Peter Stolleis Winery, Palatinate viticulture province

At ProWein 2024 in Düsseldorf, we meet winemaker Hans Christoph Stolleis, who took over the traditional Peter Stolleis winery in Gimmeldingen in the Palatinate from his parents two years ago in the 12th generation. His ancestors planted the first vineyards in Gimmeldingen back in 1668. After the Thirty Years' War, many people were drawn to the Palatinate, which was completely depopulated at the time, by favorable land offers. Initially, viticulture was run as a sideline for generations, as was the case with many other settlers in the village. The Stolleis family ran a quarry as their main occupation until the winery was founded as a company in 1863.

Focus on Riesling and Pinot Noir

Riesling is cultivated on 60% of the 20 hectares of organically farmed vineyards, with Pinot Noir in second place. This specialization in recent years was initiated by his successor Hans Christoph Stolleis. Apart from his personal preference, he also sees good potential for these grape varieties in the region in the coming years and even decades. What makes Stolleis' Pinot Noir so special is the exciting aroma it gets from growing on the limestone islands that surround the wine village of Gimmeldingen. In addition, Pinot Noir tolerates a little more heat than some other varieties that have been grown on the sites to date. Overall, the winegrower is looking forward to the development with excitement.

2022 vineyard as a barrel sample and a new 2019 Crémant brut nature

A few days before ProWein 2024, the 2022 single-vineyard wines were bottled at home. They remained on the lees for a year longer than the 2023 wine. At the trade fair, the winery will be showing the 2022 site as a barrel sample, which has already been drawn beforehand so that the wine does not get mixed up during bottling. A new sparkling wine, a 2019 Crémant brut nature, matured on the lees for over three years, will also be presented and served at the trade fair stand to restaurants and specialist retailers.

Expansion of exports and loyal private wine connoisseurs

The Stolleis winery is already active in a number of countries and plans to expand its exports. The trade fair is an excellent opportunity to establish contacts with importers for this project, as well as to strengthen existing contacts with specialist retailers and restaurants and to make new ones. So far, sales have been dominated by private customers, who come to the farm and have their wines sent to them nationwide. Sales to the nationwide restaurant trade have so far accounted for around 25% of turnover. The coronavirus pandemic and online wine tastings have led to a huge increase in the number of private customers nationwide. The Stolleis winery can also count on many wine lovers, many of whom have been relying on the wines of the family business for generations.

Organic wines with Fair Choice certification for a successful future

Compared to other wineries, Mr. Stolleis sees the combination of soils and style as the secret to success. In recent years, more wooden barrels have been used again, fermentation is spontaneous, the winery has converted to organic and has also been Fair Choice certified since 2023. Fair Choice certification is particularly important for exports. Ultimately, however, it is the people and mutual sympathy that make the difference.