The Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014) took us to 2 exceptional winemakers in the Franken region. One of them was the historic Weingut Juliusspital in Würzburg.
See also:
4 Wine Tours by ombiasy coming up in 2015: Germany-East, Germany-South. Germany-Nord and Bordeaux
Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy, 2014
Germany-South Wine Tour by ombiasy, 2014
German Wine and Culture Tour by ombiasy, 2013
Franken
Franken, located in the northern part of Bavaria, is boasting a long tradition and some fine terroirs (mostly shell limestone and Keuper, a kind of marl). Its two leading grape varieties are Riesling and Silvaner. Typically, Franken wine comes in the distinctive, dumpily-rounded Franken “Bocksbeutel” wine bottle. The bottle’s unusual shape dates back to at least the 16th century. The Bocksbeutel may only be used for Franken wines. In Germany, it is a sign of excellence, while in the US, many consumers link this kind of bottle shape to lower quality wine.
Juliusspital Foundation
Weingut Juliusspital is Germany’s second largest winery with 177 hectares under vines in the most renowned sites of Franken, and one of the always top rated wineries. Weingut Juliusspital is a member of the VDP – the association of about 200 German elite winemakers.
Weingut Juliusspital is a very special winery in that it is owned by and part of the charitable Juliusspital Foundation, which was founded in 1576 by the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg, Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn.
At the center of the Juliusspital Foundation are a hospital, an assisted living home for elderly people and a hospice. This has been so for more than 400 years. Today, the buildings of the Juliusspital Foundation comprise many modern buildings but also very impressive and well maintained historical buildings.
As to the latter, the Fürstenbau, a palatial building, designed by the architect Antonio Petrini built in the Barock style with its historical cellar vaults, its garden pavilion and the fountain statues of Jacob van der Auvera, make the Juliusspital a unique monument of art and culture at the heart of the city of Würzburg. The historical cellars, which we had the opportunity to visit, with the old traditional wooden casks, are still in use for fermentation and aging.
Weingut Juliusspital
Since its establishment, the profits of the Weingut Juliusspital have contributed to the financing of the social services of the Juliusspital Foundation. In addition to the vineyard land, the Juliusspital Foundation also owns farm land and forests.
Vineyards: 177 ha (437 acres) all over Franken
Annual production: 1.4 million bottles - all screwcap
Average yield: 63 hl per ha (25 hl per acre)
10% export
60% Bocksbeutel bottles
Grape Varieties: 40 % Silvaner, 25 % Riesling, 6 % Müller-Thurgau
Vineyards and Soil Types
Muschelkalk (shelly limestone): Wines from our sites in Würzburg, Randersacker, Thüngersheim, Volkach and Escherndorf are influenced by medium and upper Muschelkalk. They are elegant, have a fine fruity taste and intense minerality.
Keuper: The deep, dark, fine-grained gypsum Keuper soil around Iphofen and Rödelsee produces a well-defined wine with a herbaceous character and long cellar life.
Red Sandstone: Near Bürgstadt on the Lower Main, the soils are shallow and stony. They are characterised as “fervid”. Fruity, elegant red wines with a pleasant tannin level are produced from the vines grown here.
The top sitesof Weingut Juliusspital are: Würzburger Stein, Iphöfer Julius-Echter-Berg, Volkacher Karthäuser, Randersackerer Pfülben, Rödelseer Küchenmeister and Escherndorfer Lump.
10 percent of the Weingut Juliusspital vineyards are organic.
Tasting
Here are the wines we tasted:
2013 Juliusspital Riesling trocken VDP.Gutswein Euro 8
2013 Würzburger Müller-Thurgau trocken VDP.Ortswein Euro 8.50
2013 Würzburger Abtsleite Silvaner trocken VDP.Erste Lage Euro 12
2013 Iphöfer Kronsberg Silvaner trocken VDP.Erste Lage Euro 12
2013 Würzburger Stein Silvaner trocken VDP.Erste Lage Euro 13
2013 Iphöfer Julius-Echter-Berg Silvaner trocken VDP.Grosse Lage GG Euro 25
2013 Volkacher Karthäuser Weisser Burgunder trocken VDP.Grosse Lage GG Euro 30
schiller-wine: Related Postings
4 Wine Tours by ombiasy coming up in 2015: Germany-East, Germany-South. Germany-Nord and Bordeaux
Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy, 2014
Germany-South Wine Tour by ombiasy, 2014
Weingut Pawis (Saale Unstrut): Estate Tour and Wine Tasting with Kerstin Pawis – Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
Weingut Kloster Pforta: Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting with Managing Director Christian Kloss – Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
Winzerhof Gussek in the Saale Unstrut Region: Cellar Tour, Vineyard Tour and Tasting with Owner and Winemaker André Gussek – Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
Never been on a wine tour before, but they sound like a lot of fun. There is so much history in these old wine factories. They have been around for hundred of years. I'll have to get my family to one of these someday. http://www.ambassadorlimos.com/our-services.htm
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