Centuries of commitment:
Winegrowing
is a long family tradition
Winemaking goes back to the 2nd century in the Neckar area, and is documented in the annals of history for more than 1,300 years. The mild climate, unique soil and sunny vineyards on the Neckar and surrounding valleys produce luscious grapes and lend the wine its original character. The House of Württemberg is also duty bound to this heritage. The winegrowing tradition in the House of Württemberg goes back to the 13th century and, in 1677, the ducal family founded the “Hofkammerkellerei” (Court wine cellars). Generations later, Michael, Duke of Württemberg still manages and administers the vineyards of the Dukes of Württemberg. As before, the family tradition is still intimately linked to the region and its many qualities.
Fine wines can be sampled in countless cellars, wine taverns, taverns selling homegrown wines and winegrowing cooperatives. But what makes the wine in Württemberg so special, unique even? “The soil is our capital”, says Michael, Duke of Württemberg, who has been engaged in the family’s wine-growing estate since 1997. In 1981, the wine estate moved to Castle Monrepos near Ludwigsburg. It was formerly sited at the Altes Schloss (Old Castle) in Stuttgart. From the middle of the 17th century to the end of the 19th century the House of Württemberg acquired six of the region’s best situated vineyards. The present wine estate stretches from Stetten in Remstal to Maulbronn. Each of the six vineyards has its own special “terroir” which is reflected in the wines. Nowhere else in Württemberg, so many different wines of such prestigious origin can be enjoyed from the one estate.
The region’s diversity in a glass – fertile soil and a mild climate for grapes to grow and ripen
The wine estate is owned by Carl, Duke of Württemberg. He has been the head of the House of Württemberg since 1975 and on the death of his father followed in his footsteps and took the helm of the family-run company “Hofkammer des Hauses Württemberg”. Apart from the wine estate, “Hofkammer des Hauses Württemberg” also manages real estate, forests and farming.
As Michael, Duke of Württemberg says: “We always have to look out for ways of taking the business into future.” This is why new grape varieties in addition to the tradition types of vine are now cultivated, including Merlot, Cabernet and Syrah. The king of the red grape varieties is Pinot Noir. This ne red wine how- ever is very demanding in terms of location and microclimate; it is a special wine with complex aromas. Once matured it is a deep reddish purple in colour, and its bouquet can be described as full-bodied. “Customers’ tastes in wine are always changing, which is in some measure due to trend research”, comments Michael, Duke of Württemberg. One constant though is the aspiration to deliver high quality: nest German wines with an expressive terroir character and great potential for ageing.
A process of maturing,
tradition and modernity for wine that tastes of life
“Our wines are masterpieces from the best slopes in Württemberg, and are characterised by a tradition that combines time, patience and expertise. VDP (Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates) membership commits us to satisfying the highest standards”, explains the duke. The wine estate has been a member of the VDP since 1986. The logo, a stylised eagle bearing a cluster of grapes, on every bottle is the association’s identification symbol and guarantees the high quality of its products.
The history of wine is as old as humankind itself – or perhaps older still. It is not called the “drink of the gods” after all? Both the Ancient Romans and Greeks revered their gods of wine, Bacchus and Dionysus. And, with increasing regularity, we find clues that wine played a significant role in other cultures as well. Wine was often used as a funerary object and symbolises blood spilt in the battle against the gods.
Weinberghäusle in Käsberg
Yet even this age-old history needs new or more modern methods of treatment. The duke recalls: “Vintners used to read the weather forecast in the newspapers. Today they can retrieve it online for wherever, whenever they like.” Michael, Duke of Württemberg is supported by a committed team of seven in his management of the vineyards. Flat hierarchies, horizontal communication and short decision-making processes distinguish the modern organisational structure of the present-day wine estate. “Our working climate is informal and we love what we do.” Around 250,000 bottles of wine are produced annually.
A quest for harmony balancing nature and technology in both vineyards and wine cellars and the combination of old traditions and new know-how is the recipe for success at the ducal wine estate. Not to mention, of course, a consummate skill in the processing of the pressed grapes. The barrique cellar holds 60 oak barrels, each with a volume of 225 litres. A rustic yet fine ambience, for the large clinker wall in the background recalls the time-honoured dry stone walls of the vineyard. The coat of arms of the Dukes of Württemberg also hangs here: three stag antlers under a royal crown. It is framed by laurel and oak branches. The laurel stands for the present and future, the oak for constancy.
Monrepos Castle near Ludwigsburg
Barrique barrels, Wine Estate Duke of Württemberg
The duke points to the barrels: “For the most part our barrique barrels are made of the nest Swabian oak, carefully selected by our forester from our own forest (Pfahlhof near Ilsfeld, editor’s note). The felled oak is around 150 to 200 years old. It is dried for three years before it is ready to be fashioned into barrique barrels, which is carried out in Burgundy, by the way.”
Old conventions give way to modern life, as visitors are ushered into a bright wine store. Effectively illuminated, the wines are presented in stylish cubes, while on the monitor video texts greet the visitors. The walls are purist white forming a rich contrast to the grained oak of the bar where the wine can be tasted in style. “Wine is a way of life, preserving our cultural landscape and homeland. Wine is life.”
Sabine von Varendorff
INFO
Wine Estate Herzog von Württemberg
The Wine Estate Duke von Württemberg comprises 40 hectares of vineyards in the growing area of Württemberg. Almost 23 hectares are reserved for white grape varieties like Riesling, Traminer, Silvaner and Pinot Blanc, while Trollinger, Lemberger, Pinot Noir and Zweigelt are cultivated, grown and ripened on around 17 hectares.
The products of the ducal wine estate bear illustrious names:
- Eilfingerberg, Maulbronn (Riesling, Weißburgunder, Lemberger, Silvaner)
- Brotwasser, Stetten (Riesling)
- Käsberg, Maulbronn (Spätburgunder, Trollinger)
- Mönchberg, Untertürkheim (Lemberger, Spätburgunder)
Mack & Schühle, wine traders
Bodega of Mack & Schühle
International wine business
According to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) Germany is world’s largest wine import market. Today, one in three bottles of wine produced worldwide is traded across borders. Germany, a major economic hub and consumer market, enjoys a particular status in the international wine trade.
One of the largest wine distributors in Central Europe is Mack & Schühle, based in Owen, Swabia, with revenues of EUR 155 million. Mack & Schühle AG holds participa- tions in production and sales companies in Italy, Spain and Switzerland. In 2008, Mack & Schühle entered the German producer market in a 50 per cent partnership with the German- Argentinian Wine Estate Heinrich Vollmer in Ellerstadt in the Palatinate and, at the same time, Bodega Enrique Vollmer in Mendoza, Argentinia.
Christoph Mack is Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mack & Schühle AG in Owen/Teck. The company has been in existence since 1939 and offers a full range of services, from reliable procurement and ef cient logistics to a successful advertising and marketing concept. The brand portfolio includes wines and spirits from all the world’s major wine-producing regions. Thanks to its own production facilities and strong international network Mack & Schühle is also an able partner in the “private and exclusive label” sector.
In the successful deployment of its core competences, Mack & Schühle AG relies on its own quality management team of seven oenologists, professional key account management and its own team in the eld comprising 40 motivated sales people. The proactive corporate philosophy is also confirmed by the fact that Mack & Schühle was the rst wine company to be IFS Broker-certified.
With its own 40-strong eld force, experienced oenologists and buyers, comprehensive quality management and profes- sional key account management a full range of services is offered. Mack & Schühle is divided into three sectors:
- “Off-trade producer brands” whose reputable producer brands are mainly sold in the retail food trade and cash & carry outlets;
- “Exclusive & private label”, in which bespoke and tailored products are created;
- “On-trade producer brands” with their premium group of competent partners in the retail, specialist wholesale trade, restaurants and hotel chains.
Manufaktur Jörg Geiger, wines and wine-cellar
Manufaktur Jörg Geiger, wines and wine-cellar
Bottle-filling at Manufaktur Jörg Geiger
There is more to wine than Bacchanalian inebriation
The grape varieties in the vineyards of the world today are the result of a selection process that began around 60 million years ago. Ice ages and climate change accounted for the disappearance of existing vines and origination of new varieties.
As trade and transport expanded, and also the migrations of people, vines were brought by merchants, seamen, mercenaries and settlers to other countries with different cultivation conditions. The various climates, soils and diseases resulted in the vines either being destroyed or surviving by adapting to the new conditions. So, in the course of the past centuries the diversity of varieties has been increasingly winnowed. To- day, there are no wild varieties any more, and the number of cultured varieties still cultivated has declined steeply. The vine pest which blighted Europe from 1850 on, and in some regions which raged until 1930, led to the extinction of many regional varieties. What is left are some thousand different vines world- wide – and covering 30,000 hectares, Europe’s largest single fruit-growing area, for instance: the region’s meadows with their scattering of fruit trees.
And so the question is justifiably raised: why only harvest grapes? The “fruit wines” as they are classed in food law are a genuine alternative to the fast disappearing grape varieties. In Great Britain, where wine-making is a popular pursuit in garages, the fermentation carboys are regularly filled with elderberry, rhubarb, beetroot, carrots and even parsnips. So what about here? A passion for experimentation, spirit of innovation and feel for tradition unlocks a new dimension. At Jörg Geiger’s factory in Schlat near Göppingen fruit wines have long ceased being a niche product, but stand for the future; especially, when it comes to launching one hundred per cent non-alcoholic beverages on the market.
Manufaktur Jörg Geiger creates alcohol-free beverages from local fruit and wild herbs.
“Often a century old or more, our local trees are of priceless value.”
Jörg Geiger
Managing Director Gasthof Lamm
and Manufaktur Jörg Geiger, Schlat