Since 1752 in Saulheim: one family, one name, one wine-growing region
The name Landgraf has stood for viticulture in Rheinhessen since 1752 — a continuity that is not a matter of course in the German wine world. The winery is located in Saulheim, about 20 kilometers southwest of Mainz, in the gently rolling hills of the Nierstein area. Father Bernd Landgraf increasingly focused the business on viticulture and expanded the vineyard area. Since 2001, his son Andre has been working in the business, completed his degree as a graduate engineer for viticulture and oenology in Geisenheim, and gained experience in South Africa before taking over the business. Today, he and his wife Katrin — a former Wine Queen and ambassador for Rheinhessen's wine culture — run the estate together with their sons Moritz and Henri. Andre is a member of message in a bottle, the association of young, ambitious Rheinhessen winemakers that has qualitatively redefined the region since the 2000s.
Organic by conviction: vineyard and cellar without compromise
The Landgraf winery is a purely organic operation. Andre Landgraf decided on this path early and consciously — not as a marketing argument, but as a craft conviction: the less one intervenes in the natural soil conditions, the more varietal-typical and characterful the wines become. In practice, this means the complete renunciation of synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, and insecticides. The areas under the vines are worked mechanically, and the vine rows are provided with distinct greening. Particularly dense planting forces the vines to root deeper and tap into the minerals from the subsoil — from the tertiary marl and limestone soils of the Saulheim sites Hölle, Schlossberg, and Haubenberg. The harvest is done selectively by hand.
In the cellar, Andre Landgraf has consistently relied on spontaneous fermentation with natural yeasts since 2006. For the white wines, he works with skin contact and long aging on the fine lees; the maturation takes place in stainless steel or wooden barrels depending on the wine, often with full or partial malolactic fermentation. Red wines are fermented on the skins and aged in small or large wooden barrels. Local and site wines are generally not filtered — the direct expression of soil and vintage takes precedence over technical smoothness.
Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir: Saulheim in the glass
On the approximately 20 hectares of vineyards around Saulheim, Riesling now dominates with a share of about 40 percent, supplemented by Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Portugieser. The deep-rooted vines in the limestone and marl-rich soils deliver wines with a clear mineral line, lively acidity, and depth of origin. Estate wines like the Weissburgunder and the Pinot Noir Naturbursche show that even at this entry level, skin contact is used — pure-toned fruit, no smoothness through technology. The local and site wines increase fullness and density without giving up the precise fruit. Gault&Millau, Eichelmann, and Vinum have awarded the winery multiple times. Anyone looking for a Rheinhessen producer who understands organic viticulture not as a certificate, but as a craft, is in the right place with Landgraf.
