The winery is located in the municipality of Monzingen in the German wine-growing region of
Nahe. Already J. Wolfgang von
Goethe (1749-1832) mentioned the excellent "Monzinger wine" in his wine notes. The Emrich family had been cultivating wine on the Nahe since the middle of the 18th century. The estate was originally run as a mixed operation (agriculture, livestock, viticulture). From the mid-1960s, Wilhelm Schönleber (a native Swabian) and later his son Werner Schönleber restructured the business into a pure winery. During this time, the vineyard area grew from about two to ten hectares. Today, the winery is managed by Werner and Frank Schönleber. The three internal principles of the house regarding the wines are: 1. Drinking pleasure; 2. Honest, authentic,
typical of the origin; 3. Site wines with a distinctive character.
The vineyards cover over 19 hectares, 85% of which are planted with Riesling, the rest with Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc, as well as some Müller-Thurgau. The best areas are located in the single vineyards
Frühlingsplätzchen and
Halenberg, as well as the
cadastral site Auf der Ley (Monzingen). In the last 40 years, great efforts have been made to preserve and recultivate the steep plots. During cultivation, attention is paid to the harmony between the vines and the
water and
nutrient supply. Appropriate
foliage care ensures good aeration of the foliage wall and healthy vines, which also allows for a later harvest. If necessary, the vines are fertilized with home-made
compost
Selective harvesting and gentle grape processing are followed by slow, controlled fermentation. During the ageing process, the wines are allowed to develop as little as possible according to
non-invasive rules. Since 1997, only Rieslings from the best parcels with site designations have been marketed. Today, these are classified as Grosse Lagen according to the
VDP classification model. The winery is a member of the
VDP (Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates)