Summary
Weingut Van Volxem in Wiltingen is today one of the most influential addresses on the Saar – the Mosel side valley that produces some of Germany's finest Rieslings. After the Bitburger descendant Roman Niewodniczanski took over the then run-down estate at the end of 1999, he invested heavily over the years, bought back historic steep sites and in 2019 built a modern gravity-flow winery (cellar technology that moves the wine by gravity alone). His goal: to revive the legendary greatness of the 19th-century Saar Rieslings. Van Volxem has since stood for dry, often low-alcohol Rieslings from old vines, grown on slate and diabase, and has been a VDP member since 2007.
History
Winegrowing around Wiltingen dates back to Roman times; in the Middle Ages monks continued to cultivate the steep slopes. The estate owes its name to the van Volxem brewing family, who in the 19th century made it one of the most respected estates on the Saar. Over the generations, however, the house lost importance, and by the turn of the millennium the property had largely fallen into disrepair.
The decisive turning point came at the end of 1999, when Roman Niewodniczanski – a descendant of the Bitburger brewing dynasty and a trained geographer – acquired the estate. He combined entrepreneurial thinking with a clear oenological vision: he bought back parcels in the best historic sites, expanded the vineyard holdings from just a few hectares to around 85 hectares today, and drove the modernisation of the cellar. In 2007, Van Volxem was admitted to the VDP; in 2019, the new gravity-flow winery opened on the Wiltinger Schlossberg. Within two decades, Niewodniczanski turned a forgotten operation into one of Germany's most closely watched estates.
Location & Terroir
Van Volxem lies on the Saar, a side valley of the Mosel south of Trier. Its vineyards are spread across the classic steep sites of the Saar valley around Wiltingen, Kanzem, Ockfen, Saarburg and Wawern. The cool climate is decisive: the Saar is one of the world's most northerly wine regions, which gives the Rieslings their lively acidity, their low alcohol and their fine, delicate character.
The soil consists mainly of Devonian slate, in places interspersed with hard diabase (a greenish volcanic rock) that lends the wines additional power and mineral spice. Van Volxem deliberately relies on old vines with low yields – in the Wiltinger Gottesfuß there are own-rooted Riesling vines around 130 years old. The estate's average vine is about 40 years old, which brings depth, ripeness and concentration to the grapes.
Style & Philosophy
Niewodniczanski's guiding idea is a return to the historic Saar Riesling: powerful yet elegant dry wines, of the kind that ranked among the world's most expensive around 1900. To harvest very ripe, highly aromatic fruit, the estate sharply limits yields – among other things through green harvesting and bunch division – and picks exclusively by hand.
In the cellar Van Volxem works in a markedly natural way: spontaneous fermentation with the vineyard's own yeasts, long lees contact and the avoidance of cultured yeasts and fining agents. The new gravity-flow winery moves must and wine by gravity alone, without pumps, which protects fruit and finesse. A hallmark is the often low alcohol – many wines lie well below what is common today, without losing expression.
Notable Vineyards & Wines
The range is clearly tiered: from accessible estate and village wines such as the popular Saar Riesling, through the single-vineyard Rieslings, to the Grand Cru bottlings from the top parcels. The estate's most famous sites include:
- Scharzhofberger – the legendary Saar site, VDP.Grand Cru
- Wiltinger Gottesfuß – home of the vines up to 130 years old, VDP.Grand Cru
- Volz – Van Volxem's near-monopole Grand Cru
- Kanzemer Altenberg – on red diabase rock
- Saarburger and Wawerner sites as well as the Ockfener Bockstein
These wines regularly rank among the most sought-after dry Rieslings from the Saar.
Awards
Van Volxem has worked its way to the top of the German wine world in a short time. Roman Niewodniczanski was named Winemaker of the Year by Falstaff magazine in 2012; in 2018 the estate received the same distinction from the Vinum Weinguide Deutschland. In the leading wine guides (Falstaff, Gault&Millau, Eichelmann) the estate consistently earns top marks and is regarded as one of the main reasons why the Saar is once again gaining international attention as a source of great dry Riesling.