VDP.ESTATE
NIK WEIS – ST. URBANS-HOF

"OUR THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS ARE AIMED AT PRODUCING MOSEL AND SAAR WINES FULL OF CHARACTER WITH A CLEAR ORIGIN PROFILE IN TASTE."

NIK WISE ABOUT HIS WINES AND HIS VINEYARD IN LEIWEN

NIK WEIS - St. Urbans-Hof

Urbanusstraße 16
54340 Leiwen

Phone+49 (0)6507/93770
Fax+49 (0)6507/937730
eMailinfo@urbans-hof.com
Office Hours
Mo-Fr 8.00-17.00; Sa nach Vereinbarung
Owner

Nik Weis

Cellarmaster

Kai Hausen

Member Since

2000

Wine Area

34,70 acres

Grape Variety

99% Riesling, % Pinot-Rebsorten

Geology

Devonschiefer

Growing Areas

Mosel-Saar-Ruwer

VDP: What is so special about your winery?

Nik Weis: We own vineyards in various top locations on the Moselle and Saar. Each year we produce about 25 different Rieslings, each of which has a distinctive and individual character. Our three top sites on the Moselle are so-called historic vineyard sites. In 1947 my grandfather founded the first privately run vineyard school in Rhineland-Palatinate, as well as the winery. The fact that our Riesling vines are even exported to Canada can be traced back to my father Hermann, who not only expanded and further developed the winery, but also the second generation of grape nurseries. In addition to the production and propagation of various vine clones, my field manager Hermann Jostock and I are today dedicated to the research and propagation of old, original Riesling genetics on the Moselle.

VDP: What is your winery philosophy?

Nik Weis: Our thoughts and actions are geared towards producing Mosel and Saar wines full of character with a clear profile of origin in taste.

VDP: What wine style do you aim for? Do you have a favorite type of cancer?

Nik Weis: Riesling is my undisputed favourite variety. That's why we live the authentic Moselle style.

"OUR BOCKSTEIN CABINET IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF TIMELESS SAAR WINE."

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

Nik Weis: BOCKSTEIN Kabinett VDP.GROSSE LAGE® - it is a prime example of timeless Saar wine: juicy fruit aromas, fine herbaceousness, elegant residual sweetness, along with an animating acidity and smoky minerality.

VDP: Which wine are you particularly proud of?

Nik Weis: That would be the 2017 LAYET Riesling GG, a VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS® from the historic vineyard of the same name in Mehring on the Moselle.

LAYET
Riesling GG
VDP.GROSSE LAGE®

VDP: Why did you become a vintner?

Nik Weis: I love wine, drink it with pleasure and dedicate my life to this unique product. Enlightenment" came at the age of 16 when I began to taste and drink wine. As a hobby chef and gourmet I love the combination of wine and food and enjoy it every time anew.

VDP: Do you have role models?

Nik Weis: My father.

VDP: What are your next goals?

Nik Weis: I would like to continue collecting old genes of Riesling vines on the Moselle in order to preserve the diversity of the Moselle Riesling in its basic form.

VDP: How do you combine tradition and innovation?

Nik Weis: In a nutshell: Progress without technical fireworks. We work for the wine, that is only where it is indispensable, technology is used in the shortest and most gentle way possible. Manual work is and remains the main focus.

VDP: Do you stick to traditions, if so, which ones?

Nik Weis: In the vineyard: Single pile education and manual work. In the cellar: spontaneous fermentation and the use of traditional Moselle barrels.

VDP: Why should I still visit your winery?

Nik Weis: Basically, the Moselle is always worth a trip. At our winery you can take a sensory walk through six of the best vineyards of the Moselle and Saar during a wine tasting and enjoy a wonderful view of the VDP.GROSSE LAGE® LAURENTIUSLAY. And if you'd like some more food afterwards: A large number of top restaurants are only a few minutes away.