The Von Winning Winery dates back centuries, and its new incarnation blends tradition and organic principles to produce German wines of distinction
“We are as traditional as it gets,” says Stephan Attmann, General Manager and lauded winemaker at Von Winning Winery, which dates back nearly 250 years. “The wine as it is today has been made since 1849, but the history goes back to 1718.” Revived as a family enterprise by Achim Niederberger in 2007, the winery has aimed to uphold its traditions and visionary principles.
Von Winning wines have an exceptional reputation – leading wine expert Robert Parker gave one of its wines a rating of 99 out of 100 – and they retail in around 40 countries. While most renowned for its award-winning and world-class Riesling, the winery creates wines including Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which reflect each of the brand’s vineyard sites in the four villages: Neustadt, Ruppertsberg, Deidesheim and Forst.
The vineyards are located in the celebrated wine region of Pfalz, known at times for producing some of the most expensive and sought-after wines in the world. The location is key in creating the wines’ distinct flavours, and Von Winning works closely and sustainably with the land. “It’s a very specific and fantastic area for the production of wine,” says Deputy General Manager Andreas Hütwohl. “The soils are diverse because we have sandstone, limestone and basalt. We have warm days but cool afternoons and nights, leading to aromatically ripe but racy and elegant wines with great acidity.”
Von Winning ferments its Grosses Gewächs wines (categorised as the highest quality dry wines in Germany) with indigenous yeasts in oak barrels. “But it’s a hands-off approach in the barrels,” says Andreas. “It’s not to add an oaky flavour – natural fermentation takes place. The oak gives symbolic structure to the wines that, together with the acidity, underlines the salinity of the different vineyards.”
Ultimately, it is about working with a beautiful and distinct environment to extract the best possible flavours. There are no herbicides or synthetic fertilisers with Von Winning. “We do everything we can to work very close to nature in the vineyards, with the goal of having healthy grapes that taste really good and come from a balanced and vivid ecosystem,” says Stephan. “We aim to bring those historic vineyards into the bottle and then into your glass.”
www.von-winning.de