VDP.ESTATE
PRINZ SALM

VDP: What is so special about your winery?

Prince Felix zu Salm-Salm: Our estate has been continuously family-owned for over 850 years. We have verifiably cultivated the Wallhäuser Felseneck vineyard since 1219. Today, my wife and I represent the 32nd generation of winemakers in our family. In addition to this remarkable history, the vineyard sites in Wallhausen and Dalberg, characterized by green slate, are an absolute rarity. This is complemented by the Kirchberg and the world-famous Scharlachberg in Bingen.

VDP: What is your winery philosophy?

Prince Felix zu Salm-Salm: To get closer to the perfect moment every year in terms of the various work steps, such as harvesting, racking - the whole process.


VDP: What wine style do you strive for?

Prince Felix to Salm-Salm: We want to work out the optimum from the grape varieties, what makes up their character. I like Riesling when it is slender and filigree, but I also like a VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS® or a powerful and expressive Burgundy. Depending on the situation.

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

Prince Felix zu Salm-Salm: Riesling from Grünschiefer is the unique selling point of our winery because Grünschiefer can only be found here on the Nahe. It is also clear and elegant and stands for our Dalberger Ritterhölle and FELSENECK, WALLHAUSEN | VDP.GROSSE LAGE® sites.


VDP: Which wine are you particularly proud of?

Prince Felix zu Salm-Salm: I'm especially proud of our matured VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS wines. From the very beginning, it was clear to me that I wanted to drink and also sell aged wines. When my wife joined the estate in 2015, we deepened this philosophy even further. Today, we release our VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS wines only after ten years.

VDP: Why did you become a vintner?

Prince Felix to Salm-Salm: My enlightenment came on 31 August 2001: my last day in the Bundeswehr. I drove on the A61 where you cross the Nahe. It rained extremely and I prayed for the wine. In prayer, I suddenly asked myself seriously: "Dear God, why don't I make wine?" Actually, I was already registered for BWL. Four weeks later I started my first internship with Bernhard Breuer. Had I started with BWL, I would probably still be studying...


VDP: Do you have role models?

Prince Felix zu Salm-Salm: Jesus, because he turned water into wine!

VDP: What are your next goals?

Prince Felix to Salm-Salm: To place our matured Rieslings on even more wine lists of top restaurants – in Germany and around the world.

VDP: How do you combine tradition and innovation?

Prince Felix to Salm-Salm: We have been cultivating our vineyards for 32 generations. Learning from the past while embracing new challenges – that’s what has made us strong for centuries. After all, the estate hasn’t existed for over 800 years because each generation did things exactly like the one before. Preserving what’s good, rediscovering forgotten traditions, and consistently integrating innovation – that’s part of our DNA.