The winery is located in the municipality of Mertesdorf-Lorenzhof, directly on the Ruwer River in the German
Moselle wine-growing region. The Karlsmühle is considered to be the oldest rock mill north of the Alps. Remains of buildings were found nearby that indicate a Roman mill. The Romans cut marble and shell limestone slabs brought here from Italy for the magnificent buildings in Trier. The Roman poet
Ausonius (310-395) describes a boat trip on the Moselle and its tributaries in his poem "Mosella", written around 370. In it, he also reports on the Ruwer: the
Ruwer turns the grain-grinding stones in dizzying whirlpools and pulls the screeching saws through smooth marble blocks. From 1457, the mill was owned by the monastery of St. Maximin in Trier. Johann Karls acquired it in 1803 when the monastery was dissolved and gave it its present name. Since that time, the family and their descendants have practised viticulture. In 1889, Peter Geiben married into the family, whose grandson of the same name has run the estate since the late 1970s. The property also includes a hotel, which is currently leased out
The vineyards cover 12.5 hectares of vines in the single vineyards
Kehrnagel and
Nies'chen (Kasel), as well as the very steeply terraced slopes Felslay and Mäuerchen (Lorenzhof), which are solely owned. The wines from the latter two individual vineyards are, however, mostly marketed under the collective name
Lorenzhöfer. The majority of the vineyards are planted with Riesling (11 ha), as well as smaller amounts of Müller-Thurgau, Pinot Blanc, Dornfelder, Pinot Noir and the special Mosel variety
Elbling. The Rieslings are mostly fermented spontaneously with natural yeasts and are largely vinified dry and semi-dry. In years with suitable weather conditions, ice wines and Trockenbeerenauslese wines are also produced. Bottle-fermented sparkling wine is also produced
