Summary
Weingut Rainer Schnaitmann in Fellbach near Stuttgart is one of the estates that has done most to change the image of Württemberg wine over the past three decades. Rainer Schnaitmann comes from a family with almost 500 years of winegrowing history, yet in 1997 he deliberately took a new path with his own estate and his own label. Across around 25 hectares between the edge of the Stuttgart basin and the Remstal valley, he makes dry wines from Lemberger (Blaufränkisch), Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc – taut, precise and clearly built around site character. The estate has been certified organic since 2013 and, through the respekt-BIODYN group, is increasingly guided by biodynamics. In 2006 Schnaitmann was admitted to the VDP as its youngest member at the time.
History
Winegrowing has run in the Schnaitmann family for generations – by the family's own account the tradition goes back some 500 years, with Rainer Schnaitmann counted as the 19th generation. Even so, the decisive step was a fresh start: in 1997 he began bottling under his own name and built up an estate geared from the outset towards quality rather than volume, and towards dry wines rather than the light Trollinger that long dominated Württemberg.
The pace of that development was remarkable. The Gault&Millau WeinGuide named Schnaitmann "Newcomer of the Year" in 2007, and as early as 2006 the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP) took the estate in – at the time its youngest member. In parallel the vineyard area grew from barely ten hectares to around 25 today, and the range became more differentiated across estate, village and single-vineyard wines with the Steinwiege, Lämmler and Simonroth lines. Another milestone was the conversion to organic viticulture, completed and certified in 2013.
Location & Terroir
Fellbach lies immediately north-east of Stuttgart, where the Stuttgart basin gives way to the Remstal valley. The estate's vineyards are spread across this transition zone: alongside Fellbach itself, they include Stuttgart sites such as Untertürkheim, Uhlbach and Rotenberg, as well as Remstal villages such as Strümpfelbach, Schnait and Beutelsbach. The highest parcels reach up to around 450 metres above sea level – a cool position by Württemberg standards, which preserves freshness and acid structure in the wines.
Geologically, the soils are dominated by calcareous marl and weathered sandstone. The marl delivers the saline, taut minerality you find in the whites and in the single-vineyard Lembergers, while sandier weathered soils tend to give finesse and perfume. At the same time, the mild climate of the basin and the Remstal allows late-ripening red varieties such as Lemberger and Cabernet to reach full maturity.
Style & Philosophy
Schnaitmann's wines are consistently dry and built for clarity. In the vineyard that means low yields, careful canopy work and – since the organic conversion – no synthetic treatments; through the respekt-BIODYN group, biodynamic impulses have increasingly fed in. Rainer Schnaitmann describes his own signature as restrained and intuitive: he wants to keep his senses alert rather than work to a recipe.
In the cellar that translates into gentle extraction for the reds, long lees ageing for the whites and a deliberately measured use of barrique that does not mask the fruit. The reds – Lemberger and Spätburgunder – show fine tannin, cool spice and far less sweet gloss than the cliché of Württemberg red wine would suggest. Among the whites, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc take centre stage, complemented by Weißburgunder (Pinot Blanc) and Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris). A hand-crafted rosé and a small, ambitious sparkling-wine range round things off.
Notable Vineyards & Wines
The heart of the estate is the Fellbacher Lämmler, one of Württemberg's best-known sites and Schnaitmann's calling card for Lemberger and Spätburgunder. The estate also holds these VDP.GROSSE LAGE classifications:
- Lämmler (Fellbach) – the signature site for Lemberger and Spätburgunder
- Mönchberg (Untertürkheim) and Götzenberg (Uhlbach)
- Altenberg (Strümpfelbach)
- Burghalde (Beutelsbach) and Burghalde (Schnait)
Classified as VDP.ERSTE LAGE are the Fellbacher Goldberg, the Rotenberger Schlossberg and the Beutelsbacher Altenberg.
The wine names structure the range: Steinwiege stands for the estate's accessible wines, Lämmler for the single-vineyard bottlings, and Simonroth – named after the parcel in the Lämmler where Schnaitmann farms his largest contiguous holding – for the barrique-aged top reds. Réserve bottlings and sparkling wines complete the programme.
Awards
Schnaitmann has been collecting top marks consistently since the 2000s. In 2005 the estate was included in a selection of the "100 best wineries in Germany" by Stern magazine, and in 2007 it was named "Newcomer of the Year" by Gault&Millau. In 2011 it won the German Spätburgunder Prize as well as a Sauvignon Blanc Trophy. In the leading guides Schnaitmann now sits in the top group – with the highest ratings from Gault&Millau, Falstaff, Eichelmann, Vinum and Der Feinschmecker – and it continues to pick up trophies and first places in varietal competitions, for example with Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Grauburgunder and Cabernet Franc. The estate thus stands as a symbol of the leap in quality Württemberg has made over recent decades.