The winery is located in the municipality of Monzingen in the German wine-growing region of Nahe. J. Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) already mentioned the excellent "Monzinger Wein" in his wine notes. The Emrich family has been growing wine on the Nahe since the middle of the 18th century. The estate was originally run as a mixed operation (agriculture, livestock farming, viticulture). From the mid-1960s, Wilhelm Schönleber (a Swabian by birth) and later his son Werner Schönleber restructured the business into a pure wine estate. During this time, the vineyard area grew from around two to ten hectares. Today, the winery is run by Werner and Frank Schönleber. The three internal principles of the house with regard to the wines are: 1. fun to drink; 2. honest, authentic, typical of their origin; 3. single vineyards with a distinctive character.
The vineyards cover 22 hectares, 90% of which are planted with Riesling, the rest with Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc. Over the last forty years, great effort has been invested in the preservation and, above all, recultivation of steep plots. The best areas are located in the single vineyard sites Frühlingsplätzchen and Halenberg, which are classified as VDP-Grosse Lage, as well as the cadastral site Auf der Ley (Monzingen). Further areas are located in the Niederberg vineyard (Monzingen), which is classified as a VDP-Erste Lage site. In the certified sustainable cultivation of the vineyards, attention is paid to the harmony between the vines and the water and nutrient supply.
Only a small amount of nutrients is removed from the soil, as 100% of the organic matter is recycled in addition to the grape juice. During the numerous manual operations, each vine is treated individually. Appropriate foliage care ensures good aeration of the foliage wall and healthy vines, which also enables a late harvest. As the best parts of the vineyard are not directly exposed to the nightly cold air currents, cooling takes place slowly and allows the flavours in the grapes to develop optimally. If necessary, the vines are fertilised with home-made compost.
After selective hand-picking of physiologically ripe and healthy grapes and gentle grape processing, slow, controlled fermentation takes place. The wines are marketed according to the VDP classification model. The wines are vinified according to the non-invasive rule "as much as necessary, as little as possible" with little influence on the wines' own development. Since 1997, only Rieslings from the best parcels with site designations have been marketed as Grosse Lage. Around 140,000 bottles of wine are produced each year. The winery has been a member of the VDP since 1994.
Pictures: Emrich-Schönleber/Medienangenten
