schiller-wine

Fantastic Sunday lunch at @Weingut Schloss Johannisberg, which was nominated as No.2 in the list of the World’s 50 Best Vineyards.

See: Weingut Schloss Johannisberg, Rheingau, Germany, # 2 in the World and #1 in Europe - The World's 50 Best Vineyards 2025

Indeed: Schloss Johannisberg, sitting exactly on the 50^th parallel, is an exceptional and beautiful place. It is one of the world’s oldest Riesling wine estates going back 1200 years and since 1720 Schloss Johannisberg’s winemaking is dedicated exclusively to the Riesling grape. It was here that the “Spätlese -Noble Rot” was accidently discovered. For many centuries the estate was owned by the Prince-Abbot of Fulda, but changed hands several times during the Napoleonic wars and subsequent secularization. In 1816, Austrian Emperor Francis II. gave the estate to his Foreign Minister, Prince von Metternich, as a thank you for his successful negotiations in the reorganization of Europe during the “Congress of Vienna”. The last resident of the Metternich family at Schloss Johannisberg, Tatjana Princess von Metternich, was a patron of the arts in the Rheingau and revived the estate to its former glory after the destructions during WWII.

Today. the wine estate encompasses 125 acres of vineyards around the castle all planted with Riesling. The soils of the south-facing vineyards sloping down to the Rhein-river are quartzite from the Taunus hills with significant iron-rich loess and loam compounds. In 2024 Schloss Johannisberg got rewarded for the tremendous effort during the last years to beef up quality and was rewarded 5 out of 5 stars in the Vinum Wine guide. Again the wines of Schloss Johannisberg belong where they are supposed to be: among the best of the best.

Arriving

Executive Chef Simon Kieslich

Menus

Aperitif

First

Steak Tartare (First) - Prepared at the Table

Second

Crêpe Suzette

Mignardises

Bye-bye

Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Schloss Johannisberg (VDP), the Iconic Rheingau Estate, with Dieter Salomon - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours

See: Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Schloss Johannisberg (VDP), the Iconic Rheingau Estate, with Dieter Salomon - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours

Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours took place from August 28 – Friday, September 06, 2024. We spent 10 days visiting top wine estates in five wine regions, tasting fabulous Rieslings and Pinot Noir (aka Spätburgunder), meeting world-renowned wine makers, travelling through the world’smost beautiful wine regions, cruising on the romantic Rhein river, looking at dizzying steep vineyards along the Rhein and Mosel rivers, and delving deep into German history and culture: Rheinhessen • Rheingau • Mittelrhein • Mosel • Nahe

Following:

Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Georg Breuer in Rüdesheim, Rheingau, with Theresa Breuer - Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by ombiasy WineTours

we went to Weingut Schloss Johannisberg. Dieter Salomon was our host.

We were treated to an in-depth visit of the iconic Weingut Schloss Johannisberg and a thorough tasting of Schloss Johannisberg’s superb wines. Dieter Salomon showed us the old cellars, the new winemaking facilities and the Schloss Johannisberg vineyard, followed by a seated tasting of the Weingut Schloss Johannisburg wines.

The tasting included the new Weingut Schloss Johannisberg signature wine, the Goldlack trocken, which sells for Euro 200 plus per bottle.

Weingut Schloss Johannisberg wines are available in the USA through Freixenet Mionetto USA.

Weingut Schloss Johannisberg

Weingut Schloss Johannisberg is one of the world’s oldest Riesling wine estate going back 900 years and it was here that the “Spätlese” was accidently discovered. For many centuries the estate was owned by the Prince-Abbot of Fulda, but changed hands several times during the Napoleonic wars and subsequent secularization.

In 1816, Austrian Emperor Francis II, gave the estate to his Foreign Minister, Prince von Metternich, as a thank you for his successful negotiations in the reorganization of Europe during the “Congress of Vienna”. The last resident of the Metternich family at Schloss Johannisberg, Tatjana Princess von Metternich was a patron of the arts in the Rheingau and beyond and revived the castle to its former gory after the destructions during World War II. After her death in 2006, the Oetker family (yes, that's the one that produces baking helpers and puddings) bought the estate.

Today 125 acres of vineyards around the Castle are farmed. The soils are quartzite from the Taunus hills with significant iron-rich loess and loam components. The Johannisberg Rieslings are a brilliant example of what the Riesling grape is able to produce. The wines show substance, considerable volume, and a spicy fruitiness paired with pronounced acidity. Schloss Johannisberg is one of the only 16 wine estates in all of Germany’s 13 wine regions rated with 5 stars in the Vinum wine guide 2024.

Picture: Schloss Johannisberg (1837)

Freixenet Mionetto USA: Weingut Schloss Johannisberg

Few wine enthusiasts probably realize that with every sip of Riesling from Schloss Johannisberg, they are enjoying the legacy of nearly 1,200 years of history that involves a monastery and a palace – both of which have a great wine history. The ﬁrst documented wine harvest was in A.D. 817. Louis the Pious was delighted with the 6,000 liters of wine from the vines on the hill, then known as Bischofsberg (bishop’s hill). Nearly three centuries later (circa 1100), the ﬁrst Benedictine monastery in the Rheingau was founded on the hilltop and the monks diligently tended the vines on the slopes below. In 1130, they consecrated their abbey church in honor of John the Baptist, after which the hill, the monastery and the village assumed the name Johannisberg (John’s hill). In 1716, the Prince-Abbot of Fulda at that time had the monastery torn down and a Baroque palace built on the site. Parts of the nearly 900-year-old abbey cellar remained intact. After restoring the vineyards in just two years (1719/1720), 294,000 Riesling vines were planted. It is thanks to their efforts that Schloss Johannisberg is justiﬁably the ﬁrst Riesling wine estate in the world.

Riesling heralded the start of a new era of viticulture in the Rheingau – and not only there. Schloss Johannisberg’s recognition of the beneﬁts of a Spätlese (late harvest) came about by accident. Every autumn, the head monastery in Fulda sent a courier on horseback with orders on when to begin the harvest. In 1775, he was delayed. By the time he arrived in Johannisberg, the ripe grapes were infested with mold – noble rot – yet they were harvested and pressed. The monks thanked God for the phenomenal results and erected a monument to the courier in the courtyard. The Prince-Abbot issued an edict that henceforth, the grape harvest should always take place this late.

Connoisseurs all over the world owe thanks to the Rheingau wine experts for further developing the practice of selective, late harvesting: Auslese (1787), Beerenauslese, and Trockenbeerenauslese, as well as Eiswein, which was ﬁrst harvested in Germany at Schloss Johannisberg in 1858.

The forest on top of the Taunus protects the vineyards from cold winds from the north. In the south, the Rhine lays like a lake in front of the estate on the foothills. The 50° parallel runs directly through the vineyard and its unique soil drains water and maintains temperature for perfect minerality in Riesling.

Long before printed labels were common practice, Schloss Johannisberg had its own system of distinguishing among its bottlings through the use of colored seals. Introduced by Fürst von Metternich in 1820 and still in use to this day, the quality of a wine, based on the ripeness of the harvested grapes, can be identiﬁed according to color.

Arriving