Summary
Weingut Kaufmann in Hattenheim is one of the most remarkable fresh starts in the Rheingau. In 2013 the Swiss-born Urban Kaufmann – formerly a cheesemaker in Appenzell – and Eva Raps, for many years the managing director of the VDP, took over the long-established Weingut Hans Lang and gave it their name. The estate has been farmed biodynamically ever since and has held Demeter certification since 2017. Across around 17 to 20 hectares it produces dry Rieslings and Pinot Noirs from top sites in Hattenheim and Hallgarten. "Rheingau wine in Swiss perfection" is how Urban Kaufmann himself sums up the ambition of the house.
History
The estate's roots go back to 1953, when Johann Josef Lang founded a winery in Hattenheim. Under Hans Lang it grew into a fixture of the Rheingau; since 1994 it has belonged to the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates. As early as 2009, Hans Lang converted the vineyards entirely to organic viticulture – an early step that foreshadowed what was to come.
The turning point came in 2013. Urban Kaufmann had run an Appenzeller cheese dairy in Switzerland and then travelled through Europe's wine regions looking for the right place for an estate of his own. It was Eva Raps – who led the VDP's business for twelve years and knew the German wine landscape as few others did – who brought him to the Rheingau. Together the two took over Weingut Hans Lang and renamed it Weingut Kaufmann. Demeter certification followed in 2017; the estate has worked fully biodynamically since then.
Location & Terroir
Hattenheim lies on the stretch of the Rhine where the river turns west. The vineyards therefore face south and catch the light to best effect. Behind them the Taunus hills shelter the vines from cold northerly winds, while the broad surface of the Rhine buffers temperature swings and reflects additional light back into the slopes. This combination makes the Rheingau a classic for slowly ripening, acid-driven Rieslings.
Geologically the area is small-scale and varied. The estate's sites contain tertiary marl, deep loess and weathered, slate-bearing soils. Marl gives the wines power and a savoury edge, loess brings body and water retention in dry years, and the stonier parcels contribute drive and delicacy. Further up the slope, in Hallgarten, it grows cooler – producing especially taut, late-ripening wines.
Style & Philosophy
At the centre stands the biodynamic work in the vineyard: cover crops, compost, the Demeter preparations and the renunciation of synthetic sprays and fertilisers. The thinking behind it is craft rather than esoterics – an idea Urban Kaufmann brought with him from the dairy: quality is made in the raw material, not in the processing.
The cellar work is correspondingly restrained. The wines are made dry, mature in stainless steel or wood depending on type, and stay on the fine lees for a long time. The result is Rieslings with clear fruit, precise contours and lively acidity – wines that aim at transparency rather than opulence. With Pinot Noir the house goes for finesse instead of weight: bright fruit, fine tannin, moderate use of oak. The range is completed by bottle-fermented Riesling Sekt.
Notable Sites & Wines
The range is tiered along VDP lines – from estate wine through village wines to the Große Gewächse. Among the most important sites are:
- Hattenheimer Wisselbrunnen – VDP.Große Lage, one of the village's classic Riesling addresses
- Hattenheimer Hassel – VDP.Große Lage, the source of both Riesling and the estate's Pinot Noir
- Hallgartener Schönhell – VDP.Große Lage in a cooler, higher position
- Hattenheimer Schützenhaus – VDP.Erste Lage
- Hallgartener Hendelberg – VDP.Erste Lage
The Hassel Pinot Noir GG is one of the estate's flagships and shows that the Rheingau can hold its own with Pinot Noir too.
Awards
Weingut Kaufmann is consistently well rated by the leading German wine guides; Eichelmann, Gault&Millau and Der Feinschmecker list the estate among the recommended addresses of the Rheingau. The Hassel Pinot Noir GG 2016 drew particular attention, described by Eichelmann as the best Pinot Noir in the Rheingau. The entry-level wines also perform reliably – the 2025 Rheingau Riesling was awarded 91 points by Falstaff. Together with the Demeter certification, the house has established itself within little more than a decade as one of the defining biodynamic addresses in the region.