Van Volxem

The history of the Van Volxem winery goes back a long way

The van Volxem w inery is located in the historic centre of the town of Wiltingen on the Saar. Once a Roman villa complex, the vineyards were planted and cultivated by the Romans as early as the 3rd century. In the 11th century, monks rediscovered the estate, cultivated it and founded the monastery winery in 1743. After the French Revolution, the ecclesiastical property was secularized and became the property of Gustav von Volxem, a brewer who had immigrated from Brussels. He recognized the valuable sites and established the Van Volxem winery, named after him, as one of the most prestigious wine estates in the following years. For four generations, the Van Volxem wine estate was in the family before it was finally taken over in 2000 - after it had run into economic difficulties -  by the entrepreneur and Bitburger heir Roman Niewodniczanski.

At first, Niewodniczanski renovated and modernized the existing manor house in Wiltingen, but the wine farm in the center of Wiltingen soon became too small. Since Niewodniczanski has taken over the Van Volxem wine estate, he has continuously extended and expanded it by new (top) vineyards. So, a new building was needed. In July 2019, Van Volxem will finally move into the new and ultra-modern manufactory on the Wiltinger Schlossberg.

The wines of the Saar are characterized by the cool climate prevailing there and the mineral-rich, fertile slate soils. Thanks to the steep slopes, the winemakers of the van Volxem winery went back to traditional craftsmanship; the grapes are harvested by hand, with conscientious selection guaranteeing consistently high quality. The winemaker's sense of tradition is nourished by its largely rootless vines, which have been perched on the great sites for many decades. Van Volxem produces exclusively natural wines, i.e. wines that, according to Wilhelm Ruthe's definition from 1904, are a product of the vine without any additives and characteristically have a lower alcohol content. The winery produces great site wines in very limited quantities as well as estate wines, which are characterized by their individuality.

Sustainability: The new Van Volxem Manufaktur

In a particularly exposed location on the Wiltinger Schlossberg is the new, ultra-modern manor house of the Van Volxem winery. A winery that was abandoned decades ago was used as the basis. Prussian wine domains served as a model for the new building.  Four architects from South Tyrol and an interior designer from Bad Soden based their design on the logistical requirements of the Van Volxem winery in orderto optimise all processes. In the wine cellar, work is done exclusively by gravity. The work is done manually, just like the harvest before. The grapes are also sorted by hand, of course. The horizontal stainless steel barrels are arranged in a honeycomb pattern and allow the wine to mature on the fine lees for several years.

In addition to the stainless steel barrels, wines are also aged in wooden barrels. An impressive wooden barrel cellar was built for this purpose. The barrels were made of wood from the family's own oak trees in the Eifel region. A wood chip heating system was installed for heat generation. Electricity is generated by a photovoltaic system, which is well hidden in the roof. Thus, the Van Volxem winery produces enough electricity that visitors can even charge their e-vehicles in the parking lot free of charge.

The façade was also built with sustainability in mind. It is made of light shell limestone, no further treatment of the facade was done. Perfect climatic conditions in the Van Volxem cellar are ensured by Passeirer Kreisgranat. 

The new Van Volxem manufactory on the Wiltinger Schlossberg has long been a magnet for tourists, wine lovers and stars of the wine industry.

The Van Volxem vineyards

The vineyards of the Saar are just as special as the wines and are famous all over the world. The Van Volxem vineyard almost exclusively cultivates slate steep slopes, which can only be worked manually. Van Volxem 's sites include top vineyards like Scharzhofberger and Wiltinger Gottesfuß. Since the takeover of Van Volxem in 2000, some vineyards have been added, for example excellent Große Gewächs vineyards like Bockstein, Geisberg, Goldberg and Altenberg. The average age of the vines is 35 years. In the Wiltinger Gottesfuß vineyard, one of the steepest Saar vineyards, Van Volxem even owns Riesling vines that are about 130 years old.

The rest of the Van Volxem vines are also for the most part rootless, thus preserving the genetic diversity and the foundation of the aromas. 

Van Volxem sites include:

• Scharzhofberg
• Gottesfuß
• Braunfels
• Rosenberg
• Klosterberg
• Schlangengraben
• Wiltinger Kupp
• Ockfener Bockstein

The Van Volxem wine style

Even today, Van Volxem wines are traditionally vinified predominantly dry. The alcohol content is rather moderate, the acidity ripe, the structure dense and complex. All this makes the wines of the Van Volxem winery excellent food companions. Of course, the wines are also characterized by the poor, mineral-rich slate soils of the steep slopes. The vine yields are kept low, the grapes are strictly selected, and harvesting does not take place before mid-October if possible. The physiological ripeness of the grapes and spontaneous fermentation are prerequisites for the Van Volxem Saar wines of great sites. Factors such as the Devonian slate soils, the exposure and nature of the vineyards and the cool Saar climate all play into the character of the wines.