The winery is located in the community of Deidesheim in the German wine-growing region of the
Palatinate. It was created from a division of the Jordan estate. In 1849, Jordan's son-in-law Franz Peter Buhl (1809-1862) inherited a large part of the estate. His son Franz Armand Buhl (1837-1896) continued the inheritance and under his leadership, the winery achieved international fame for its Rieslings. At world exhibitions (Paris) and events, the highest awards were won. At that time, Buhl wines were among the most expensive in the world. In 1869, the opening of the Suez Canal was toasted with a Buhl's Riesling. The German Chancellor Otto von
Bismarck (1815-1898) was a great lover of Buhl wines and by quoting
"This monster tastes monstrous to me" he made the Forster Ungeheuer site world-famous. The winery was given its present name by Reichsrat Franz Eberhard von
Buhl (1867-1921), who managed it in the third generation. After the death of Franz Eberhard, his wife Frieda Pieper von Buhl continued the business. After the death of the childless widow, it was inherited by Reichsfreiherrn Karl Theodor von und zu Guttenberg
The winery is owned by the Niederberger family of entrepreneurs from Neustadt (the ownership also includes the
Bassermann-Jordan and
Winning wineries). From January 2014 a new team will be responsible. The winery will be managed by managing director Richard Grosche, cellar master Mathieu Kauffmann (previously technical manager at Champagnerhaus
Bollinger) and Werner Sebastian, who has been the external manager for many years. The vineyards comprise 60 hectares of vineyards in the individual locations
Herrgottsacker,
Kieselberg, Leinhöhle,
Mäushöhle and
Paradiesgarten (Deidesheim),
Freundstück,
Jesuit garden,
Kirchenstück,
Pechstein and
Ungeheuer (Forst) as well as
Reiterpfad (Ruppertsberg). About 50 hectares are planted with Riesling, the rest with the varieties Pinot Noir (4 hectares), Pinot Blanc, Rieslaner and Scheurebe. Since 2004, the
vineyard has been cultivated according to the certified guidelines of
organic (ecological) viticulture
Special attention is paid to yield reduction and selective harvesting. In the individual vineyards, the grapes are harvested successively in small baskets in up to five courses, depending on their degree of ripeness. After gentle pressing, controlled fermentation takes place with the aim of producing pure wines with a pronounced fruit aroma, high natural carbon dioxide content and, in the case of mild wines, natural residual sweetness. In the cool vaulted cellar, which is about two kilometres long, the young wine is carefully filtered without fining and stored directly in stainless steel or in double-piece barrels for ageing. This reductive method of working is intended to preserve the natural character of the wines in terms of variety and location. The wines are marketed in the lines Rebsortenweine, Von Buhl, Klassifizierte Lage Kabinett, Klassifizierte Lage Spätlese, noble sweet wines as well as the top line
Grosse Gewächse Pfalz. Bottle-fermented sparkling wines are also produced. The winery is a member of the
VDP (Verband deutscher Prädikatsweingüter).