The winery is located in the municipality of Laumersheim in the German wine-growing region of
Pfalz. It was founded in 1874 by the Knipser family, who came from South Tyrol. In addition to viticulture, fruit and arable farming were also practised and the wines were sold in barrels. As one of the first wineries in the region, bottling and direct marketing began as early as 1948. In the early 1970s, they switched completely to viticulture. Volker and Werner Knipser began
barrique vinification in the mid-1980s and are now considered absolute specialists. Werner Knipser's son Stephan has been co-owner since 2005. Since the 2003 vintage, all wines have been vinified in the new state-of-the-art winery building on the outskirts of Laumersheim. The vineyards cover 40 hectares of vines in the single vineyard sites Kapellenberg,
Kirschgarten and
Steinbuckel (Laumersheim),
Mandelpfad (Dirmstein), as well as
Burgweg and Osterberg (Großkarlbach)
The red wine varieties Pinot Noir, St. Laurent, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Dornfelder, Syrah, Lemberger and
Blauer Arbst are cultivated, as well as the white wine varieties Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Gelber Orléans, Auxerrois, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris, Sylvaner and Gewürztraminer. 95% of the wines are vinified dry, but in suitable years Trockenbeerenauslese wines are also produced. The wines produced from the Erste Lagen are marketed as
Grosse Gewächse. Of the red wines, "Cuvée X" in Bordeaux style (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, 18 to 20 months in mainly new barriques), "Cuvée XR" (selection of best barrels Cuvée X, only in best years) and Pinot Noir "Burgweg" are worth mentioning. Bottle-fermented sparkling wines and
marc brandies are also produced. The winery is a member of the
VDP and a founding member of the
German Barrique Forum
