Weingut Dr. Loosen

The "St. Johannishof Dr. Loosen" winery is located in the municipality of Bernkastel-Kues in the Moselle wine-growing region of Germany. It has been family-owned for over 200 years, with links to the well-known Prüm winegrowing dynasty. Dr Paul Loosen (1924-2001) held a number of important viticultural offices. In 1967 he was a founding member of the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Wine Brotherhood and held the office of Brotherhood Chancellor for 25 years. He received the Federal Cross of Merit for his achievements in German viticulture. After many visits to important wineries all over the world, the business was taken over by Ernst F. Loosen in 1988. As one of the first measures, a rigorous yield restriction was introduced.

The vineyards cover 22 hectares of vineyards in the single vineyards Himmelreich (Graach), Lay (Bernkastel), Prälat and Treppchen (Erden), Sonnenuhr (Wehlen), and Würzgarten (Ürzig). They are 98% planted with Riesling, 98% of which ungrafted is cultivated and is on average 60 years old, some of it even over 100 years old. The small remainder is Pinot Blanc. The vineyards are cultivated according to the principles of sustainable, non-invasive (minimalist) viticulture with only organic fertilisation or no chemical fertilisers. The grapes are harvested selectively in many manual harvests. The legally prescribed Oechsle degrees are exceeded for all Prädikat levels. Only the Grossen Lagen are given a Lagen designation, all others are marketed as Gutsweine.

Depending on the degree of ripeness, the Prädikat wines without botrytis are divided into three quality classes: Kabinett (normally ripened grapes), Spätlese (higher degree of ripeness) and Auslese (selected grapes partially affected by botrytis). The noble rotten grapes are meticulously selected and from these the three quality classes Auslese-Goldkapsel (highly ripe grapes), Beerenauslese (grapes shrunk by about half) and only Trockenbeerenauslese (from raisined grapes) are produced. In years with suitable weather conditions, ice wine is also produced. The winery has been a member of the VDP (Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates) since 1993. Two wines are regularly contributed to the annual VDP auction, the Rieslings "Ürziger Würzgarten Spätlese Goldkapsel" (from the oldest vines) and "Erdener Prälat Auslese Lange Goldkapsel". Around 180,000 bottles of wine are produced annually and sold in over 50 countries worldwide.

In 1996, the Palatinate winery J. L. Wolf was taken over, which today operates under the name Villa Wolf. Together with winemaker Jay Christopher Somers, the J. Christopher winery has been operated in Newberg near Portland in the US state of Oregon since 2010. There is a joint venture with the Château Ste Michelle winery in the US state of Washington, where only Riesling wines are produced.