• Donnhoff

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    The Upper River Nahe meanders past steep slopes and precipitous vineyards, and on these slopes, between the villages of Oberhausen and Bad Kreuznach, the Dönnhoffs cultivate vines. They haven`t chosen such difficult to work sites for fun (Höllenpfad, after all, means "path to hell") but rather because the slopes offer a combination of exposure and geologically diverse, complex soils which translate into complexity in the fruit and so, eventually, the wine. It works; in fact, they`ve been making wine here since the 1750s.

  • Dr Loosen

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    The Loosen empire extends across the world these days and they have a swanky new HQ from which to direct these other operations and where they make their Mosel gems. Not quite in the shadow of the new bridge - an over-budget, behind-schedule and unnecessary monstrosity - the cellars shelter some of the loveliest wines from the super vineyards neighbouring the river. There is a long heritage here and in the vineyards. Although they had been in the family for many, many years, the wine business was always run as a sideline until Ernie and his brother Tomas took over.

  • Egon Muller

  • Furst

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    We`ve worked with the Furst family for a few years now and recently visited them for the second time, in the middle of a very welcome rainstorm - the spring of 2018 was very warm and dry. Although we mainly know them for their Pinot Noir they also have some Riesling, Silvaner and Fruhburgunder. The Fursts farm some very good sites indeed and have done since 1638. Their vineyards are all pretty steep and that is where the quality is.

  • Gunderloch

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    All change at this estate as in 2010 prodigal son Johannes Hasselbach, having run away from home to train as an accountant, returned to take over the estate. Although he grew up in the vines he worked at the jobs he was given, rather than learning the business. On his return though, first he went travelling and working on all sorts of estates around the world and returned with loads of questions.

  • Jean Stodden

    In the village of Rech, nestled into the Ahr valley just south of Bonn, lies one of the best producers of Pinot Noir in Germany. Jean Stodden has been growing wine since 1578, though they`ve only had their own winery since 1900. Alexander Stodden is the current generation and had some interesting observations. This part of Germany, west of the Rhein was subject to Napoleonic inheritance laws, so vineyard holdings are as fragmented as in Burgundy. Stodden`s smallest plot is 12 square metres. Farming is sustainable - as organic as possible and no herbicides or insecticieds are used.

  • Louis Guntrum

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    Konstantin Guntrum is one of those thoughtful estate owners we like very much. He does employ a winemaker - and a very good one indeed - but he is very much involved in directing quality and creativity in equal measure. And the red trousers clearly indicate a true gent. This Rheinhessen estate with its cellar right on the riverbank boasts a serious range of terroirs and grape varieties. We`re huge fans of the great value Pinot Noir and also the very dry and extremely drinkable Gewurztraminer - one of the rare examples of the variety that has a useable place on the everyday table.

  • Rainer Schnaitmann

    Rainer Schnaitmann`s family has been involved in winegrowing for around 600 years but for a lot of the twentieth century were growers rather than winemakers. The estate was most famous/notorious for Trollinger wines widely thought of as a substandard variety – though now they know how to do it, says Rainer. And there's much less of it now. The man himself initially ran away to become an architect but was drawn back by ambition and the strong desire to fulfil the Schnaitmann estate’s potential.