Behind the Label: Staffelter Hof

By Alex Allardyce

Staffelter Hof is one of the oldest wineries in the world, traditional-turned-modern in the best possible way. It isn’t modern in the sense of a factory-style winery pumping out gallons of sterile, manipulated wine. It is cool, hip, and relevant: they are making wine labelled with offbeat artwork, quirky names, and most noteworthy, the wines are made naturally.

Staffelter Hoff's Classic Wines

However, the wines weren’t always made this way. Located in the village of Krov in Mosel, Germany, and dating back to 862, to the original wine-producing abbey of the same name, Staffelter Hof has travelled a long road to this modernization. In 1805, the land was purchased from the government by Peter Schneiders and was passed down through seven generations, each building their reputation as high-quality, traditional Riesling producers.

Current winemaker Jan Klein continued to make these classic German-style Rieslings until 2010 when he started reconsidering the future of the winery—and the planet. So began the winery’s journey to organic certification and the move to minimal-intervention winemaking. Interestingly, Jan has never abandoned the production of the winery’s classic Rieslings, instead choosing to make both classic and natural wines and marketing them under different labels.

“I’m still very passionate about my classic wines because Mosel is unique,” he tells Drinks Today. “But natural is where I can just go crazy and try things that would otherwise be seen as wrong.”

Staffelter Hof has become a trailblazer: they are one of the few wineries in the Middle Mosel to achieve organic certification. Why is that? Simply put, organic farming and natural winemaking are not easy in Germany. The cooler climate and proximity to rivers and other waterways create a breeding ground for mould, mildew, and disease, so fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides have been used widely. In a damp, cool climate like the Middle Mosel, achieving organic certification while still producing healthy grapes, is an accomplishment—and not a battle that many producers are willing to take on.

Staffelter Hoff's Natural Wines

Staffelter Hof took the challenge in stride, however, going as far as producing wines that are not only farmed organically but also made with minimal intervention and minimal sulphur levels. This, again, is not an easy task in Germany. Conventional off-dry and sweet wines (no matter where they come from) often contain elevated sulfite levels to prevent wines from refermenting in the bottle. As such, elevated sulphur levels have been a necessary part of the German tradition of making wines with residual sugar. Staffelter Hof stands by this tradition and continues to make their line of classic-style German wines with this in mind. However, tradition does not stop Jan from exploring natural winemaking, which produces unfiltered wines with minimal additives (including sulphur).

The result of this commitment to both tradition and innovation is an interesting range of wines. They have cloudy, textured, unfiltered, and unsulphured blends alongside their crystal clear, clean, bright, searing Rieslings. The wines span dry and sweet, sparkling and rosé, white and small amounts of red. In the hands of winemaker Jan Klein, Staffelter Hof is a winery to watch. It is a historic winery that dares to be full of contrasts: contrasts between old and new; history and innovation; filtered and unfiltered. 

CLASSIC VS. NATURAL

How does Staffelter Hof’s natural wine compare to its conventional wines? Take home a bottle of each and tag us on Instagram to tell us which was your favourite! Are you #TeamClassic or #TeamNatural?

Staffelter Hof 2018 Paradies Riesling Mosel, Germany ($19.99)

CLASSIC

Winemaking: Juice is pressed immediately off the skins and fermented in stainless steel without undergoing malolactic fermentation. The wine is fined and filtered with a small amount of sulphur added.

Tasting note: Crystal clear with flavours of green apple, citrus and white flowers; bright acidity and finishing off-dry.

Staffelter Hof 2018 Little Bastard Mosel, Germany ($27.99)

100% Riesling 60% Riesling, 25% Sauvignon Blanc, 12% Müller-Thurgau, 3% Muscat

NATURAL

Winemaking: Juice sits on the skins for a few hours (except the Muscat, which sits for a few days). Each variety is fermented separately, undergoing malolactic fermentation before being blended and aged in old foudres for two and a half months. Unfiltered, unfined, no sulphur added.

Tasting note: Cloudy, soft, textured, and wild with tangy flavours of peaches, bruised apple and orange rind.