Weingut Toni Jost

Our estate is located in Bacharach in the narrow romantic section of the Rhine valley, a unique landscape cultivated since ancient times and characterised by viticulture.

Our family has been cultivating vineyards in Bacharach for 180 years. At all times, the focus has been on acquiring areas in Bacharach's top site, the so-called Hahn. Today, after five generations, this site is almost exclusively ours, which also explains the name for our estate, Hahnenhof. Today the estate covers 15 hectares of vineyards, 80% Riesling, 15% Spätburgunder, plus a parcel of Weißburgunder and a parcel of Dunkelfelder.

One third of our vineyards are located in the Rheingau region, in the Walluf and Marthinstal areas. The wine estate here has been in our family for more than 200 years. It was originally a mixed agricultural business with viticulture, orchards and a mill. Since 1953, it has belonged to our wine estate through inheritance on my mother's side. Because of these vineyards in the Rheingau our wine estate has been a member of the traditional Rheingau wine estates (VDP) since 1989. In 1987 we were also a founder-member of the VDP Mittelrhein.

In the valley of the Rhine – protected by the hills and warmed by the proximity of the river – ideal conditions for vine growing prevail in terms of soil and climate.

The extremely long maturing time for the grapes, extending far into the autumn, gives the Riesling and Spätburgunder grapes that grow here in these northern wine growing areas of Germany their particular character. The slow maturing process under changing weather conditions, as well as the constant alternation between warm days and cool nights as autumn approaches, intensify the aroma and heighten the wine's fruitiness.

Authentic wines with a dense structure and unmistakable character are created by climate and soil. Our most valuable assets are our vineyards and these must be treated with great care. With an awareness of this responsibility we promote the natural fertility of the soil and consistently reduce our yields to what the soil is ready to give of itself, without intense fertilisation.

Grapes in monoculture have been growing in our vineyards for centuries. To enable the soil to support this without signs of fatigue, we pay precise attention to the humus, promote bio-diversity in the vineyards and so promote the appearance of beneficial animals, and we do all this without the use of pesticides.

Wines of character are marked by their origins: the grapes come from terroirs which are unique as to their soil and microclimate. It is the task of the winemaker to underscore the special features of the terroir.

For this purpose, the type of grape selected has to be optimally adapted from the beginning to the particular site, then the potential of the plants has to be precisely encouraged and these plants have to be provided with an environment in which they can thrive. Perhaps the most important instrument is small yields. It is in the concentration that the structure of authentic wines becomes evident, and that the wine in the glass reflects the uniqueness of its origin. High yields level the finer distinctions, make the wines faceless.

The subsequent work in the cellar is determined by the effort to preserve the potential for character and uniqueness that developed in the vineyard. Only so does an autonomous unmistakable wine emerge, the opposite of an anonymous product designed by a “winemaker” for a trendy taste based on market analysis.

We sincerely hope that our guests gain an all-round experience of wine, a pleasure that involves all the senses and to which pleasant company, a congenial atmosphere and knowledge of the wine contribute. Anyone who has walked through the vineyards from which the wines originate, knows the wine-maker in question and has developed a feeling for the region's wine-growing tradition is bound to experience and enjoy that wine more intensely.

Are the most pleasant memories of a particular wine not linked with a particular experience, an excellent meal, interesting company, a wonderful holiday? However impressive professional wine tastings may be, such an intense relationship can never develop in a sterile atmosphere or be based only on an analysis of the wine.