir and Flip-Flops), which is ‘the wine podcast’. That's when I had the idea: I want to bring wine enjoyment to my home region. Even before I had developed my own logo, I hosted my first wine tasting at the beautiful Seven Hills in Weidenau. Over the autumn, a completely new, independent brand identity emerged: ‘WEINHAFTIG – Experience wine with all your senses’ was born. In January, parallel to the launch of my website, I officially entered the market with my start-up and exciting offer – I offer both public and completely private wine tastings in my customers' own homes. Because wine is my great passion, I never stand still and am constantly developing my expertise and absorbing new experiences.
In autumn 2023, I spent four weeks working in the harvest at the renowned VDP winery Wittmann in Westhofen, in the Rheinhessen wine-growing region. Among other things, I worked in areas such as grape reception, the wine press house (where the wine is pressed) and also in the cellar, the heart of the winery, and thus experienced the entire wine-making process live. During that time, I was the happiest person on earth. For four weeks, everyone works together intensively to get the best quality into the bottle. This experience moved me so much and stayed with me that I came up with the idea of creating my own wine. I wanted a product of my own that would mark the beginning of a WEINHAFTIG edition. No sooner said than done: together with a family winery in Rheinhessen, I blended my white wine cuvée AUF ZACK for the first time at the end of January 2024. A cuvée is always a combination of different grape varieties. I knew right away that this wine should be based on my favourite grape variety, Sauvignon Blanc. It took a whole four hours to get the perfect cuvée in the glass. I was very proud and totally in love with the result.

What does wine mean to you?

For me, wine is pure emotion. Wine brings people together and creates wonderful moments. You meet exciting people when you travel to wine regions. Not only are they culturally beautiful, but there is always great food there. So, wine and food are my thing. If you are a bon vivant, then you cannot ignore wine. I realised this for myself last year: ‘Wine is my way of feeling the world’.

Does a good wine have to be expensive, and how can you tell if a wine is good?

No, it doesn't have to. It just has to taste good to you. And taste is highly individual. You can get a good wine for as little as 7-8€. But many people underestimate how laborious the work of a winemaker is and, unfortunately, often fail to appreciate a fair price. In my experience, expensive wines are mainly worthwhile for trained palates.

Have you always wanted to be self-employed?

No, not at all. My grandfather always said, ‘Child, become self-employed, it's better that way.’ But I never thought about it myself. Now, of course, my passion for wine is greater than ever, and I love what I can do with WEINHAFTIG. But being self-employed – and in my case, part-time – is also a big challenge, as I have experienced myself.

What was your biggest challenge? And how did you deal with it?

That was definitely creating the cuvée for my own wine and making a new wine. The part-time training I'm doing at the moment is also a challenge because it's very demanding in terms of subject matter on the way to becoming a professional sommelier.
When I really believe in something, I just keep going and know that everything will turn out fine in the end. I find my important balance to all these business issues in sport and exercise. As a solo self-employed person, my father is also extremely valuable to me, as he is my biggest sparring partner.

What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs who want to start their own business?

First of all, you need to be passionate about your business idea. Then it's very important to write a business plan. The Chamber of Industry and Commerce also offers excellent start-up seminars that are very helpful. But the most important thing is to believe strongly in your own idea. If you don't believe in your idea strongly enough, it won't come true. Otherwise, it's trial and error. You will often fall flat on your face, and it is important not to let that slow you down. You also have to be prepared to give it your all and react quickly to the market and your customers.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of part-time self-employment?

The advantage is that you get to work on something you really enjoy. You feel fulfilled at work, which is something not many people experience.
You also have the opportunity to build your own structures. You can design and create something that touches others and, in the best case scenario, improves other people's lives.
The disadvantage is that you have to be prepared to invest a lot of time and resources, and sometimes even a few sleepless nights, until it really works. You also have to be the type of person who is determined and keen to network and get out there, who applies for a start-up pitch and wants to show off what they do.

What is your goal? What do you want to achieve with WEINHAFTIG?

I would like to establish my brand ‘WEINHAFTIG’ as a well-known brand in the Siegen area. It would be great if I could establish myself as a wine expert beyond the region and become a wine expert and contact person for all questions relating to wine in a ‘non-wine-growing region’. Opening a small wine shop would also be cool – but that's still a long way off.

This portrait is based on an interview with Laura Ermert in February 20205 and was written by Duygu Cicek.

Click here for the start-up's homepage.