Gunderloch winery
The Gunderloch winery is located in the Rhineland-Palatinate municipality of Nackenheim in the German wine-growing region Rheinhessen . It currently cultivates around 14 hectares of vineyards. The winery is also a member of the Association of German Predicate and Quality Wineries .
history
The Gunderloch family winery was founded in Nackenheim in 1890 by a Mainz banker. Carl Gunderloch, who originally came from Gundersheim , acquired the historic Dalheimer Hof from the secularized property of the Cistercian women of the Dalheim Monastery near Mainz, as well as excellent vineyard locations such as the Nackenheimer Rothenberg in the Rote Hang, and through his investments became one of the protagonists of a new quality viticulture on the Rhine . After his death, the winery was divided between his two daughters. In the meantime, Agnes Hasselbach-Usinger is the fifth generation to be in charge. The three children of the sixth generation support the company according to their abilities.
The name of the landowner Gunderloch became known throughout Germany in 1925 through the comedy " The happy vineyard " written by Carl Zuckmayer . However, Gunderloch and the other Nackenheim winemakers did not like the way the piece was made, because they were portrayed as petty bourgeois .
As early as the late 1970s, Fritz Hasselbach recognized the importance of the international wine press for the marketing opportunities of wineries with top locations. In 1979, Agnes and Fritz Hasselbach decided to expand the winery according to the state of the art and to give up their teaching professions at a private school and the then state teaching and research institute for viticulture and horticulture in Oppenheim, today: Service Center Rural Area . Over the years, important contacts with leading wine critics, such as Stuart Pigott , were established and maintained.
Regine Usinger (* 1958), later Usinger-Frank, was the German Wine Queen in the 1980/1981 wine year .
In the meantime, the cellar technology, the grape receiving, the grape transport and the grape harvesting method have been gradually adapted to the latest state of the art. The winery exports its wines to 34 countries around the world (as of 2008).
At the ceremony for the Nobel Peace Prize 2013, the Kabinett Riesling Jean Baptiste Gunderloch was served.
With Johannes Hasselbach, the younger generation has taken over the business. Johannes Hasselbach has headed the VDP's Rheinhessen regional association since December 2019.
Vineyards and grape varieties
The most important location of the Gunderloch winery is the Nackenheimer Rothenberg. This location, as well as Niersteiner Pettenthal and Hipping from the Balbach winery, are located in the Rote Hang. This terroir consists of red clay slate and gives the wines complexity and fullness. Only the best wines of the winery are sold under the location name, while the dry quality wines up to the Kabinett as estate wines only bear the name of the winery.
The winery produces around 80% Riesling , 5% Silvaner 5% Pinot Gris . The remaining 10% are distributed among specialties such as the Scheurebe , the Gewürztraminer , the Dornfelder and the Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc . The winemaker is the Geisenheim oenologist Friedrich Hasselbach, the husband of Agnes Hasselbach-Usinger. Since 2008 he has been supported and advised in cellar management by Alex Michalsky, formerly Weingut St. Antony .
Reviews (selection)
- Gault Millau WeinGuide 2009 : four grapes
- Eichelmann 2009 ***
Individual evidence
- ^ Mario Scheuermann : German top wineries . Ernst Kabel Verlag, Hamburg 1986, ISBN 3-8225-0029-1 .
- ↑ From the slope to all over the world
- ↑ Allgemeine Zeitung Mainz; P. 20; December 14, 2013
- ↑ New management at VDP.Rheinhessen
- ↑ Johannes Hasselbach nominated as "Winemaker of the Year" at the #Falstaff Wine Trophy
- ↑ ( page no longer available , search in web archives: GAULT MILLAU Germany - awards )