WEINHOF SANKT ANNA (Mosel, Germany)
Weinhof Sankt Anna is a small family-run winery established by the Schwaab-Pfeiffer family more than a century ago in the village of Erden, located in the Middle Mosel. Jürgen Schwaab is now the 4th generation in charge, forced to take charge at age 30, when a serious illness struck his father. He has worked exhaustibly since to improve the quality of the wines and to make the family proud of the historic weingut. Three of the four hectares, are located in the famous (very steep) , Erdener Treppchen and Kinheimer Hubertuslay vineyards. Jürgen knows that only manual work can produce the best fruit, despite the difficulty of the slopes. He manages to keep the dangling vines healthy by natural means. His oldest vines are 65yrs old, ungrafted in Üziger Wurzgarten. In 1993 Jürgen's father planted a small parcel with Grauburgunder to his mother's preference for lower acids (Kinheimer Hubertuslay). At harvest time the work is done in the traditional manner with an intense grape selection at the vineyard and again in the cellar before pressing. The thinking in the cellar, makes Jürgen's life easier. Manipulation is minimal, considering the wine was made outdoors, bringing the harmony of nature into the cellar. The wines are vinified reductively in steel tanks and only a small part in old oak barrels. Once in vessel, the wines are allowed to patiently process until the following spring, when he sets to bottling. Tireless and ever-loyal to his tiny slopes on the Mosel, Jürgen is keeping the proud tradition of Sankt Anna alive for the next generation and better off than before.
Riesling Classic 2008

100% Riesling gently pressed into steel tank. Indigenous yeasts begin the fermentation, with limited malo-latic allowed. Light filtration before bottling in spring.