We farm fourteen hectares on the limestone hills around Aldersheim. The soil is thin and the rock close to the surface, so the vines have to dig. That is where the salt and the tension in our wines come from.
Three sites, three wines
Morgenhang
East-facing, in sun from first light, vines planted in 1971. Our most precise Riesling.
Hohe Mauer
Half a hectare inside a stone wall from the 1800s. Small yields, wines to keep.
Alter Kirchweg
Cool clay and limestone below the church, where our Pinot Noir grows.
The year in the vineyard
Winter
We prune every vine by hand in January and February, leaving one cane and a few buds for the year.
Summer
In June we thin the leaves around the grapes so the morning sun and the wind can reach them.
Autumn
From late September we pick by hand, site by site, and press each crate within the hour.
Harvest by hand
From late September twelve of us pick by hand: family, neighbours and the same friends from Mainz who come every autumn. We pick site by site, as each one is ready.
The crates go to the press within the hour, most of them as whole bunches. In the evening we eat in the courtyard, and nobody talks about anything but sugar levels.
Thin soil, the rock close below.
The vines on our three sites have to dig for water. That is where the salt and the tension in the wines come from.