Wein Wolff

What Wein Wolff does

Wein Wolff (legal entity I.W. Wolff GmbH & Co. KG) is a seventh-generation, family-owned wine and spirits business founded in 1800 and headquartered at the historic Haus Samson in Leer, East Frisia, Germany. The company operates a hybrid retail-and-e-commerce model, running 20 physical branches across northwestern Germany (Leer, Oldenburg, Emden, Jever, Bramsche, Brake, Wildeshausen, Varel and surrounding areas) alongside a direct-to-consumer online shop at wein-wolff.de that ships across Germany with free delivery over €120.

The product portfolio spans three pillars: (1) curated wine retail of over 1,000 SKUs from international wineries, anchored by the MY_HEROES private label collection curated by owner-sommelier Jan Wolff with partner winemakers (Zeter, Heger, von Winning, Bercher, Metzger) and the Edition Jan Wolff sub-brand; (2) I.W. Wolff Spirituosen — in-house spirit production at the Leer facility led by distiller Stefan Mennenga, covering traditional East Frisian liqueurs, herbal bitters, and the modern FREEsia gin/rum/aquavit line; and (3) regional specialty products such as Sanddorn (sea buckthorn) beverages, complemented by a museum experience at Haus Samson. The underlying technology is a standard Magento/Hyvä e-commerce stack with PayPal/Mollie/Klarna payments, Google Analytics 4, Meta Pixel, Google Ads, Cloudflare CDN, and CleverReach email — no proprietary AI or differentiated platform technology.

Revenue is generated through one-time retail transactions on unit-priced SKUs ranging from approximately €5.99 to €39.33 per 0.75L bottle, with the majority of wines priced between €7 and €15. Customers are individual wine enthusiasts, East Frisian regional consumers, and tourists, reached through a mix of in-store consultation, online D2C, paid search, paid social, and newsletter marketing. The company is Fair'n Green sustainability certified and was named Weinhändler des Jahres in 2014.

Name

Wein Wolff

Legal name

I.W.Wolff GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://wein-wolff.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1800

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wein Wolff is a seventh-generation family-owned wine and spirits retailer and producer founded in 1800, operating 20 retail branches across northwestern Germany and a direct-to-consumer e-commerce shop, with in-house East Frisian spirits production and curated private-label wine collections.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wine and Spirits Retail

NAICS

Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (44532), Distilleries (312140)

akta.pro primary industry

Wine Retail (Bottle Shops & Wine Merchants) (CRANABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Spirits Distilling & Brands (CRADAIAC), Fine Wine & Luxury Spirits Retail (CRANABAE)

Keywords

• Wine retail
• Spirits production
• Online wine shop
• East Frisian spirits
• Private label wines

Headquarters

HQ city

Leer

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Wine Retail: Retail sale of over 1,000 curated wines from international wineries to end consumers through both physical stores and online shop
2. Own Spirit Production & Sales: Production and sale of proprietary East Frisian spirits including FREEsia Gin, FREEsia Rum, Sanddorngrog, Seehund Kräuterlikör, and various regional specialties through I.W.Wolff Spirituosen brand
3. MY_HEROES Private Label Wine Collection: Curated private label wines developed in collaboration with selected winery partners, branded under the MY_HEROES collection by Jan Wolff

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Wein Wolff is a family-owned wine and spirits retailer founded in 1800, operating 20 physical retail branches in East Frisia, Germany, plus a direct e-commerce shop offering 1,000+ wines. The company also produces its own line of spirits under the I.W. Wolff Spirituosen brand (including FREEsia, Friesische Spirituosen, and Edle Brände collections) and operates Museum Haus Samson as a heritage and brand-experience site.

Product overview

Wein Wolff is a family-owned wine and spirits company founded in 1800, now in its seventh generation under Jan Wolff. The business operates as a multi-channel retailer combining physical retail (20 stores in Northwest Germany) with an e-commerce platform. The core product portfolio consists of: (1) Wine trading offering over 1,000 curated wines including own collections like MY_HEROES (featuring five varietal-specific wines from partner winemakers), Edition Jan Wolff, and various wine editions (GRAU, WEISS, GELB); (2) I.W. Wolff Spirituosen - in-house spirits manufacturing producing traditional East Frisian liqueurs, brandies, and schnapps using century-old recipes, with flagship lines including FREEsia (modern gin, rum, aquavit, and pear whiskey) and regional specialties like Sanddorn products and traditional Kräuterbitter; (3) Premium spirits portfolio including Rum, Cognac, Whisky, Grappa, and other noble spirits; (4) Retail store network and museum services at the historic Haus Samson location. The company also offers gift vouchers and educational wine information resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• I.W. Wolff Spirituosen: In-house spirits brand producing East Frisian spirits and liqueurs including the FREEsia gin and rum product lines, Kräuterlikör Seehund, Sanddorngrog, and various regional specialties.
• FREEsia Eala Frya Fresena
• MY_HEROES Kollektion
• Edition Jan Wolff

Products and services

• Wine retail assortment (Weinhandel)
• MY_HEROES Wine Collection A private-label, sommelier-curated wine collection by Jan Wolff, featuring a hand-picked selection of distinctive wines intended for enthusiasts seeking standout bottles outside the mainstream assortment. Sold via the online shop and in-branch.
• Edition Jan Wolff Signature private-label wine line from owner-sommelier Jan Wolff, including the GRAU, WEISS, and GELB editions, presented as exclusive, sommelier-selected bottles. Sold through the online shop and the physical retail branches.
• I.W. Wolff Spirituosen (in-house spirits brand)
• Online Shop (weinhof-wolff.de) Direct-to-consumer e-commerce channel enabling purchase of the full wine and spirits assortment, private-label collections, and gift vouchers, with free shipping on orders over €120. Targeted at individual consumers across Germany.
• Gift Vouchers (Geschenkgutscheine) Physical and digital gift vouchers redeemable across the wine, spirits, and retail assortment, intended for gifting to individual consumers.
• Museum Haus Samson On-site cultural and heritage museum operated by Wein Wolff in Leer, Germany, offering visitors a brand and regional history experience; functions as a customer touchpoint that supports retail and gift-voucher sales.
• Sommelier-led wine tastings and events (e.g., Wein am Limit) Curated, sommelier-led tasting events hosted by the company, featuring limited and exclusive wines and pairing with producers, intended for individual consumer engagement and brand experience.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration15 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Weingut Oliver ZetercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOver 30-year business relationship with wine agency and winery. Jan Wolff maintains personal friendship with the Zeter family. Oliver Zeter was among the first German winemakers to focus exclusively on Sauvignon Blanc 15 years ago.
• Weingut Joachim HegercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPersonal friendship developed through 2002 internship. Joachim Heger taught Jan Wolff about Pinot Noir elegance and quality. Jan Wolff was sent by his uncle for practical training at the winery.
• von Winning (formerly Dr. Deinhard)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJan Wolff completed vineyard internship in 2002 at Dr. Deinhard estate. The winery has evolved with new ownership and name change, now producing top Rieslings including some aged in oak barrels. Gutsverwalter Stephan Attmann and Kellermeister Kurt Rathgeber lead production.
• Weingut BerchercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJan Wolff was guest at family winery in Burkheim (Kaiserstuhl) in 2003. Currently led by next generation Arne and Martin Bercher. Created MY_HEROES Grauburgunder together.
• Weingut Metzger (Uli Metzger)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFamily winery elevated to one of the largest and most successful in Pfalz region with Uli Metzger, daughter Lea, and son-in-law Martin. Created MY_HEROES Chardonnay together.
• LergenmüllerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProducer of Edition Wolff private label wines including Sauvignon Blanc, Gelber Muskateller, and Spätburgunder under the Wolff Edition label.
• Fair'n GreencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSustainability certification partner. Wein Wolff is one of the first wine trading companies in Germany to receive Fair'n Green certification, demonstrating commitment to environmental and social responsibility.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Hardenberg-Wilthen AG: Traditional German spirits group (Doornkaat, Mampe) producing regional liqueurs and brandies. Comparable heritage spirits producer with similar traditional-recipe positioning in northern Germany.
• Rotkäppchen-Mumm Sektkellereien: Germany's leading sparkling wine and spirits producer. Adjacent as a large-scale domestic alcoholic beverage manufacturer with heritage brand portfolio — useful for competitive benchmarking on production scale.
• Rewe Group: Major German grocery retail group with extensive wine assortments. Adjacent competitor for everyday wine purchases; competes on price and convenience rather than curation.
• Berentzen-Gruppe: German listed spirits manufacturer producing liqueurs and traditional German spirits. Comparable as a regional spirits producer with own brands, though operating at significantly larger industrial scale.

Direct peers

• Jacques' Wein-Depot: Germany's largest wine retail franchise chain with ~300 depot locations. Directly comparable physical wine retail model, but operates at much greater national scale under the Hawesko group.
• Rindchen's Weinkontor: Bremen-based wine retailer with curated portfolio and online shop serving northern Germany. Overlapping geographic catchment and similar curated mid-premium assortment positioning.
• Wein & Vinos: German online wine retailer specializing in Spanish wines, owned by Hawesko. Comparable e-commerce-only curated wine retail proposition targeting the German consumer market.
• Ludwig von Kapff: German family-owned wine merchant since 1892 with curated assortment and online shop. Comparable multi-generational family wine retailer with similar curation and gifting positioning.
• Vicampo Wines: German online wine marketplace working directly with winemakers to offer curated wines to consumers. Closely comparable e-commerce proposition and curation model, though with a broader assortment and no physical retail.

Broad incumbents

• Hawesko Holding: Germany's largest wine mail-order and retail group (parent of Hawesko, Jacques', Wein & Vinos). Directly comparable as a multi-channel wine retailer, but operates at national scale and is publicly listed.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/WeinWolff
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wein-wolff

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wein Wolff