Louis Guntrum Weinkellerei

The family roots go back until 1648, to the small village of Wörrstadt in Rheinhessen. Ever since, the Louis Guntrum family has been growing grapes and making wine. The 8th generation, Louis Jean George Guntrum, built today's Estate building in 1923 - it offers a perfect and spacious environment to produce some of the finest wines from Germany, but also impresses with its stunning location directly adjacent to the Rhein river. Today, the estate is owned and managed by the 11th generation, Louis Konstantin Guntrum.

OPPENHEIMER SACKTRÄGER and OPPENHEIMER HERRENBERG, NIERSTEINER OELBERG, NIERSTEINER PETTENTHAL and NIERSTEINER HIPPING are amongst only a few vineyard names in Germany, that appeal to daily wine drinkers as connoisseurs alike. This is, where you find most of the vineyards of LOUIS GUNTRUM. At the turn of the 20th century, wines from our area were more expensive than the most expensive First Growth Bordeaux. Today, the situation has changed - you realise, what great bargains you can find, buying a First Growth Riesling from the Rhein at the price of a Bordeaux table wine.

Our cellars offer both of "two worlds" - traditional wooden barrels and modern stainless steel tanks. Thus is our philosophy in winemaking: Modern technology, where appropriate, but traditional approaches and ideas, handed over from generation to generation, for most of the grape growing and winemaking. 

This combination of "new" and "old" we prove in our wines: Traditional, classic grape varities only, such as Riesling, Silvaner, Spätburgunder (Pinot nero) or Gewürztraminer. Moderate pruning of the vines to ensure long-term production of high quality wines generation after generation; use of fertilizers only upon natural needs, based on strict analysis of the soil; selective hand picking of the grapes to obtain the most suitable grape for each wine.

The transformation from grapes to grape juice to wine follows the well-tried rules of European winemaking traditions: Time rather than mechanical equipment, Nature rather than technology and chemistry. We aim at improving and refining the most precious gift of nature - the grape. Every single grape we want to turn into a unique, special type of wine, that reflects perfectly the typicity of the soil as well as the vintage. To your good health - salute!

OPPENHEIMER SACKTRÄGER

The old Sackträger-tower was the outpost of medieval guild of sack-carriers (Transports from ship-loads from the Rhine to the town). Loam and clay, the ideal vineyard soil on a south-facing "amphitheatre", sheltered to both north and west by hills with an inclinatin of 30°. One of the best vineyard-sites in Rheinhessen. 

OPPENHEIMER SCHÜTZENHÜTTE

A small single site with only 1,5 hectares (= 3.7 acres). The "Schützenhütte" used to be a hut for vineyard guards posted on the Sackträger Tower. The vineyard is sheltered by a medieval townwall, slightly inclined towards south, with loess and sandy loam soil. A top site.

NIERSTEINER PETTENTHAL

The name reflects a former owner of the valley - a monk, called Peter. A steep slope facing the Rhine, affected by a very good micro-climate, inclinated south-east. One of the very best top sites on the Rhein-Terrasse. Red sandstone soil keeps the heat of the day during the night. Ideal site for Riesling grapes and for top qualities. 

NIERSTEINER OELBERG

A name with biblical background - mount of Olives. Former owner was a monastery. A top site for our first-class GUNTRUM CLASSIC wines. Clayish soil, ideal for Riesling grapes. Inclination south, one of the best sites in Nierstein.

Winemaking at LOUIS GUNTRUM’s follows certain well established and proven rules:

The beginning of the harvest is determined by the owner Mr. Louis Konstantin Guntrum himself, who checks the state of the grapes concerning ripeness and healthiness. A selective harvest as late during the season as possible is strived for, treating both grapes, must and wine as carefully as possible. Grapes are distinguished between early-, medium- and late-ripening cultivars. LOUIS GUNTRUM harvests about 40 % - 55 % of the annual crop mechanically, the rest is done by traditional handpicking, the steeper slopes.

The white wine grapes are pressed as early as possible. Only the grapes selected for Auslese, Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese are left on the skins for a couple of hours to extract beneficial and valuable components. We use state-of-the-art Tank presses (Willmes), which press the grapes very carefully at a maximum pressure of 0,2 to 1,8 bar. The obtained must is forwarded to a settling-tank by gravity. The must settles for about 12 hours before it is racked into the fermentation tank. It is inocculated with selected yeasts, to ensure a quick starting of the fermentation. The musts are fermented at 15 to 17 ° Celsius. Fermentation temperature is controlled by external irrigation of the tanks. Fermentation vats are only made from double stainless steel. To guarantee and protect the typical, fruity character of the must, we do not use any oak-barrels, as the additional wooden taste is not desired.

The grapes of red grape varieties (Spätburgunder / Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon) are destemmed prior to fermentation, which takes place on skins. This traditional approach is chosen to ensure both the development of good intensity in color, extraction of tannins and strong varietal character. To balance acidity levels, we induce the malolactic fermentation.

After fermentation is finished, the wine is racked, i.e. the wine is separated from the yeasts. Subsequently, it will be sulfured and fined. The addition of sulfur is necessary t o avoid premature oxidation and to preserve the wine. Sulfur is also developed naturally during fermentation. Limits for sulfuring are very strict, enforced severely an far below hazardous levels. Finally, the wine is filtered prior to storage, again in double stainless steel tanks.

Prior to bottling, every bottle is cold-sterilized. 

All wines currently stored in tanks are sampled every eight weeks, bottled wines are tasted at least twice a year to control the development of the wines and to guarantee highest quality.