The traditional winery is located in the municipality of Kröv (Bernkastel area) in the German Moselle wine-growing region. It is the oldest winery in Germany and one of the oldest in the world. There is documentary evidence of a donation from the year 862, when King Lothar II (835-869) gave wine interest (vineyards) to the Benedictine monastery "Stavelot". The abbey lacked wine: "ob exiguitatem vini". The name and coat of arms of Staffelter Hof (Latin Stablo, Walloon Stav'leu = wolf stable) are derived from this. The estate remained in the possession of the abbey until Napoleonic secularisation. In 1805, it was acquired by the French state through Peter Schneiders, an ancestor of the current owners. Today the business is run by Jan Matthias Klein. Holiday flats are also offered for rent and cultural programmes are held in the "Kulturscheune". Around 75% of the energy required is produced by photovoltaic systems.
The vineyards cover over 14 hectares of vines in the single vineyard sites Letterlay, Paradies, Kirchlay and Steffensberg (Kröv), as well as Rosenberg and Hubertuslay (Kinheim). They are planted with the varieties Riesling (60% of the total area), Müller-Thurgau, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Gamay and Pinot Noir, as well as the PIWI varieties Muscaris, Souvignier Gris, Sauvitage, Satin Noir, Sauvignac and Donauriesling. A six-hectare vineyard area, which was rounded off as part of the second land consolidation programme, has been used as an agricultural VitiForst area since 2020. In addition to the PIWI varieties, fruit trees, shrubs and bushes were also planted. The environmentally friendly cultivation is based on principles of sustainability and the promotion of biodiversity. Certified organic viticulture is practised in accordance with the rules of ECOVIN. A flock of sheep is used to help care for the vineyards by tending the foliage, cover crop and circulating nutrients.
All wines are fermented spontaneously with the vineyard's own yeasts; the Puren wines, with illustrious names such as Little Bastard, Orange Utan or Kiss Kiss Maddies Lips, are bottled without filtration and without sulphur. They are produced in the lines "Schoppenweine", "Motivweine" (light and fruit-orientated), "Wappenweine" (from old vines on steep slopes) and "Signaturweine"(Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese). Ice wines are also produced in years with favourable weather conditions. The estate's premium wines are the single-vineyard Rieslings, "Alte Reben" (Riesling from ungrafted vines in single-pole training) and the red wine cuvée "Drei Farben Rot". Bottle-fermented sparkling wines, brandies(yeast, marc, fruit) and grape juices are also produced. The winery is a member of the Slow Food association and the Vision Mosel winegrowers' association.
