Weingut Josef Walter

The winery is located in the municipality of Bürgstadt (Mainviereck area) in the German wine-growing region of Franconia. The family has been involved in viticulture since at least 1855, and today the winery is run by Daniela and Christoph Walter. The vineyards cover 3.5 hectares of vines in the single vineyards Centgrafenberg and Hundsrück (Bürgstadt). The vineyards are 75% planted with the red wine varieties Pinot Noir, Frühburgunder, Domina and Regent, and the white wine varieties Silvaner, Müller-Thurgau, Bacchus and Riesling. The vineyards are cultivated in a near-natural way with permanent cover crop, spreading of manure and compost, and no insecticides or mineral nitrogen fertilisers. Quality-enhancing measures include a high number of vines per hectare and extensive foliage management with the goal of low yields.

The white wines are fermented in cool conditions and matured in stainless steel tanks. After gentle harvesting and transport in small crates to the cellar, the red wine grapes are emptied by hand into the destemmer without any pumping processes and stored in mash fermentation tanks. A long maceration (partly spontaneous) with cryomaceration follows. After pressing, the red wines are mostly matured in barrels or in barriques. The biological acid degradation takes place spontaneously. The premium qualities are bottled without filtration. Premium wines are Silvaner "S" Centgrafenberg (stainless steel, 10% barrique), Spätburgunder "J" Hundsrück (24 months barrique from Spessart oak) and Spätburgunder "J" Centgrafenberg (24 months barrique). Around 18,000 bottles of wine are produced annually. Red grape juice and bottle-fermented sparkling wine(Blanc de noirs) are also produced. The winery is a member of the Silvaner Forum.