Summary
Weingut Wöhrwag shows that great wine can be made in the middle of a big city: the family estate lies in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim in the Neckar valley and, according to the house, is run by the sixth generation. Today Hans-Peter and Christin Wöhrwag manage the estate, which has belonged to the VDP since 1999. Its heart is the Untertürkheimer Herzogenberg monopole on gypsum keuper, the source of the Grosse Gewächse of Riesling and Lemberger. On around 17 to 20 hectares the estate makes mainly dry, elegant wines that rank among the better-known addresses in Württemberg.
History
The Wöhrwag family has been growing grapes in Untertürkheim for generations – the estate speaks of six. The path to an independent winery, however, only began in 1960: that year Hans-Peter Wöhrwag's father left the local winegrowers' cooperative to put his own ideas about wine into practice and make the wine himself.
In the late 1980s or early 1990s Hans-Peter and Christin Wöhrwag took over the family business (sources give different years). Hans-Peter Wöhrwag studied viticulture and oenology in Geisenheim; Christin Wöhrwag comes from a winegrowing family herself and mainly looks after sales. Under their leadership the estate became a fixture of Württemberg's top tier – and in 1999 it was admitted to the VDP.
Location & Terroir
Untertürkheim lies on the Neckar in the east of Stuttgart, where the vineyards climb steeply up the valley slopes – a cultural landscape that borders directly on residential areas and industry. The estate's sites are shaped by gypsum keuper, a lime- and mineral-rich soil that gives the wines power, structure and spicy fruit.
The most important site is the Untertürkheimer Herzogenberg, which the family farms as a monopole; one source puts it at around 12.5 hectares. The name goes back to the Dukes of Württemberg, who once worked the site. The sunny slopes above the Neckar valley offer good conditions for ripening Riesling and Lemberger. The holdings are complemented by the Untertürkheimer Altenberg, which the VDP lists as an Erste Lage.
Style & Philosophy
Hans-Peter Wöhrwag sums up his approach roughly like this: you make the wines the way you like to drink them yourself – without chasing every trend. The goal is elegant, lean wines that are fun and don't need to be overanalysed. In the vineyard the estate relies on near-natural farming and limited yields in order to harvest fully ripe grapes; according to the VDP, the estate is EU organic certified.
In the cellar the white wines are fermented cool and temperature-controlled in stainless steel. The reds undergo classic maceration on the skins, sometimes preceded by a cold soak, and mature – depending on the variety – in stainless steel, large wooden casks or barriques. White and red carry almost equal weight, but the clear focus is on Riesling.
Notable Sites & Wines
The range follows the VDP pyramid from estate wines through village and Erste Lage wines up to the Grosse Gewächse. The best-known wines include:
- Untertürkheimer Herzogenberg Riesling GG – the top dry Riesling from the monopole
- Untertürkheimer Herzogenberg Lemberger GG – Württemberg's red-wine speciality in its most ambitious form
- Wines from the Untertürkheimer Altenberg (VDP.Erste Lage)
- Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc rounding out the whites
- Trollinger, Pinot Noir and Merlot in the red range
- Sekt, according to the VDP carrying the VDP.Sekt.Prestige designation
Awards
Wöhrwag's wines are regularly rated well in the relevant wine guides, including Gault&Millau – which, according to retailers, lists the estate with four bunches of grapes – as well as Eichelmann and Falstaff. Membership in the VDP since 1999 underlines the estate's quality ambitions. Above all, Wöhrwag is a showcase for Stuttgart winegrowing: top wine in the middle of the city – and a strong case for Riesling and Lemberger from Württemberg.
