VDP.ESTATE
STAATLICHER HOFKELLER WÜRZBURG

“WE ARE THE EXCELLENCE OF FRANKEN WINE.”

THILO HEUFT, WINERY MANAGER AT THE STAATLICHER HOFKELLER WÜRZBURG

Staatlicher Hofkeller Würzburg

Residenzplatz 3
97070 Würzburg

Phone+49 (0)931/3050923
Fax+49 (0)931/3050966
eMailhofkeller@hofkeller.de
Office Hours
Mo-Fr 9.00-18.00; Jan-Mrz: Sa 10.00-14.00; Apr-Dez: Sa 10.00-16.00
Owner

Freistaat Bayern

Weingutsdirektor: Thilo Heuft; Veranstaltungen: Bernd van Elten und Jochen Gummersbach
Cellarmaster

Stefan Schäfer, Klaus Kuhn & Friederike Voigtländer

Member Since

1955

Wine Area

114,10 acres

Grape Variety

Silvaner, Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Rieslaner, Scheurebe, Chardonnay, Traminer, Weiss, Grau- & Spätburgunder, Frühburgunder, Domina

Geology

Muschelkalk, Keuper, Urgestein und Buntsandstein

Growing Areas

Franken

Sparkling Wine / Sekt
Sekterzeuger
Memberships
  • Wine in Moderation

VDP: What is so special about your winery?

Thilo Heuft: With a nearly 900-year history, we are one of the oldest wineries in Germany. Since 1128, the Staatliche Hofkeller has always been in the hands of the respective rulers of Bavaria. Our wine cellar is also located in a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, where history can be experienced and grasped. We are also the only winery in Franken with very differentiated wines from vineyards of all soil types from Steigerwald to Hörstein, with an emphasis on the prime vineyards Würzburger Stein and Leiste.

VDP: What is your winery philosophy?

Thilo Heuft: We are the excellence of Franken wine, committed to tradition, but also shaped by innovative development. After all, the innovations of the past are nothing other than what we now call tradition.

VDP:To which wine style do you aspire?

Thilo Heuft: Wine styles should reflect the attributes of the respective soil structures and vineyards. Deep, concentrated, mineral and ,as is typical for Franken, dry. Of course, Silvaner plays a leading role alongside Riesling and Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir).

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

Thilo Heuft: Since our estate cultivates the most significant share of the Würzburger Stein, I would naturally recommend a Stein Silvaner as the typical wine of our house – and of Franken.

“THE OPTIMAL CLIMATE OF 2018 BROUGHT A WINE FROM THE BISCHOFSBERG VINEYARD THAT WILL BRING US YEARS OF PLEASURE.”

Würzburger Stein
Silvaner
VDP.ERSTE LAGE®

VDP: Of which wine are you particularly proud?

Thilo Heuft: Of our recently classified VDP.GROSSE LAGE® in Grossheubach, the BISCHOFSBERG, where we produced our first VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS® Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) in 2018. In this unique red Bunter sandstone terrace, the optimal climate of 2018 brought a wine that will bring us years of pleasure.

VDP: Why did you become a vintner?

Thilo Heuft: I have been very close to viticulture and vineyards since childhood and have never regretted making my first hobby my profession. The work in the terraced steep slopes of the Neckar Valley has always fascinated me and the scenic beauty shaped by the vineyards and the water here in Würzburg also give me the feeling of being lucky to work where others take their vacation!

VDP: Who was your role model?

Thilo Heuft: There have been several role models and mentors in the course of my career. The first one was certainly my father-in-law, who introduced me to viticulture hands-on and later, certainly my trainer and boss of the winery where I did my apprenticeship as a winemaker.

VDP:What are your next goals?

Thilo Heuft: We are good. But we can and want to become even better every day. That is the mission that drives us all – striving to do everything a little better.

© 2020
Photos: Peter Bender