Weingut Rudolf Fürst

The winery is located in the community of Bürgstadt in the German Franconian wine region and there in the southwestern part of the Main valley between Spessart and Odenwald called Churfrankn. The Fürst family has been growing wine since 1638. In 1979 Paul and Monika Fürst built a new estate building in the middle of the vineyards of the Bürgstadt Centgrafenberg. Paul Fürst, who has managed the winery since 2007 together with his son Sebastian, is one of the pioneers of barrique ageing in Germany. Sebastian Schür is responsible for the outside operations.

The vineyards comprise 21 hectares of vineyards in the individual locations Centgrafenberg and Hundsrück (Bürgstadt) with Pinot Noir and Riesling, as well as Bischofsberg (Großheubach), Karthäuser (Volkach) and Schlossberg (Klingenberg). The red wine varieties Spätburgunder(Pinot Noir) with a good half of the stock and Frühburgunder, as well as the white wine varieties Riesling, Weißburgunder(Pinot Blanc), Chardonnay and Silvaner are cultivated. With the exception of the Astheim vineyards, which stand on stony shell limestone, the sites in Churfranken are characterised by the strongly iron-rich red sandstone soils. In cultivation, great importance is attached to high vine numbers of up to 16,000 vines/ha, the best planting material, closeness of the grapes to the ground, constant good humus supply, care of the soil and targeted plant protection. A large part of the vineyards is well over 35 years old. Great care and effort is put into the care of the old vines and into thorough replanting to support the potential of the terroir-dominated wines. Mtt rock flour and charcoal enriched compost is another strong factor in soil management. Through rigorous thinning out and selective grape harvesting, only healthy and high quality grapes are processed.

The vinification is carried out under the principle of low-tech with as few interventions as possible. After open maceration, the red wines mature for 12 to 20 months in Burgundian barrels (228 litres). After self clarification, they are bottled without filtration. After gentle pressing, the white wines are fermented in small and large wooden barrels as well as in stainless steel tanks and mature for 6 to 18 months. The premium wines include Centgrafenberg GG Riesling and Hundsrück GG Spätburgunder. Around 120,000 bottles of wine are produced annually. Bottle-fermented sparkling wines and fruit brandies are also produced. The winery is a member of theVDP (Verband deutscher Prädikatsweingüter) and one of the five Franconian TRIAS wineries.