VDP.ESTATE
JULIUSSPITAL

VDP: What is so special about your winery?

Joachim Brand: Our winery is part of the Juliusspital Foundation - our mission has been to help people for centuries. At the same time, we stand for 450 years of winemaking experience. We have always been guided by the sustainability concept of ‘preserving the good and discovering the new’. In addition to visiting our top Franconian vineyards and the new vinotheque, which will open in 2024, the imposing Fürstenbau, the landmark of the foundation, and the historic wooden barrel cellar - the heart of our wine production - in the centre of Würzburg are particularly special. 

Over 100 km as the crow flies, our vineyards spread right across the Franconian Trias in the best sites of Franken, including Würzburger Stein, Iphöfer Julius-Echter-Berg, Rödelseer Küchenmeister, Escherndorfer Lump, Randersackerer Pfülben, Volkacher Karthäuser. And because we always do what we do best, we have dedicated ourselves to Silvaner. We are the largest Silvaner wine estate worldwide and produce all wine styles – from stainless steel to tonneaux, from dry to sweet – in all origin categories of the VDP quality pyramid.

VDP: What is your winery philosophy?

Joachim Brand: Quality is created in the vineyard through the soft pruning technique, strict yield regulation and sustainable soil management. We take the opposite strategy in the cellar with controlled inactivity, preservation and only very careful shaping of what each vintage has given us on the way.

VDP: To which wine style do you aspire?

Joachim Brand: There is no ‘one wine style’; rather, the origin, grape variety and quality level provide us with the basis for finding an individual wine style for each of our wines.
Described with a few attributes, we want to convey clear, brilliant and typical varietal aromas, depth of flavour, precise and exciting on the palate, an animating mineral structure and the recognisable origin in the glass.

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

Joachim Brand: Würzburger Silvaner dry VDP.Ortswein - this wine is perfect to get a first impression of the Juliusspital winery, the characteristic shell limestone in and around Würzburg and of course the flavours of the Silvaner.

VDP: Of which wine are you particularly proud?

Joachim Brand: VDP.ERSTE LAGE^® Würzburg Stein Silvaner dry. It is produced through spontaneous fermentation in large wooden barrels in the historic wooden barrel cellar. We achieve a modern wine style through very traditional craftsmanship, a true expression of origin and an incredibly good price/enjoyment ratio!

VDP: Why did you become a winegrower?

Joachim Brand: Growing up in a small wine village in Württemberg, the desire to become a winemaker was not unusual at first. However, not owning your own vineyards and still choosing this wonderful profession was. This freedom from owning vineyards also meant that he had the opportunity to work with wine all over the world. After a few positions, he was given the opportunity to take over responsibility for the winery at Juliusspital in 2023.

VDP: What are your next goals?

Joachim Brand: Filling the guiding principle of the founder of the Julius Hospital with content.
What our founder once began in noble endeavour, I want to complete in my life today and hand it over to the future with confidence.

VDP: How do you combine tradition and innovation?

Joachim Brand: Traditionally, we rely on Bocksbeutel, ageing in large wooden barrels, spontaneous fermentation, traditional site diversity and sustainability in the vineyard. We are innovative, for example, when it comes to adapted grape varieties, products and wine styles, modern technology in the vineyard, but also alternative ways of packaging our wines, reducing our carbon footprint and further developing forms of cultivation - the team is shaping the future!