VDP.ESTATE
K.F. GROEBE

"WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ACCORDING TO ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES FOR GENERATIONS."

FRIEDRICH GROEBE ABOUT HIS WINES AND HIS WINE ESTATE IN WESTHOFEN

K. F. Groebe

Mainzer Straße 18
67593 Westhofen

Phone+49 (0)6244/4523
Fax+49 (0) 6244/9191617
eMailweingut.k.f.groebe@t-online.de
Office Hours
nach Vereinbarung
Owner

Friedrich Groebe

Cellarmaster

Friedrich Groebe

Member Since

2000

Wine Area

7,00 acres

Grape Variety

78% Riesling,2% Silvaner, 12% Grauburgunder, 8% Spätburgunder

Geology

Lössboden mit Gehängelehm & tonigen, kiesigen Sanden im Untergrund (Aulerde), Kalksteinverwitterungsboden & Tonmergel (Kirchspiel, Morstein)

Growing Areas

Rheinhessen

Memberships

VDP: What is special about your winery?

Friedrich Groebe: In what is already the eighth generation, we bring expertise, experience, passion and love of viticulture to our WEINGUT K. F. GROEBE. These strengths characterize the family life in their special way and distinguish our wines.
We have been working according to ecological principles for generations, without letting ourselves be locked into forms by any legal regulation. Our vineyards have never known herbicides. The sustainable and prudent treatment of the nature entrusted to us is more important to us than an organic label on the bottle. All our wines come from our own grapes, grown in our own vineyards. This is precisely what is especially important to us in this age of "more and more and bigger and bigger". Traditional craftsmanship has no renaissance with us, but forms the basis of our work. The large barrel cellar of the winery is over 500 years old and is located deep under the historic market place of Westhofen. Wooden barrel aging is in the foreground, but we also give room to modern aging methods and continue to develop techniques for future generations.
We give our customers the freedom to get to know the wines in their own personal way and therefore refrain as far as possible from flowery wine descriptions, because everyone experiences taste, harmony and quality in a very individual way. This experience is unique and we do not want to deprive our guests of this.

VDP: What is your winery philosophy?

Friedrich Groebe: Reflection on the essentials! For wines from our winery, this means that we produce only authentic, characterful originals and do not copy other wine styles. And we do this with 100 percent personal commitment in the vineyard and cellar.
Working in the vineyard gives me a deep sense of freedom and satisfaction and shapes my life and my fundamental attitude towards it.

VDP: What wine style do you strive for and do you have a favorite grape variety?

Friedrich Groebe: My wine style is characterized by experience, expertise and an ounce of courage and composure, which is something that should be retained in this day and age. Riesling is the grape variety that I particularly love and that challenges and inspires me every year. But I also devote all my attention to Burgundy varieties and Silvaner, which is typical of our region, because here too authenticity is the most important thing for me. In the end, it is a very personal style of wine, which is particularly characterized by the harmony and balance in the wines.

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

Friedrich Groebe: The Riesling 1763, VDP.GUTSWEIN, by origin a Kabinett dry and named after the founding year of the winery. Simply a wonderfully refreshing wine.

VDP: Which wine are you particularly proud of?

Friedrich Groebe: Of course, of all of them, but I am particularly proud of the small and large wine bottles in our treasury. We look back on wines from our family as far back as 1911. Such values form the backbone of any renowned winery and are proof of competence and winery history.
Basically, every new vintage makes me proud, because it is exciting every year anew to accompany the grapes towards individual wines, to guide them and finally to present them.

 

“WE PRODUCE ALL OUR WINES EXCLUSIVELY AS AUTHENTIC, CHARACTERVOLLE ORIGINALS AND COPY NO OTHER WINE STYLES.”

VDP: Why did you become a vintner?

Friedrich Groebe: Another profession never came into question for me. Being a winegrower means passion for wine, for creativity and for freedom.

Riesling 1763
VDP.GUTSWEIN

VDP: Do you have role models?

Friedrich Groebe: Many people have made lasting impressions on me and have shown me interesting perspectives. Among these people are Bernhard Breuer and Prof. Helmut Becker who accompanied me during my studies as mentors. Fritz Hasselbach from the VDP Gunderloch Winery was a good friend and mentor. I accepted many ideas from him and then, together with him and his wife Agnes, was able to lay the foundations for the VDP.GROSSE GEWÄCHSE® in Rheinhessen. A friendship developed which still connects our families.
I continue to be fascinated by Felix Clerget, a winegrower in Pomard, Burgundy. His special understanding for the harmony of food and wine has strongly influenced me.

VDP: How do you combine tradition and innovation?

Friedrich Groebe: One does not exclude the other. I see my task in preserving and passing on the collective winegrowing experience gained by my family over centuries, but at the same time bringing in my own signature.

VDP: Why should people visit your winery?

Friedrich Groebe: It’s simply beautiful here in Westhofen. There are numerous favourite places, including our vineyard cottage in der VDP.GROSSE LAGE® KIRCHSPIEL or ‘Auf der Schenk’, one of the oldest cadastral sites with old natural stone enclosures. I also like to spend time in our old family vineyard in MORSTEIN, which offers a view of the Mittelhardt and the vastness of an old cultural landscape. We are also happy when we can sit in the garden around the winery with a glass of Riesling. We love to share this with our friends, colleagues and customers.