VDP.WEINGUT
WILLI HAAG

"AT THE MOMENT OUR VINEYARDS ARE PLANTED WITH 100% RIESLING. BUT YOU SHOULD NEVER SAY NEVER."

WILLI HAAG ABOUT HIS WINES AND HIS VINEYARD IN BRAUNEBERG

Willi Haag

Burgfriedenspfad 5
54472 Brauneberg/Mosel

Phone+49 (0)6534/450
Fax+49 (0)6534/689
eMailinfo@willi-haag.de
Office Hours
nach Vereinbarung
Owner

Marcus Haag

Cellarmaster

Marcus Haag

Wine Area

6,90 acres

Grape Variety

100% Riesling

Geology

grauer Devonschieferverwitterungsboden

Growing Areas

Mosel-Saar-Ruwer

VDP: What is so special about your winery?

Willi Haag: The oldest part of our buildings and parts of the wine cellar were built around 1500. The barrel cellar is carved into the rocks, which guarantees constant temperatures all year round. Our mostly 30- to 50-year-old vines grow on pure slate weathered soils in the famous VDP.GROSSEN LAGEN® JUFFER and JUFFER SONNENUHR.

VDP: What is your winery philosophy?

Willi Haag: The areas we have bought in recent years are exclusively steep slopes. The best grapes in our wine-growing region grow in the traditional vineyard locations on slate weathered soil.

JUFFER SONNENUHR
Riesling Auslese
VDP.GROSSE LAGE®

"IN 2010 I WAS PROUD OF THE NOBLE SWEET WINES WITH THE WONDERFUL ACIDITY. 2015 THE WHOLE VINTAGE WAS HIGH CLASS".

VDP: What wine style do you strive for? Do you have a favourite grape variety?

Willi Haag: Our fruity Riesling wines reflect the minerality of slate, the typical terroir of the VDP.GROSSEN LAGE® JUFFER and
JUFFER SONNENUHR. The microclimate of these sites enables us to bring the wines to the bottle with great freshness and elegance. So every glass becomes an experience. The wines are young and fresh, a drinking pleasure, but also inspire as mature drops

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

Willi Haag: Our collection offers everything from dry, mineral to noble-sweet, fruity Riesling wines that your heart desires and what you need to discover at a wine tasting. Our VDP.GUTSWEINE are very well suited as entry-level wines, above all our finely bitter Gutsriesling. It presents itself as an authentic, uncomplicated Mosel Riesling.
 

VDP:Which wine are you particularly proud of?

Willi Haag: The Riesling is a small challenge every year due to its many possibilities for expansion. We would like to bottle each vintage according to type. I was particularly proud of the 2010 noble sweet wines, which stood out with their wonderful acidity. 2018 is our VDP.GROSSE LAGE® JUFFER SONNENUHR Riesling Auslese "Goldkapsel" my favourite wine, which is rich in minerality and distinguished by its diverse fruit aromas.

VDP: Why did you become a vintner?

Willi Haag: The profession of winegrower is very versatile, I know that exactly, because there is a long winegrowing tradition in our family. Every vintage is a new challenge. Working in and with nature is very exciting. You can always learn something new from it. It is a fascinating profession that never gets boring for me.


VDP: How do you combine tradition and innovation?

Willi Haag: To hold on to traditions, but at the same time always be open to new ideas. Wine is tradition, if only because this drink has been around for a very long time, here on the Moselle as well. Without our harvest assistants, a team that has been working together for years, selective hand-picking as an important prerequisite for high-quality wines would not be possible. But on the other hand, we use modern cellar techniques. The wines are matured in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks and the work in the vineyard is carried out using machinery. We combine modernity with tradition.
 

VDP: Why should I still visit your winery?

Willi Haag: Our winery is located in the heart of the Middle Moselle in Brauneberg. From our terrace you have a wonderful view of the famous VDP.GROSSEN LAGEN® in Brauneberg, the JUFFER and JUFFER SONNENUHR, even during a convivial wine tasting. So you can enjoy the day with friends over a cool glass of Riesling.

VDP:If your wine were music, what would it be?

Willi Haag: Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, because for me this piece is as versatile and complex as my profession and our wines.