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Wijnfestival Zwolle with Van Volxem Master Classes  9. June 2015

 

The fourth Wijnfestival Zwolle took place in a romantic spot in the middle of a beautiful medieval small town near Amsterdam under the most gorgeous summer weather with many good-humored, mostly young wine enthusiasts and lots of tasty wines.
The party atmosphere was contagious! Thanks to the organizers Arjan Broekman and his team from “Wijnhuis” for the excellent organization of this casual wine party and my two master classes, where I was able to talk about the rich history of Saar and Mosel wine to sommeliers, journalists, and wine lovers. It’s great to see such enthusiasm, once again, for top German wines among Dutch wine lovers and especially in first-class restaurants here! A great discovery for me, besides the delicious lemonade by Pinky Rose, was the modern architecture of Zwolle. In addition to the spaceship-like city museum, I was impressed by the perhaps most beautiful bookshop in the world, which was housed in a recently renovated Gothic church. Chapeau! RN

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History

Located in the historical center of Wiltingen in the Saar Valley, Weingut Van Volxem dates back to Roman times. At this site was a Roman villa, whose fragments are still visible today. The vineyards of the estate—which were already planted in the best slate slopes in the 3rd century—are among the oldest in the region. Monks rediscovered the estate in the 11th century, and the Society of Jesus cultivated the vineyards in the 16th century. In 1743, a monastery for producing wine was built here.



In wake of the French Revolution, the property was secularized and finally came into the ownership of the immigrant brewer from Brussels named Gustav van Volxem. The visionary van Volxem recognized the potential of the privileged vineyard sites and developed in the subsequent years one of the most prestigious wine estates in Imperial Germany. With the rise in popularity of Mosel wine as a coveted worldwide luxury item, van Volxem had its heyday. Its Creszenzen, or “growths,” were internationally known on numerous wine lists.


After four generations in the van Volxem family, Roman Niewodniczanski took over the estate, which was subsequently restored in its original state. He also expanded the vineyard holdings, including parcels in various superb sites. In 2004, the estate director Dominik Völk joined the team, which is committed to making Van Volxem a leading international estate for white wine.

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Vineyards

Since Roman times, wines have been made here from the steep slate slopes of the Saar, which are among the best in the world. In the tradition of natural wines, our mission is also to maintain our unique cultural landscape with hard work in the vineyards.

In 1896, the well-known German terroir expert Franz Schneider wrote in the Trier-based wine journal Der Winzer: “In choosing a piece of land in which the most noble and healthy—the crown of all agricultural crops—the grapevine is to be planted, the first step must be a good site…. Just as in choosing a vineyard site, the same care must be taken in regard to the soil type. Both form the foundations of viticulture!”


The Devonian slate is the basis for our work. The aspect and soil of the hillside vineyards go together with the relatively cool climate of the Saar region to make a distinctive composition—perfect for our wines.

With mainly ungrafted, old vines, we have small berries and highly aromatic grapes because of the genetic diversity, which is responsible for the differentiation of each site and the complexity and timelessness of our wines. This is exactly what we want: “cool-climate wines” with moderate alcohol, good structure, complexity, and concentration, but also wines that are very precise and that bring the magic of each individual site spot-on into the glass.

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Winemaking

The focus of our time-consuming work is a conscious return to a traditional, artisanal approach and a respect for the distinctiveness of our steep slate slopes. It is this Burgundian idea of terroir and cru, or “growth,” for designating the top vineyard sites, which formed the basis of the worldwide success of the wines from the Mosel and Saar during the period of the German Empire. We are committed to this heritage.



According to the “ideas on natural wine” in 1904: “Natural wine is a pure product of the vine without any additives, and only such natural wine is wholesome and has no harmful side effects. Each natural wine stands out with its low alcohol content, more intense aroma, pleasant fruit flavor, and fresh acidity, plus it is refreshing and stimulating.” We could not come up with a better definition for the passion of our product than that of the highly respected Wiesbaden-based wine merchant Wilhelm Ruthe.

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Inside information

Following the long tradition at Van Volxem, our wines are mostly fermented dry or off-dry. These are wines to be consumed with food. They are moderate in alcohol, ripe in acidity, and complex in structure. Their special character comes from the stony, mineral-rich slate soils of our fascinating steep slopes—relics of over 400-million-year-old marine deposits. It is the pursuit of harmony and balance in the glass that forms the style of Van Volxem. The wines animate and have a distinct sense of place to go along with great aging potential—Rieslings in the style of the famous Saar wines around 1900.

 

These are wines that challenge in every respect: from the many helping hands doing the hard work on the steep slate slopes, to the cellarmaster carefully handling the wines in the cellar, to the connoisseur enjoying these complex and ever-changing Saar wines.

Low yields per vine, strict selection, harvest (if possible) not before mid-October, physiological ripeness, spontaneous fermentation—of course, also for our entry-level estate wines.

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15 different wines with 39 vintages

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