currently 165,387 Wines and 25,033 Producers, including 3,160 classified producers.
GOLD |
Hochheimer Riesling trocken
2018 - Berliner Wein Trophy |
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GOLD |
Eltviller Riesling Qualitätswein feinherb
2019 - Berliner Wein Trophy |
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GOLD |
Eltviller Riesling QbA feinherb
2019 - Berliner Wein Trophy |
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GOLD |
Kloster Eberbach Riesling Sekt Brut
2019 - Berliner Wein Trophy |
The "Hessische Staatsweingüter GmbH Kloster Eberbach", headquartered in the former Cistercian abbey of Eberbach in the German wine-growing region of Rheingau, is the largest wine estate in Germany with around 220 hectares of vineyards. The majority of the vineyards date back to monastic ownership in the 12th century, when the Cistercians founded the famous Eberbach Abbey here. The monastery is one of the oldest wine-growing estates in Germany and indeed the world. In its heyday, the abbey owned almost 10,000 hectares of land stretching from Worms to Cologne. This also included land on the Bergstrasse, which was farmed via an estate directly under the control of Eberbach Abbey.
In 1803, the monastery property was secularised under the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821). The Duke of Nassau-Usingen became the new owner, followed by the Kingdom of Prussia from 1866 and the State of Hesse from 1946. The well-known wine author Dr Hans Ambrosi (1925-1912) was head of the estate from 1966 to 1990. The current managing director is Dieter Greiner. Today, festive events such as the annual auctions take place in the rooms of the monastery. The winery has three domains, each with its own wine cellar for ageing the wines.
The Domäne Bergstraße is the only one in the Hessische Bergstraße wine-growing region. Founded in 1904 by the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, the vineyards cover 38 hectares in the single vineyard sites Kalkgasse (Bensheim), Centgericht and Steinkopf (Heppenheim), as well as Herrnwingert (Schönberg). Mainly Riesling, as well as smaller areas of Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris are cultivated.
Only red wine grapes are cultivated at Domäne Assmannshausen in the Rheingau. It comprises 17 hectares in the single vineyard Höllenberg and 18 hectares in the Rüdesheimer Berg, which are planted exclusively with Pinot Noir. The Riesling grapes from the Rheingau vineyards cover 147 hectares. These are vinified in the Steinberg cellar at Domäne Steinberg which went into operation in 2008. The majority of the Rheingau vineyards are classified as Erste Lage. The best known of these are Berg Rottland, Berg Roseneck and Berg Schlossberg (Rüdesheim), Steinberg (near Hattenheim), Marcobrunn (Erbach), Baiken and Gehrn (Rauenthal), Neroberg (Wiesbaden), as well as Domdechaney and Hölle (Hochheim).
The most important varieties are Riesling with 85% and Pinot Noir with 10% of the total area. To ensure slow and even fermentation, the temperature of the cooling water is regulated using a modern carbon dioxide control system. The Riesling is matured almost exclusively in stainless steel tanks; only the top wines are matured in half barrels (600 litres), single barrels (1200 litres) and double barrels (2400 litres). The Pinot Noir wines are matured 100% in wooden barrels, almost exclusively in single-litre barrels. Over 1.9 million bottles of wine are marketed each year. The winery is a founding member of the VDP.
Image: Von Haffitt - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link