AUGUST KESSELER

VDP.ESTATE
AUGUST KESSELER

“ASSMANNSHAUSEN IS UNIQUE IN ITS WAY OF PRODUCING GREAT, FINE, FEMININE AND BALANCED WINES.”

AUGUST KESSELER SPEAKS ABOUT HIS WINES AND WINE ESTATE IN ASSMANNSHAUSEN

August Kesseler

Lorcher Straße 16
65385 Assmannshausen

Phone+49 (0)6722/2513
Fax+49 (0)6722/47477
eMailinfo@august-kesseler.de
Office Hours
Mo-Fr 9.45-18.00; Sa nach Vereinbarung
Owner

August Kesseler

| Betriebsleiter: Simon Batarseh
Cellarmaster

Max Himstedt

Member Since

1995

Wine Area

38,40 acres

Grape Variety

65% Riesling, 32% Pinot Noir, 3% Sonstige

Geology

blauer & roter Phylitt-Schiefer, Taunus Quarzit mit sandigem Lehm und Schiefer, stein-grusige Phlylitt Böden

Memberships

VDP: What is so special about your winery?

August Kesseler: We have a double-storey wine cellar dating from 1792, which was dug out of the rock and provides ideal conditions for making wine throughout the year. By the way, people say that we stand for Assmannshausen and the Höllenberg. That’s a tremendous honour for us and at the same time, an incentive!

VDP: What is your winery philosophy?

August Kesseler: To bottle every single vineyard every year with its inimitable terroir expression. If we are of the opinion that a wine does not do justice to a VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS®, then we do not produce it. Assmannshäusen HÖLLENBERG and other big names from Rüdesheim, Lorch and Lorchhausen only appear on the label if the wine meets the required quality.

 

VDP: For what wine style do you strive?

August Kesseler: We strive for a cool and mineral wine style. Behind this there are wines that are easy to drink despite their complexity – this applies particularly to the wines of the VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS® classification level - are not available. By ‘easy to drink’, I don’t mean wines that are light on the palate; they should still have depth. If nature makes it possible, then I prefer wines with moderate alcohol content.

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

August Kesseler: The new wines ‘The Daily August’ Riesling and Pinot Noir, which were added to our assortment in 2016.

 

“IF WE ARE OF THE OPINION THAT A WINE DOES NOT DO JUSTICE TO A VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS® , THEN WE WILL NOT PRODUCE IT."

VDP: Of which wine are you particularly proud?

August Kesseler: The 2004 VDP.GROSSE LAGE® Assmannshäuser HÖLLENBERG Spätburgunder, dry.

VDP: Why did you become a vintner?

August Kesseler: Not voluntarily. I actually wanted to become a racing driver or at least find my place at a car manufacturer in racing. However, due to the early death of my parents, the decision was virtually taken out of my hands. And so, at the age of 19, I became the successor in my parents’ winery.

 

VDP: Do you have role models, mentors?

August Kesseler: It was Burkard Bovensiepen, founder of the legendary sports car manufacturer Alpina, who put me on the right track and gave me the opportunity to experience what great wines are all about. Only if you know what great wines taste like can you make them. He taught me, took me under his wing - and on a wonderful journey into the world of great wines.

VDP: What are your next goals?

August Kesseler: To arrange the succession in my winery.

 

VDP: How do you combine tradition and innovation?

August Kesseler: Experience meets youth, you could say. On the one hand, we are experienced winegrowers and winemakers, but on the other, we have brought young, innovative people into the team in good time. We allow them to let their ideas flow in. It’s a cooperation that works excellently.

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

August Kesseler: Back in the 1980s, we, especially my long-time companion and winemaker Max Himstedt and I, set ourselves the goal of breathing life back into Assmannshausen and making it what it once was: unique in its way of producing great, fine, feminine and balanced wines. An inimitable style that shows its great class and attributes particularly well as it ages. Even though we have been working with small wooden barrels, the Burgunder pièce, we have always remained true to the style of Assmannshausen and have never tried to copy Burgundy. We bottle our wines in the Rheingau Schlegel according to tradition. We are proud that this striking type of Pinot Noir has been cultivated in the Rheingau since the 14th century.

VDP: Why should people visit your winery?

August Kesseler: Because of the spectacular Rüdesheimer Mountain and the unique, beautiful Mittelrhein landscape. It is not a World Cultural Heritage Site for nothing. It starts between Rüdesheim and Assmannshausen and stretches as far as Koblenz. A hike on the Rheinsteig is also highly recommended – with a break in Assmannshausen.

 

HÖLLENBERG
Pinot Noir GG
VDP.GROSSE LAGE®

© 2022
Photos: Peter Bender