The history of the famous family is inextricably linked to the history of German quality viticulture. The ancestors were outstanding winegrowers, art connoisseurs and active in political life as mayors, members of parliament and authors of wine books. The origin is the Ketschauerhof, which was already mentioned in 1250.
Viticulture
In 1783, Johann Peter Jordan (whose father had immigrated from Savoy in 1708) built an estate with a winery in Deidesheim, north of Neustadt an der Weinstraße, which has remained the centre of the estate to this day. Andreas Jordan (1775-1848) is considered the founder of quality viticulture in the Palatinate. He bought the Ketschauerhof together with some of the best vineyards. A letter from this time has been preserved in which J. W. von Goethe (1749-1832) ordered the 1811 wine, which he often praised and also referred to as comet wine, from the Bassermann vineyard for a spa holiday in 1820.
High-quality grape varieties (Riesling)
Andreas Jordan attached great importance to planting only high-quality grape varieties, above all Riesling, and to carefully separating the vines compared to the then customary Gemischter Satz. The extensive improvements to the vineyards are worth mentioning: north-facing slopes were turned into south-facing slopes with large earth movements, south-facing slopes were artificially raised and many sites were drained. He was succeeded by his son Ludwig Andreas Jordan (1811-1883), who continued the tradition and caused a sensation with his 1852 wines.
His successor was his son-in-law Emil Bassermann-Jordan (1835-1915). His brother Otto was a friend and publisher of Wilhelm Busch (1832-1912), who wrote to him: "The Deidesheimer is a real treat for me - but - only 17 bottles left. I think you can get me, undamaged by your noblesse, a batch against payment. Only soon - God willing - I'll come in autumn and look forward to it".
Pioneer Friedrich von Bassermann-Jordan
This was followed by Ludwig von Bassermann-Jordan (1869-1914) and Dr Friedrich von Bassermann-Jordan(1872-1959), who ran the business together. In 1907, the latter published his book "The History of Viticulture" in three volumes, which is still considered a standard work today. He went on to publish countless other works on wine history, became an internationally recognised authority as a viticultural historian, exerted a decisive influence on German viticulture for decades and received numerous honours and titles, such as President of the Bavarian and Vice President of the German Winegrowers' Association (DWV).
Friedrich von Bassermann-Jordan also had a significant influence on the first German wine law. On the occasion of his 85th birthday, the DLG donated the "Friedrich v. Bassermann-Jordan Medal", which is awarded to a maximum of ten living personalities who have rendered "outstanding services to the German wine industry".
Vineyard
His son Ludwig von Bassermann-Jordan (1924-1995) managed the winery from 1959 and particularly promoted the training of winegrowing specialists. After his death, his widow Margrit von Bassermann-Jordan (*1940) took over the management. In 2002, the winery was sold to the Neustadt entrepreneur Achim Niederberger. After his death in 2013, the business has been managed by Jana Niederberger together with Ulrich Mell (technical director since 1997) and Gunther Hauck (commercial director since 1998).
The winery comprises 50 hectares of vineyards in the single vineyard sites Grainhübel, Herrgottsacker, Hohenmorgen, Kalkofen, Kieselberg, Langenmorgen, Leinhöhle, Mäushöhle, Paradiesgarten (Deidesheim), Hoheburg, Reiterpfad, Spieß (Ruppertsberg), as well as Freundstück, Jesuitengarten, Kirchenstück, Pechstein, Stift, Ungeheuer with Gewann Ziegler (Forst). They are planted with the white wine varieties Riesling (90%), Chardonnay,Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris, as well as the red wine varieties Pinot Noir and Merlot.
Wine cellar
The winery's cellar has a special status, as a wine museum with countless valuable artefacts has been created here over the centuries. It contains Roman amphorae from the 1st to 3rd centuries, pewter bottles from the time of the Thirty Years' War, a 1706 wine, one of the legendary 1811 Forster Ungeheuer and all vintages since the 1880s. The wines in the private collection are not for sale.
Ancestral line: Privy Councillor Dr von Bassermann-Jordan Winery
Building: fotocredit by hans georg merkel fotografie
