Pieroth Family

Pieroth is the name of a German family of winemakers and entrepreneurs. The history of the Pieroth family dates back to 1675. Today the family holds one of the biggest wine direct sales companies in the world, WIV Wein International AG.
History
Beginnings
First documentary evidence of the German ancestor of the Burg Layen Pieroths, Heinrich Pieroth dates back to the year 1675. In 1704/5 first documentary evidence of vine cultivation in the Pieroth family can be found in the „Morgenbuch“ of the commune of Schöneberg. Heinrich Jacob Pieroth is named as the owner of a number of „Wingerten“ („vine gardens“). In 1756 a Pieroth - the second youngest son of Heinrich Jacob Pieroth - is mentioned as „steward“ of the Baron von Weyern in Burg Layen for the first time. A few years later, the nature of his service to the court is made clear by the designation „Steward and Vintner“.
In 1762 Andreas Pieroth, the youngest son of Heinrich Jacob Pieroth from Schöneberg, takes over the lease on the land from Baron von Weyern in Burg Layen after offering his own fields and vineyards in his home town as security for taking over the lease. From 1780-1790 Johann Heinrich Pieroth, son of Andreas, continues to farm the land as a tenant after the death of his father, but also single-mindedly acquires land of his own - including vineyards - at the same time. In around 1780, the Burg Layen estate passes from the von Weyern family to the Princes of Bretzenheim.
In 1810 Heinrich Pieroth, the son of Johann Heinrich Pieroth, acquires part of the estate of the Prince of Bretzenheim for himself. The price of 24,000 francs is one of the highest prices to be paid at that time for the acquisition of state-owned land.
From 1850-1860 Nicolaus Pieroth, son of Heinrich Pieroth, buys arable land and vineyards in and around Burg Layen through contracts and auctions after part of the Burg Layen land owned by his father passes to his brother. He concentrates increasingly on wine growing; notaries‘ documents prove that although he had initially (around 1850) purchased mainly arable land, he bought only vineyards from around 1870 onwards.
In 1925 the Pieroth headquarters building in Burg Layen is expanded and alternated. Large parts of this building were part of the estate of the Baron von Weyern, whose main tenant the Pieroth family had become in the middle of the 18th century.
In 1926 Philipp Ferdinand Pieroth, son of Ferdinand Pieroth, fills Pieroth wine into bottles for the first time in the history of the company - in the previous decades, all wines had been sold in barrels. At the same time, he starts sending wine from the producer to the consumer.
In 1928 the family ends its other agricultural operations, such as arable farming and cattle-breeding. The production and sale of wine is now the sole business operated by the House of Pieroth.
In 1930 wines from other German winegrowing areas are also incorporated into the Pieroth wine range for the first time, in addition to the company‘s own wines from the Nahe region.
In 1936 Pieroth OHG is established as a company. 13 years later the first delivery
warehouses is established in various major cities in the Federal Republic of Germany and introduction of the company‘s own delivery service.
More Recent Company History
In 1953 Elmar Pieroth, oldest son of Philipp Ferdinand Pieroth, introduces the „home wine tasting“. He sees this as an ideal opportunity for presenting an individual wine range and offering customer service the central point of a new distribution system, which he implements with the support of his younger brother Kuno Pieroth and a number of members of staff. This marks the start of the growth of the House of Pieroth to its present size.
In England 1958, Pieroth wine consultants, under the guidance of Elmar Pieroth, start selling wines within the new sales system for the first time abroad. The quality of both the wines and of the customer support is so popular amongst British wine-lovers that a subsidiary is founded in London. This was the start to a worldwide expansion. Today the company WIV Wein International AG holds about 40 companies in over 20 countries.
Family Tree
Following you will find a family tree of the Pieroth family.

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