Weingut Max Ferd. Richter

Ten Generations of Riesling

Father and son hold 20 ha of vineyards in some of the best sites of the Middle Mosel. Vineyards with renowned names—like Brauneberger Juffer, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Erdener Treppchen, Elisenberg and the monopole Helenenkloster—adorn their wonderful Jugendstil labels.

Quality goes before quantity. The Richters prefer a green harvest by thinning out the grape bunches when the color of the grapes begin to change. Pest control is largely done according to ecological principles. To achieve top quality, they do a late harvest with several passes through the same vineyards. All of this is done by hand of course.

The fermentation of the wines largely takes place in traditional oak Fuder casks with natural yeasts, so that each wine develops its own character. Richter wines possess a dense fruit aroma and a complex minerality.

A Piece of History

Max Ferd. Richter was established as a wine merchant house in 1680 and has been owned by the same family ever since then. The first records are even older. For example, a document from April 17, 1643, shows a vineyard purchase in the site of Brauneberg. The Baroque manor house with the French garden was built in 1774. The winery, which is separate from the manor, was built in 1880 and houses the most extensive Fuder cellar on the Middle Mosel.

In 1813, Franz Ludwig Niessen, the father-in-law of Ferdinand Richter, saved the County of Veldenz from being burned to the ground by Napoleon and his troops. There was an encounter on the Klosterberg (the Helenkloster vineyard), where Niessen handed Napoleon the required ransom in the amount of 3,000 thalers. As gratitude, Niessen received from the Mülheim community several vineyards, of which the best known is named after Louise, Queen of Prussia, “Louise’s Vineyard” (today’s Elisenberg).