“Smile and the world smiles with you”

In 1950, for the first time, the “Naheweingau,” as the Nahe was formerly called, followed the example of other wine-growing regions and elected a regional wine queen.

Helma Wöllstein from Meddersheim was the lucky one. Already, the second Nahe wine queen managed to win the election for German wine queen in Neustadt.

Mathilde Machwirth from Heddesheim (now part of Guldental was intended to “embody the symbolism of German wine.” This was not difficult for her in 1953: this vintage was celebrated for its high must weights. Evidently, the wine queen from the Nahe region also impressed the wine lover who occupied the President’s office at that time. The reception hosted by “Papa Heuss” in the Hammerschmidt villa with German wine-growing officials and the wine queen took two hours instead of the allotted half an hour.

In 1966, 22-year-old Ilse Theobald of Hochstätten also had to overcome a guilty conscience when she was elected German wine queen in Stuttgart: her parents’ company would have to do without her, a home economist, for one year. She successfully promoted German wine: she gave the former Mayor Hans Jochen Vogal 1,000 liters of Olympia wine as a reward for Munich winning the bid to host the Olympic Games of 1972.

The 70s were clearly the decade for young female winemakers from the Nahe region: they were crowned German wine queens three times.

The Nahe wine majesties of these times, Erika Sinß, Doris Emmerich- Koebernik, and Edelgard Bauer-Finter still today rave about the challenges of their time in office, with the associated great experiences both nationally and abroad.

Two of the best-known Nahe wine queens are the personalities Silvia Buchholz-Lafer and Julia Klöckner.

Silvia Buchholz-Lafer, daughter of a restaurateur, opened the gourmet restaurant “Le Val d'Or” in Guldental at the age of 21 – in 1983, she employed the Austrian chef Johan Lafer.

Julia Klöckner also comes from Guldental. This politics and theology student showed long-term commitment to German wine cultivation and winegrowers during her year-long term. Her term of office paved the way for a notable political career: we now know her as Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture. Judith Honrath of Langenlonsheim seems to be a kindred spirit, as the NaheWineQueen for 2001/2002 also studied theology. Her motto “Smile and the world smiles with you” was characteristic of her term of office.

2013 was once again particularly auspicious for the Nahe region – Nahe wine queen Nadine Poss of Windesheim was crowned the 65th German Queen on September 13, 2013.

Nahe wine queen Katharina Staab of Oberhausen an der Nahe achieved the same thing, as she was crowned the 69th German wine queen on September 29, 2017.

On September 27, 2019, the Nahe wine queen Angelina Vogt was delighted to be elected 71st German wine queen. The Nahe region is particularly excited about this success, as it produced three German wine queens in the space of seven years.

Source: Wolfgang Junglas et al., book named “60 Jahre Deutsche Weinköniginnen” (60 years of German wine queens)

66 years of crowned heads are a reason to celebrate – the commitment of these young women has remained unwavering until today, and deserves a great deal of respect.

You can find all the former wine majesties of the Nahe region here.