Summary
The Durbacher Winzergenossenschaft (officially Durbacher Winzer eG) is one of the largest and most respected cooperatives in Baden. Around 250 grower families farm roughly 340 hectares around the wine village of Durbach in the Ortenau – a large share of it on steep slopes at the western edge of the Black Forest. Durbach is known for two specialities with names of their own: Klingelberger, the traditional Ortenau name for Riesling, and Clevner, the local name for Traminer. Alongside them stands Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), which covers the largest area at around 43%. The cooperative sees itself as a steep-slope specialist and, with Bundesehrenpreise in gold, ranks among Germany's most successful producers.
History
Viticulture has a very long tradition in Durbach, and one date shapes it above all: in 1782, Margrave Carl Friedrich of Baden had one of Baden's first single-variety Riesling vineyards planted on the Klingelberg near Schloss Staufenberg. The name Klingelberger, still used in the Ortenau for Riesling today, derives from that vineyard.
The cooperative itself was founded in 1928 – at a time when many smallholders could neither produce marketable volumes on their own nor reach customers. The impetus came from the then mayor Franz-Xaver Wörner. Over the decades, the union of many family holdings grew into one of the Ortenau's biggest producers, with its own cellar, wine shop and distillery in Durbach.
Since January 2015, Stephan Danner has led the cooperative as managing director; in the cellar, Rüdiger Nilles is responsible for ageing. A decisive step came in 2026: after the margravial Weingut Schloss Staufenberg ceased operations, the Durbach growers took on around 13 hectares of these historic vineyards under lease – nine member holdings have farmed them since. The general assembly approved the project with more than 80% in favour.
Location & Terroir
Durbach lies in a widely branching valley basin about ten kilometres north-east of Offenburg, where the Rhine plain meets the Black Forest. That position shapes everything: the vines climb the slopes to heights where harvesting machines stand no chance. Up to 80% of Durbach's vineyard area is steep slope, and the steepest parcels reach gradients of 70 to 80%. The work there is done by hand – laborious, but the precondition for quality and for preserving an old cultural landscape of dry-stone walls and terraces.
Climatically, the Ortenau benefits from the warmth of the Rhine plain and from long, mild autumns; the Black Forest shields the vines from cold easterly winds and cools things down at night. The soils consist mainly of weathered granite and gneiss from the basement rock, partly covered by loess and weathering deposits. On these lean, quick-warming primary-rock soils, Riesling gains a fine, gripping acidity and a smoky, mineral backbone, while Traminer and Gewürztraminer develop their intense aromatics.
The cooperative brings together grapes from four individual sites: Durbacher Plauelrain, Durbacher Ölberg, Durbacher Steinberg and Durbacher Kochberg. The steepest parcels in Plauelrain, Ölberg and Steinberg are mostly planted with the aromatic white varieties – Traminer, Gewürztraminer and Scheurebe.
Style & Philosophy
The ambition is clearly tiered: from accessible everyday wines in the Klassik and Schöne Zeit ranges, through the Kollektion and the Edition, up to the single-site wines Steinberg and Ölberg 1863. White and rosé wines are mostly aged in stainless steel to preserve fruit and freshness; the Spätburgunder are matured in large wooden casks or barriques, showing structure and spice rather than showy fruit sweetness.
Stylistically, the Klingelberger stands for dry, taut Rieslings with clear citrus and stone-fruit character. Clevner and Gewürztraminer are the aromatic counterpoint: rose petal, lychee, spice – off-dry or dry depending on the bottling. The range is rounded out by bottle-fermented Sekt, Secco, noble sweet rarities and fine spirits distilled from grape marc and fruit, for which the cooperative has been repeatedly honoured.
Klingelberger and Clevner – the Ortenau variety names
Anyone buying wines from Durbach will inevitably stumble over two names that barely exist anywhere else. Klingelberger is not a variety of its own but the historic Ortenau name for Riesling – named after the Klingelberg in Durbach. Clevner, in turn, denotes Traminer or Gewürztraminer in the Ortenau. Beware of the confusion: in Switzerland and parts of southern Germany the same name is used for Pinot Noir or Frühburgunder. In Durbach, Clevner is always white and always aromatic.
Notable Sites & Wines
The cooperative works with four Durbach single vineyards, each with its own character:
- Durbacher Plauelrain – a famous steep site, home to many Klingelberger and Traminer wines
- Durbacher Ölberg – gives the premium range "Ölberg 1863" its name
- Durbacher Steinberg – regarded as the estate's top site and the namesake of the single-vineyard tier
- Durbacher Kochberg – somewhat broader in scope, also used for Pinot varieties
Since 2026 these have been joined by around 13 hectares at Schloss Staufenberg, planted with roughly 34% Klingelberger Riesling and around 27% Spätburgunder, the remainder spread across further white varieties.
Awards
Durbacher Winzer eG is among Germany's regularly decorated producers. It presents itself as "steep-slope specialists and holders of the Bundesehrenpreis in Gold" – the Bundesehrenpreis is the highest distinction of the national wine awards and honours not a single wine but the quality of an entire range over several years. From the Badischer Weinbauverband, the cooperative has received honorary prizes at the regional wine awards in the largest size category (from 300 hectares upwards). Its noble sweet wines and its spirits have also been repeatedly distinguished.