GERMAN WINE INSTITUTE TROPHY FOR GERMAN PRODUCER OF THE YEAR: WEINGUT BÜRGERSPITAL
Weingut Bürgerspital was founded in 1316 by Johannes von Steren, an inhabitant of Würzburg, to look after the sick and elderly of the town. Funding of the hospital would be achieved through the estate’s agricultural holdings, which, from an endowment in 1334, included vineyards.
The altruistic aspect of the business continues to this day and Bürgerspital still operates several retirement homes and clinics in and around Würzburg and looks after around 850 people, although gone are the days when the patients would be threatened with having their daily wine ration watered down for misdemeanours.
The estate owns 110 hectares of vineyard in the region with parcels on the Würzburger Stein – Germany’s largest single vineyard, of which Bürgerspital owns 32ha of the 85ha total – Würzberger Stein-Harfe, Innere Leiste, Pfaffenberg and Abtsleite and the Randersackerer Teufelskeller, Marsberg and Pflüben.
The sites at Randersackerer are particularly noted for their Riesling and Bürgerspital is the largest Riesling producer in Franconia with 30% of the estate’s production given over to the variety. A further 25% of production is of Franconia’s flagship grape Silvaner. Bürgerspital was in fact the first estate to plant the grape on the Würzburger Stein.
Other white varieties include Müller-Thurgau, Weiss and Grau Burgunder, Bacchus, Scheurebe and Gewürztraminer, while red varieties such as Pinot Noir, Blaufränkisch and Domina make up 12% of the overall production.
