Willi Schaefer
| Willi Schaefer | |
|---|---|
| Location | Graach, Germany |
| Appellation | Mosel (wine region) |
| Key people | Willi Schaefer, Christopher Schaefer |
| Cases/yr | 2000-3000 |
| Varietal | Riesling |
Willi Schaefer is a German wine grower and producer based in Graach, in the wine-growing region of Mosel, Germany.
History[edit]
The Schaefer family believe their viticulture roots in Graach extend back to 1121,[1][2] with documentation from 1590.[3]
The current winery came into the hands of the Schaefer family in 1950 and Willi Schaefer took over as the winemaker in 1971.[1][4][5]
Willi Schaefer has been a member of the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter since 1993.[2][3] In 1997, Schaefer was awarded "Newcomer of the Year" by the Gault Millau wine guide.[6]
Since 2001 Willi Schaefer's son Christoph, and Christoph's wife Andrea have been assisting with running the winery.[2][4][5]
Vineyards and wine[edit]
Willi Schaefer works with 3 hectares of Riesling vineyards, including vines in Graacher Himmelreich, Graacher Domprobst and Wehlener Sonnenuhr.[3] Wine writers Stephen Brook and Stephan Reinhardt are of the opinion that the best wines from this estate are usually produced from the Graacher Domprobst parcels.[4][5][7] The oldest vines are around 60 years of age and 60-70% of the vines are ungrafted, resulting in low yields.[5]
The wines ferment and are matured for around six months on lees in old 1000 litre foudres before bottling.[4][8][7]
Around 2000 to 3000 cases of wine are produced each year. Only a very small number are made in a Trocken or off-dry style and Schaefer avoids the presence of too much botrytis influence in his sweet wines where permissible.[4][7]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Piggot, Stuart (1996). The Wine Atlas of Germany. Antique Collectors Club Ltd. pp. 55–56. ISBN 978-1857326253.
- ^ a b c "VDP - List of Wineries". vdp.de. Archived from the original on 2014-02-01. Retrieved 2013-03-31.
- ^ a b c "VDP.estate Willi Schaefer". vdp.de. 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
- ^ a b c d e Parker, Robert (2005). The World's Greatest Wine Estates. Simon & Schuster. pp. 443–444. ISBN 978-0-7432-3771-0.
- ^ a b c d Reinhardt, Stephan (2012). The Finest Wines of Germany. Aurum Press Ltd. p. 255. ISBN 9781781310212.
- ^ "Wineries - Willi Schaefer". Archived from the original on 2013-10-27. Retrieved 2013-07-08.
- ^ a b c Brook, Stephen (2006). The Wines of Germany. Mitchell Beazley. pp. 157, 167, 202. ISBN 978-1840007916.
- ^ Reinhardt, Stephan (2012). The Finest Wines of Germany. Aurum Press Ltd. pp. 244–245. ISBN 9781781310212.
External links[edit]
- VDP Profile Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
