Meet the producer: Weingut Paulinshof in Kesten

Weingut Paulinshof lies in Kesten, in the middle of the Mosel valley. The Jüngling family has run the estate since the mid-1960s, and today it is in the hands of Oliver and Carina Jüngling.

The vineyards

Paulinshof has vines in several sites along the river, among them Kestener Paulinshofberg, Brauneberger Juffer, Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr and Brauneberger Kammer. The slopes are steep, and in many rows the vines are trained on single stakes.

The vineyard at Paulinshof, with vines trained on single stakes. Photo: Weingut Paulinshof.

The slate

The soil is mostly slate, but its colour changes down the slope. In the producer's own words: at the bottom the slate is blue-grey, and towards the upper edges it turns red.

A steep vineyard at Paulinshof on the Mosel. Photo: Weingut Paulinshof.

Kammer

Brauneberger Kammer is a vineyard owned by the family alone, what the Germans call a Lage im Alleinbesitz. Nobody else makes wine from it. Its history goes back a long way: monasteries and counts fought over who owned it, and in 1788 Thomas Jefferson tasted wine from Kammer and noted its quality in his diary.

Grapes in the Brauneberger Kammer. Photo: Weingut Paulinshof.

The harvest and the cellar

The grapes are picked by hand, selectively. The cellar holds wooden casks.

Freshly picked grapes at Paulinshof. Photo: Weingut Paulinshof.

The cellar with wooden casks at Paulinshof. Photo: Weingut Paulinshof.