German Producers

Question 1

Who owns the Josephshöfer vineyard?

Answer 1

Reichsgraff von Kesselstatt

Question 2

Who owns the Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg vineyard?

Answer 2

Karthäuserhof

Question 3

Who owns most of the Rothenberg vineyard?; within which major anbaugebiete is Rothenberg located?

Answer 3

Gunderloch

• Rheinhessen’s premier site

Question 4

Who owns most of the Mannberg vineyard?; where is Mannberg located?

Answer 4

von Simmern

• Hattenheim

Question 5

Who is the producer to watch in Hochheim that just got started in 1956?

Answer 5

Franz Künstler

Question 6

Joh. Jos. Prüm

Principal Vineyard Holdings

Answer 6

• 20 ha., 70% planted to ungrafted vines; 95% Riesling, 5% Optima
• Wehlener Sonnenuhr
  
  • Grosse Lage
  • soil: Devon slate, very stony
• Zeltinger Sonnenuhr​​
  
  • soil: Devon slate, very stony
• Graacher Himmelreich
  
  • Grosse Lage
  • soil: very deep, weathered Devon slate, pockets of blue slate
• Bernkasteler Badstube
  
  • soil: weathered Devon slate, portions of blue slate, loam

Question 7

Joh. Jos. Prüm

Year Established

Answer 7

• Prüm family has lived in and around the village of Wehlen since 1156
• Joh. Jos. Prüm (a.k.a. J.J. Prüm) estate was founded in 1911 by Johann Josef Prüm as an offshoot of the original Prüm estate (today known as S.A. Prüm)

Question 8

Joh. Jos. Prüm

Style / Vinification

Answer 8

• Majority of vines are ungrafted on very steep slopes (some reach a gradient of 80%!)
• Mostly ambient yeasts, makes sweeter styled wines
• Many consider the wines unapproachable in their youth, mistaking the young wines’ aromas for SO2
• However, Dr. Katharina Prüm asserts that these are due to the estate’s use of reductive fermentation and aging; she recommends decanting the young wines and notes that the wines show very differently after 3-5 years of age

Question 9

Joh. Jos. Prüm

Answer 9

• Johann Josef was the son of Mathais Prüm, whose ancestor Jodocus built the Wehlener and Zeltinger sundials (sonnenuhr)
• Today, J.J. Prüm is run by father/daughter team Dr. Manfred Prüm, who has been in charge since 1969, and Dr. Katharina Prüm, who joined her father in 2003
• Katharina - 4th generation
• Known for sweet wines w/ long aging potential
• Reputation built on Goldkapsel Auslese and rare Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese. However, Drs. Manfred and Katharina will insist that they look at the different Prädikat levels not as quality differentiations but merely different styles of wine.
• Member of the VDP

Question 10

Where is Dönnhoff’s winery located?

Answer 10

Oberhausen, Nahe

Question 11

When was Dönnhoff established?

Answer 11

1971

Question 12

Dönnhoff’s story?

Answer 12

• Helmut Dönnhoff owns some of the most storied sites in the Nahe
• Today, Helmut works w/ son Cornelius
• From Roxheim down to Schlössbockelheim, 80% of vineyards planted to Riesling; 20% are planted to Grauburgunder and Weissburgunder
• Joined the VDP in 1990 and, along with Emrich-Schönleber, Schäfer-Fröhlich and Weingut Diel, this is one of the Nahe’s all-star estates

Question 13

Dönnhoff

Principal Vineyards

• Where are the oldest vineyards in Nahe located?
• What is their largest, and considered their best, vineyard site?
• What is their monopole?

Answer 13

• 30 ha total
• Kreuznacher Krötenpfuhl
  
  • soil: pebbles and loam
• Kreuznacher Kahlenberg
  
  • soil: gravelly loam
• Roxheimer Höllenpfad
  
  • Höllenpfad means “Hell’s Path,” in reference to its steepness and the difficulty to work it
  • soil: red sandstone
• Norhheimer Kircshheck
  
  • oldest vineyards on-record in the Nahe are in this part of Norheim
  • soil: grey slate mixed w/ sandstone
• Norheimer Dellchen
  
  • 1.2 ha
  • soil: mix of slate and volcanic soils like porphyry and melaphyr
• Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle
  
  • 4.2 ha
  • widely considered the best vineyard in the Nahe
  • soil: mostly grey slate w/ porphyry and limestone
• Oberhäuser Brücke
  
  • 1.1 ha (monopole)
  • soil: grey slate bedrock covered w/ loess (source of Dönnhoff’s Eiswein)
• Oberhäuser Leistenberg
  
  • 1.6 ha
  • soil: grey slate
• Schlossböckelheimer Felsenberg
  
  • 1.9 ha
  • soil: volcanic porphyry

Question 14

What village will you find the following producer?

• Heymann-Löwenstein
• Georg Breuer
• von Buhl
• Philipp Wittmann
• Emrich-Schönleber

Answer 14

• Heymann-Löwenstein - Winningen
• Georg Breuer - Rüdesheim
• von Buhl - Deidesheim
• Philipp Wittmann - Westhofen
• Emrich-Schönleber - Monzingen