VDP: VDP.Estate Kreuzberg

“WE WANT TO ESTABLISH OURSELVES IN THE LEAGUE OF TOP PRODUCERS OF SPÄTBURGUNDER AND FRÜHBURGUNDER”

LUDWIG KREUZBERG ABOUT HIS WINES AND HIS WINERY IN DERNAU.

Interview
Info

H.J. Kreuzberg

Schmittmann Straße 30
53507 Dernau

Phone	+49 (0)2643/1691
Fax	+49 (0)2643/3206
eMail	info@weingut-kreuzberg.de

www.weingut-kreuzberg.de

Office Hours

Vorübergehende Adresse & Öffnungszeiten:

Buschstr. 13, Tor 27
53340 Meckenheim

Mo.-Fr. 8:00-12:00 & 13:00-16:30 Uhr
und zusätzlich auf Anfrage

Owner

Ludwig Kreuzberg

Cellarmaster

Ludwig Kreuzberg und Benno Wagner

Member Since

2000

Wine Area

10,50 acres

Grape Variety

70% Pinot Noir, 11% Pinot Madeleine, 6% Dornfelder as well as Cabernet, Portugieser & Regent

Geology

Devonian shale, loess, clay, Grauwacke

Layers

ALTE LAY, Walporzheim | VDP.GROSSE LAGE^®

PFARRWINGERT, Dernau | VDP.GROSSE LAGE^®

ROSENTHAL, Ahrweiler | VDP.GROSSE LAGE^®

SCHIEFERLAY, Bad Neuenahr | VDP.GROSSE LAGE^®

SONNENBERG, Bad Neuenahr | VDP.GROSSE LAGE^®

Growing Areas

Ahr

Sparkling Wine / Sekt

Sekterzeuger

VDP: What is so special about your winery?

Ludwig Kreuzberg: Of our nine vineyard hectares, seven hectares are steep to extremely steep. We also have nine vineyards in the Ahr that are classified as VDP.GROSSE LAGE^®! Our methods of vinification are traditional; we only use wooden barrels and spontaneous fermentation. In the vineyard, 100 percent of the grapes are harvested by hand.

VDP: What is your winery philosophy?

Ludwig Kreuzberg: We strive to vinify red wines of the highest quality that are full of character and speak of their terroir. To achieve this, our vineyards are cultivated environmentally friendly. Quality takes precedence over quantity. What nature gives us is meticulously bottled in the cellar with the most careful handling of grapes and wine.

VDP: For what wine style do you strive?

Ludwig Kreuzberg: Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) and Frühburgunder (Pinot Noir Précoce) with elegance, finesse, fine fruit, and ageing potential.

VDP: Which of your wines would you recommend to someone who does not yet know your winery – as an introduction, so to speak?

Ludwig Kreuzberg: “Unplugged” and “Devonschiefer”: typical Ahr-Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) from slate slopes.

“WE FOCUS EXCLUSIVELY ON SPONTANEOUS FERMENTATION AND MATURATION IN WOOD BARREL.”

VDP: Of which wine are you particularly proud?

Ludwig Kreuzberg: We are proud of our entire collection!

UNPLUGGED
VDP.GUTSWEIN

VDP: Why did you become a vintner?

Ludwig Kreuzberg: Out of tradition, passion and emotion.

VDP: What are your next goals?

Ludwig Kreuzberg: To establish ourselves in the league of the best Frühburgunder (Pinot Noir Précoce) and Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) producers.

VDP: How do you combine tradition and innovation?

Ludwig Kreuzberg: Traditional maturation old Fuder (1000-litre wooden barrels) and in barrique – that’s our idea of a perfect symbiosis of tradition and innovation.

Ludwig Kreuzberg: Why should people visit your winery?

Ludwig Kreuzberg: Because of its central location in the beautiful Ahr Valley. And because in the coming years you can accompany us as we rebuild our winery even more beautiful than it was before.