Summary
Weingut Markgraf von Baden, based at Schloss Salem on Lake Constance, is one of Germany's most historic wine estates. Its vineyards go back to the Cistercian monastery of Salem, founded in 1134; with the secularisation of 1802/1803 they passed to the House of Baden and have been farmed by the margravial family ever since. The focus is on Pinot varieties – Spätburgunder, Grauburgunder and Weißburgunder account for more than half of the vineyard area – rounded out by Müller-Thurgau and Riesling. The estate has been a VDP member since 2012. For a long time Schloss Staufenberg above Durbach formed a second site in the Ortenau; it was sold in 2025, so the business now concentrates on Lake Constance.
History
The origin lies in the year 1134, when the Cistercian monastery of Salem was founded in the Linzgau. The Cistercians were the viticultural specialists of medieval Europe, and the Salem monks soon planted vineyards on Lake Constance. At its height the monastery was among the largest wine producers in the region and held sites far beyond the Linzgau.
In parallel, the House of Baden shaped Baden viticulture from the political side: Margrave Christoph I issued an early Baden wine ordinance in 1494, and Grand Duke Carl Friedrich had Riesling planted on the Klingelberg near Durbach in 1782. The experiment went so well that in parts of Baden Riesling is still called Klingelberger today.
With the secularisation of 1802/1803, the entire Salem monastery complex, including its estates and vineyards, passed to the House of Baden. Schloss Staufenberg above Durbach had already been in family hands since the 17th century. Since 1998, Bernhard, Margrave of Baden, has carried responsibility for the family's viticulture. In 2017 the House of Baden founded the Markgräflich Badisches Weinhaus together with Rotkäppchen-Mumm as a joint sales company.
Since 2024 the estate has been undergoing a fundamental restructuring: the House of Baden announced it would give up a substantial share of its Lake Constance vineyards, and in 2025 it sold Schloss Staufenberg with the Durbach vineyards to Georg Prince of Lippe, owner of Schloss Proschwitz in Saxony. The Salem operation remains, but on a markedly smaller scale.
Location & Terroir
The Lake Constance vineyards around Salem, Bermatingen and Meersburg lie on moraine hills shaped by the ice-age glaciers. Gravel, loam and marl provide good drainage, but the decisive factor is the lake itself. As a huge heat reservoir it moderates temperatures, extends the ripening phase in autumn and protects against late frosts in spring. Wines from Lake Constance are therefore considered particularly fresh, clear and driven by acidity – a cool counterpoint to the warm zones on the Kaiserstuhl.
The Ortenau around Durbach, historically the estate's second site, is geologically the exact opposite: steep granite and gneiss slopes at the foot of the Black Forest, weathered into light, mineral soils. That is precisely where Klingelberger Riesling thrives, and Spätburgunder also finds ideal conditions on the warm south-facing slopes around Schloss Staufenberg.
Style & Philosophy
The estate's wines are built for drinkability and origin, not for opulence. The Lake Constance whites – Müller-Thurgau, Weißburgunder, Grauburgunder and Chardonnay – are largely aged in stainless steel, keeping their crisp fruit and lively acidity. For the top wines and the Spätburgunder, wood comes into play, from the traditional Stückfass cask to barrique.
The estate also maintains a Baden speciality: Weißherbst, a pale-pressed rosé from Spätburgunder with a long tradition on Lake Constance. Sparkling wines from the estate's own base wines round things out. Since joining the VDP, the classification follows the pyramid of estate wine, village wine, VDP.Erste Lage and VDP.Große Lage – an origin-based model that makes obvious sense for a producer with such old holdings.
Notable Sites & Wines
Classified as VDP.Große Lage are:
- Schloss Staufenberg Klingelberg (Durbach) – the historic Riesling site that gave Klingelberger its name
- Schloss Staufenberg Sophienberg (Durbach) – Spätburgunder on weathered granite
- Leopoldsberg Buchberg (Bermatingen) – a Pinot site in the Lake Constance hinterland
- Chorherrnhalde (Meersburg) – a steep site directly above the lake
Further sites in the lake area and the Durbacher Schlossberg complete the picture. The best-known wines are the Klingelberger from Durbach, the Weißburgunder and Grauburgunder from Lake Constance, and the Spätburgunder from both areas. Following the sale of Schloss Staufenberg in 2025, the Durbach sites no longer belong to the estate.
Awards
Weingut Markgraf von Baden has long been listed in the leading German wine guides, and its admission to the VDP in 2012 confirmed it as one of Baden's quality flagships. Historically, however, something weighs more than any score: a viticultural tradition of more than 800 years is continued here – from the Cistercians through the margraves to the present day. The restructuring of 2024 and 2025 marks the end of an era, but leaves the core of the estate on Lake Constance intact.