Winemakers Night - Weingut Cellar Acustic - 16. März 2018

6 QUESTIONS TO… AURELIA & FRANZ

What was the craziest thing you tried about making wine?

Franz: One thing I remember is having sheeps and cows in the vineyard.  We used both in the winter to control weeds. Other memorable experiences are probably the traditional production of a port wine (with grape stomping) or the distillation of a whisky with grains from Scotland.

Aurelia: If the spontaneous is to ferment through, woman becomes quite creative…! Many have tried the wild nature of spontaneity – my barrel definitely looked very fashionable. Hope it is the last to die.

What do you do differently from everyone else?

Franz: I always have concrete thoughts about the different years. It is important that the work is not automatically done. My plan is flexible and adapts to the conditions every year.

Aurelia: Back in 1977, my father decided to convert our viticulture to organic farming. For more than 25 years we have been ecologically certified – that’s really special! And of course, I am very happy to be able to grow the wines on such great soils now!

Why wine and not liquor?

Na: Wine is beautiful, liquor is rough! 😉

What has been your best wine experience so far?

Wine unites – we quickly realized that… After all, we met at Prowein. 😉

Now we enjoy discovering new, exciting and impressive wine regions together, such as New Zealand and South Africa, but also traditional wine regions such as France, Italy and Spain. A ritual has developed: Always (at least) saber a bottle of sparkling wine!

How would you describe the changes in viticulture over the past 10 years?

Franz: Most regions in Germany and Austria now produce excellent qualities every year. Climate change, from which German viticulture has benefited, is a major problem for southern Europeans. All in all, we are in a great starting position. What many companies should still be working on is their sustainability.

Aurelia: I have been at the winery for 3 years now and have already experienced crazy weather situations, the strong fluctuations are becoming more and more extreme. A lot of the time spent in the vineyard allows us again and again various possibilities to get the best out of the vintages!

4, 5, 6 glasses of wine and you…?

Franz: Sober, too shy, drunk way too cool!

Aurelia: … then go on a pilgrimage to the treasure room for a mature one!

Winery Wehrheim

Franz Wehrheim likes to think back to his youth and his first vintage, during which he was allowed to help his parents. Wine has always played an important role in his life, even as a small child he stomped through the vineyards. Early on he developed preferences as to in which vineyards he liked to harvest the grapes and in which rather less. Today Franz Wehrheim is in the cellar more because he particularly enjoys staying there. “There is always a lot of action and reaction in the cellar, which makes the work so interesting,” explains the young winegrower.

Today, three generations work under one roof, and as you can see, with great success! From 90-year-old grandfather Heinz to grandson Franz, everyone helps passionately. Together they support the 18-hectare farm, which has been run by the family since 1920. The company was previously in a combined business, so it took some time before it was restructured. From then on, the family concentrated only on viticulture.  In the 1940s, the Wehrheim family began bottling wine and since 1984, Karl-Heinz Wehrheim has managed the winery and is also responsible for its current name. The doctorate comes from his father Heinz Wehrheim, who is also more than active in the company at over 90. “For us, winemaking is a joint project in which three generations contribute their knowledge and experience constructively,” says the family.

The young up-and-coming winemaker was born in 1987 and initially studied business administration. “I’ve always had a lot of respect for my father’s good work. But you have to find the love for viticulture all by yourself and not because of tradition or family pressure. My first degree in business was the way I did my own thing.” After studying business administration, however, he decided to take a dual course of study in Neustadt, which combined an apprenticeship in winemaking with studies in viticulture.

Karl-Heinz Wehrheim’s father was one of the first German winegrowers to begin cultivating his wines after the terroir in 1999. Rieslings now grow on red sandstone soil, on shell limestone, and on Rotliegend and Keuper soil. The most famous locations of Dr. Wehrheim are the Rosenberg, the Mandelberg and the Kastanienbusch.

40 % Riesling, 35 % Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris, and 15 % Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The rest of the area is covered with smaller amounts of Muscatel, St. Laurent, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

In a wine guide from 2012 it is written: “The strengths of the winery, which has been one of the top wineries in the Southern Palatinate for years, lie not only with the Rieslings. You also know how to deal with the White Burgundians.” And so the winery is happy about its four stars!

Winery Hamm

Karl-Heinz Hamm enjoys the challenge every day with a full sense of responsibility. His life’s work: – To maintain the winery Hamm, which is now in its third generation of the family.  For five centuries, the farmhouse and the baroque townhouse have merged to form today’s Ecological Winery.

In the vineyard, Karl-Heinz Hamm uses plant and mineral remedies and specifically promotes beneficial insects against harmful insects in order to maintain the natural balance. He cultivates the soil more consciously to protect the plant against damage.

This makes the cycle of its vines, for example, the vegetation much more harmonious. Its grapes become riper and the quality of the juices is clear.

Hamm wines are wonderfully fruity and mineral – they have a good balance and variety of aromas.

Karl- Heinz Hamm has already taken a clear position on the subject of environmental protection during his studies in viticulture. Not only for moral reasons, but also for quality reasons.  Since 1977 he has been successfully implementing this to his wines. 

After only 3 years of ecological viticulture, the vines in the Dachsberg developed healthier.  Karl-Heinz noticed this quickly because the vines developed a stronger green. This allowed him to exploit the grape ripeness quickly and the grapes were very suitable. Hamm’s insider tip: The quality begins in the growing area – in the location and the ecological development, then the skill of the winegrower takes over the final polish in the cellar where our wines become Hamm personalities, says the winegrower. 

Among the 7-hectares of vineyards, 90% are planted with Riesling, the remaining 10% with Pinot Noir. With a feel for the right moment, ripe and healthy grapes are harvested by hand, right up to noble rot. In principle, the specific character of the wines (based on the terroir, the grape variety and the vintage) is promoted.

A sustained, melodic mixture of senses from vines that are over 55 years old, in iridescent, brocade elegance and barren its soil. “The older the vine, the more developed is its root network. Therefore, the wines are not only characterized by its high must weights and denser taste, but also more concentrated in its valuable ingredients and aromas”.

Since 1990, the Hamm winery has been part of the inspection procedure for ecological farming of the ecological control authorities.