From career changer to VDP estate on the Elbe
Martin Schwarz was not originally a winemaker by family tradition, but a trained viticultural engineer. Before establishing his own winery, he worked for sixteen years as a cellar master at Schloss Proschwitz, the largest winery in Saxony. In 2003, he began, initially as a side business, together with his partner Grit Geißler on less than half a hectare of steep slopes in the Meißner Kapitelberg. Over two decades, the small beginning grew into an independent business: today, the two cultivate around six hectares of vineyards along the Saxon Wine Route, spread across Radebeul, Meißen, Diesbar-Seußlitz, and Merbitz.
Since 2013, Schwarz and Geißler have been vinifying their wines in their own cellar – a historic wine manufactory from the 18th century, located directly on the Elbe in Meißen. In 2022, the winery was admitted to the VDP, the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates, and has since been one of the recognized estates of the Saxony wine-growing region.
Steep slopes, granite, and manual labor in the cellar
The vineyards are located on weathered granite, porphyry, and syenite on the right bank of the Elbe, while the site in Merbitz on the opposite side is characterized by calcareous Pläner limestone. Dry-stone walls secure the steep slopes, and the proximity to the Elbe ensures a distinct alternation between daytime heat and nighttime coolness. As a result, the grapes ripen more slowly and develop more extract. In the vineyard as well as in the cellar, the team consistently relies on manual labor: gentle aging in new and used wooden barrels, with the goal of translating the site and the rock into the wine as authentically as possible. Since 2013, Martin Schwarz has been working full-time in his own business; previously, the winery was run in parallel with his employment at Proschwitz. Where it makes sense, they also experiment – for example, with Nebbiolo as a personal passion project or in cooperation with friendly estates for small special bottlings.
Rieslings with contour, Burgundies with coolness
At the center of the range are Rieslings from the Kapitelberg and Friedstein sites, complemented by Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Traminer, and Müller-Thurgau. Among the red varieties, Pinot Noir and Blaufränkisch show how the cool Saxon climate combines fruit, spice, and a clear acid structure – VDP critics describe the house style as lean, precise, and straightforward. In addition to the site-specific and Grosses Gewächs wines, the winery also offers more accessible wines for uncomplicated drinking pleasure, including the Schwarz Rot from our range. Those interested in the wines from Meißen will receive bottles that rely less on grand gestures than on craftsmanship, soil, and the personal signature of two perfectionists.
