Staggered yard
The Staffelter Hof is a winery in Kröv on the Moselle . It derives its name from the Imperial Abbey of Stablo-Malmedy in what is now Stavelot , Belgium , to which it belonged for centuries and to which it was taxable. The Staffelter Hof is one of the cultural monuments in Kröv . The winery celebrated its 1150th anniversary in 2012, based on a certificate from 862, making it the oldest company still in existence in Germany and one of the oldest in the world .
history
In 862, King Lothar II donated "the chapel (old St. Peter's Church, mother church of Fiscus Crovia founded on Roman foundations) from his Fiscus Kröv , together with the tithe, because of the wine" to the Stablo monastery in the Ardennes . An excerpt from this deed of donation can be found on the mosaic on the facade of the Staffelter Hof: Conferimus eis ob exiguitatem vini ... - "We transfer you because of the lack of wine ..."
In 874, King Ludwig the German , heir to his childless nephew Lothar, expanded the property of the Stablo-Malmedy Abbey to include "a Mansus land, with the buildings and the people who live above them" . From this place the vineyards, fields and meadows of the abbey in the Kröver Reich were administered and cultivated. The wine was transported by carts from the Moselle over 140 kilometers to the monastery in the Ardennes .
In 1754 approx. 40,000 floors of vines were notarised on the Staffelter Hof, as well as numerous fields and meadows in Kinderbeuern and Bengel . As Hofmann , a Mr. Christoffel, father-in features of the penultimate courtier Peter Schneider's senior. In 1765 a feudal contract was signed with Johann Jacob Cravanto, Hofmann to Croeff the Gray Sisters of Coblentz : “that he should build the vineyards with Riesling provenance ” (cf. French provin = Rebling, offshoot). It was the beginning of the spread of Riesling cultivation on the Moselle.
While it was part of France , the abbeys were expropriated and dissolved in 1803. Peter Schneiders junior, then Hofmann, acquired the winery from the French state on February 1, 1805 (the 12th Pluviôse XIII according to the French revolutionary calendar ) for the sum of 6650 francs or 1773 Prussian thalers. Since then, the Staffelter Hof has been owned and managed by the Schneider family.
The property, which had been undivided up to then, was now divided each time following the real division in the next generation changes. Sections of the courtyard property were also cut off. In 1894 Maria Schneiders married the winemaker Kilian Klein (called de aale Jaan ) and brought the Staffelter Hof into the marriage. Between 1895 and 1918 she gave birth to 13 children, of which eleven survivors divided up the parental estate (at that time approx. 2.6 hectares of vineyards and various fields, meadows and forest areas) among themselves. In 1949 the youngest son Paul Klein and his wife Rosina Klein née Römer took over the Staffelter Hof from his widowed mother. Paul Klein decided that the business should no longer be divided in the future. At that time, the business comprised only 30 ares of vines and two hectares of fields and meadows.
In 1962, through new planting, acquisitions and leases, the business had grown again to 2.2 hectares of vineyards and six hectares of fields and meadows. Paul Klein's eldest son Gerd also decided to become a winemaker in 1964 . The Kleins began marketing bottled wine and renting out guest rooms . "Normal" agriculture was given up in 1970 and from then on only wine was grown. In 1974 Gerd Klein married Hildegunde "Gundi" Kohl, a winemaker's daughter from Piesport. In 1977 they leased the vineyards from their parents in Piesport and Dhron . The Staffelter Hof thus included 4.2 hectares of vineyards.
From 2002 onwards, the vineyards were restructured, characterized by the sale and clearing of weak marginal areas as well as the purchase and new planting of vineyards for the purpose of increasing quality and better management. The son Jan Matthias Klein, who has a degree in business administration specializing in wine marketing, acquired 8,000 square meters of steep Riesling vineyards and became co-owner of the winery in 2005. The cultivated area under vines was 6.5 hectares at the time. In the following year, another hectare of vineyards was included in the management.
Locations
In 2012, the Staffelter Hof winery switched to organic viticulture ; 9 hectares of vineyards are currently being cultivated. 78 percent of the vineyards of Weingut Staffelter Hof are planted with Riesling, which mainly thrives in steep slopes, followed by 12 percent Müller-Thurgau . The other varieties such as Kerner , Pinot Noir , Frühburgunder and Regent make up 10 percent. The best-known locations are in Kröv, Neumagen-Dhron and Piesport, the best locations include Kröver Steffensberg, Kröver Letterlay and Dhron Hofberger. The annual production of Weingut Staffelter Hof amounts to 60,000 bottles with an average yield of 75 hl / ha.
Top red wines are matured in barriques , pomace, yeast and fruit brandies are produced in the in-house distillery .
Steep slope viticulture
Together with ten other winegrowers, the Staffelter Hof founded the "Klitzekleiner Ring" association in order to do even more to preserve the cultural landscape and the steep slopes of the Moselle. The aim is to save valuable steep and steep slopes. The association makes a valuable contribution to the preservation of an old cultural wine landscape. The winery is also involved in Slow Food .
Awards
The Gault Millau guides the winery Staffelter courtyard in the "2-grape-class," Gerhard Eichelmann awards "3-star". Whitebook AWC Vienna reports on the 2008 Schieferstein Riesling dry, which was awarded "SILVER". The winery received four trophies at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2009: 2006 Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese "TROPHY", 2007 Riesling SL Spätlese "SILBER", 2007 Kröv Steffensberg Riesling Spätlese "BRONZE" and 2005 Kröv Steffensberg Riesling Auslese "SILBER". Winemaker Jan Matthias Klein received a trophy for the "wonderfully matured Staffelter Hof Riesling winery" at the 2009 Canberra Riesling Challenge.
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 58 ′ 35.7 " N , 7 ° 4 ′ 46.4" E