The winery is located in the municipality of Östringen-Tiefenbach (Kraichgau area) in the German wine-growing region of Baden. It was founded in 1960 by Albert Heitlinger. Today it is owned by the "Weingüter Heitlinger & Burg Ravensburg GmbH" with Heinz Heiler as the owner. The Burg Ravensburg wine estate in Sulzfeld was acquired in 2010, but continues to exist with equal rights. The two wineries are completely separate in terms of wine law, but are run jointly. They are only ten kilometres apart, and all wines are vinified in the winery in Tiefenbach, which was newly built in 2012. Dipl.-Weinbaubetriebswirt Claus Burmeister is responsible as managing director for both wineries. Daniel Rupp is responsible for the cellar technology. The Heitlinger winery is considered a Burgundy specialist.
The vineyards cover 80 hectares of vines in the single vineyard sites Schellenbrunnen and Spiegelberg with the cadastral sites Hassapfel, Heinberg and Wormsberg (Tiefenbach), Kapellenberg with the cadastral site Wigoldsberg (Eichelberg), Königsbecher (Odenheim). The soils are characterised by calcareous, coloured marl. They are planted with the white wine varieties Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Auxerrois, Cabernet Blanc, Chardonnay and Riesling, as well as the red wine varieties Pinot Noir, Lembereger (Blaufränkisch) and Pinot Meunier. Since 2010, the vineyards have been cultivated according to certified organic (ecological) viticulture guidelines with the principles of sustainability. Since 2014, this has been done according to the rules of Biodynamic viticulture.
The focus is on biologically active soil as the ideal location for healthy and stable vines, and manual work is seen as the key to quality. No synthetic chemical substances are used that are foreign to nature. Biodiversity (variety of species) with diverse habitats for plants, animals and microorganisms is created through a cover crop with flowering, green under-seeds. All plots are individually cultivated depending on the wine quality level according to the VDP classification model(local wine to Grosses Gewächs). The average yield is 55 hl/ha. Only physiologically ripe and undamaged grapes are processed through strictly manual, selective harvesting in several passes and further sorting at the winery.
In order to achieve a pronounced depth of aroma, the skins and juice of the grapes remain in contact with each other for up to six days under cooling in order to extract as much of the extract substances as possible before fermentation. This gives the wines a special individuality and storability. The work in the cellar is carried out with great care using pneumatic presses and gravity instead of pumps to transport the grapes, must and wine. The Grossen Gewächse from the Burgundy varieties and from Lemberger mature exclusively in large wooden barrels and barriques. A bottle-fermented sparkling wine is also produced. About 580,000 bottles of wine are produced annually. The winery is a member of the Slow Food Association and, since 2012, of the VDP (Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates).
