Hamm Winery, Rheingau

The estate house and Baroque patrician house in Oestrich-Winkel in the Rheingau have belonged together for five centuries. It is now owned by the third generation of the Hamm family and has been managed organically for 25 years. Of its 7 hectares of vineyards, 90% are planted with Riesling and 10% with Pinot Noir. Those are the hard facts. The Hamms' "soft skills", as the totality of individual attitudes and abilities is now often called, are quite specific: responsibility for living soil, healthy vines and their children's future. Their conviction that they should act organically and sustainably is guided by a quotation from the philosopher Karl Jaspers: "Responsibility is always concrete. It has a face and the courage to make life more valuable." For generations, unusual approaches have been both a challenge and a motivation for the Hamm family. In 1911, Heinrich Hamm grew the first drinkable wine in Japan, presenting the first bottle to the reigning emperor in 1914. Japanese viticulture still rests on this pioneering work. Their fungal disease prevention is equally unusual: Kanne Brottrunk, a fermented bread drink, is their remedy of choice. Today's owner, Karl-Heinz Hamm, took a clear stance on environmental protection and moral responsibility while studying viticulture. He has put this responsibility into practice in his vineyards since 1997, convinced that quality begins in the vineyard and the winemaker's skill adds the finishing touch. With a feel for the right moment, the estate hand-harvests ripe, healthy grapes, including grapes affected by noble rot, always encouraging each wine's individual character.