There could hardly be a place better suited to discuss the central issues that lead to economic success – and simultaneously personal fulfilment – than the rustic yet very exclusive Gasthaus zum Gupf in the Appenzellerland region. High above Lake Constance and surrounded by the solitude of nature in the small municipality of Rehetobel, the resort offers the ideal setting for a closed meeting and discussion of issues such as selection and purchasing, sustainability and creativity. Taking part in this unusual ‘summit meeting’ are Dany Widmer from Widmer Wohnen, Walter and Gianluca Alberti from Real Stein and naturally our host, top restaurateur Walter Klose.
As we eat beside the crackling of a log fire in the Alpsteinstube parlour, the ambience is that of a group of friends. The suckling pig arrives crisply roasted from the oven; the fresh truffles – and everything else – are a delight; we all ask Walter Klose how he selects his products and how he works with his suppliers. This renowned restaurateur, who holds a total of 17 Gault Millau points, explains the challenges of always finding the right products for his culinary creations. During his many years of experience, he has developed a small but excellent network of selected suppliers who provide him with the high quality he needs. His relationship to the region’s agriculture takes the highest priority and he visits his suppliers on a monthly basis, ensuring that he knows where the products come from. For his interior designs, Dany Widmer also deploys specially selected objects which he finds through plenty of effort and hard work. As a creative company, Widmer Wohnen is constantly seeking to discover something new for its clients. New discoveries are also just part of the job for natural stone specialist Walter Alberti, especially as one cannot look inside a stone until it is sliced open – at which point there are often surprises. He travels all over the world in order to be able to offer new colours, structures and patterns in stone. But buying good products is of course just the beginning. What happens when they are processed further? In the case of Walter Klose, we can taste the care that goes into eliciting a ‘wow!’ of enthusiasm from us. Dany Widmer also takes a great deal of time to make the impossible possible for his clients. If a supplier can’t offer a product, then he will either reposition one, reconstruct it or even make it himself. To do this, he also works with Walter Alberti who can come up with – and manufacture – something to satisfy the most off-beat requests and ideas.
Sensuousness, aesthetic experience and the effect of colours: three elements that play an important role in all three companies. The first impression in gastronomy is visual, even before aroma and taste come into play. Walter Klose and his team rise to the challenge. Colours are a decisive factor in creating ambience in the world of interior design, too. Use strong colours or focus the colour range on earth tones: this is a choice that Dany Widmer leaves to his clients. Colour choice is, of course, subject to shifting trends; Walter Alberti incorporates these when selecting his stones with their thousands of colours and nuances. What’s next for these companies? Walter Alberti has brought the next generation along with him already: his son Gianluca is increasingly taking on more responsibility for the employees who number more than fifty. Gianluca emphasises that he was never pressed into the role of the successor – even as a child, he had a passion for natural stone. Walter Klose also hopes that one of his three sons will tread in his footsteps one day. Widmer Wohnen has already completed this process: together with his brother Remo, Dany Widmer has inherited the entrepreneurial heritage of his parents and is managing the company into the next generation.
The important issue of regulating the succession is related to another important topic of the group: sustainability. For Walter Alberti, this means ‘simply always staying on course’ and constantly improving quality: training employees, searching for new materials and investing in new techniques, to reveal natural stone in continually new ways and thereby maintaining a top level. Everything revolves around the top level for Walter Klose, too, as he constantly seeks to realise his exacting standards. As well as his own high aspirations, Dany Widmer also focuses on ecology. Widmer Wohnen even has an employee who is responsible for finding ecologically flawless materials such as fabrics and leather. The aim is to become one of the most ecologically friendly companies in the interior design sector within the decade.
Talking with the three company bosses, I am interested in how they manage to find creative inspiration after so many years at the top of their respective industries. For Walter Klose, one decisive factor is his team – and of course his guests, who he hopes will return time and time again. Walter Alberti gets his inspiration from ‘travelling a lot and seeing a lot’. Enjoying his work is the essential element for Dany Widmer. His intuitive ideas develop from this. Walter Klose develops this idea further by articulating the essence of the experts’ discussion: to be happy with what one achieves every day with great energy and dedication. At the end of our meeting, we pay a visit to ‘cellar master’ Hans Rhyner for a glass of wine in his treasure chamber – one of the Gasthaus zum Gupf’s wine cellars. Amongst the complete collection of all Mouton-Rothschild vintages since 1938 and top red wines such as Château Petrus or Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, this master of over 30,000 bottles tells us that most of the guests at the ‘Gupf’ already know a great deal about wine and are keen to make new discoveries. We’re also interested in current trends and discover that white and red wines from the South Tyrol are very popular at the moment, as well as wines from Spain. Another region that we’ll be hearing a lot about in the near future is the Valtelline Valley. Hans Rhyner singles out the Barbacàn Vineyard: ‘They are an absolute hit!’ We shouldn’t forget to mention the exceptional Plozza wines from the Valtelline Valley, either. But now we want to know his real secret tip. Hans Rhyner hesitates, because then the tip will no longer be secret, of course; then the name is coaxed from his lips: Ansitz Waldgries in Southern Tyrol and its excellent red wines Lagrein and St Magdalener!
