Staffelter Hof is a family run

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heat ...

and

guest house A guest house (also guesthouse) is a kind of lodging. In some parts of the world (such as the Caribbean), guest houses are a type of inexpensive hotel-like lodging. In others, it is a private home that has been converted for the exclusive use ...

situated in the small town of

Kröv Kröv is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography The municipality lies on the Moselle be ...

. It is situated in the

Bernkastel-Wittlich district Bernkastel-Wittlich ( German: ''Landkreis Bernkastel-Wittlich'') is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Vulkaneifel, Cochem-Zell, Rhein-Hunsrück, Birkenfeld, Trier-Sa ...

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

, Germany. It is the sixth oldest company in the world that remains open. MKn Staffelter Hof

History

The Staffelter Hof name, originally belonging to a wine-producing abbey,Halkin, Joseph et Roland, C.-G. "Recueil des Chartes de l’Abbaye de Stavelot-Malmédy", Brüssel 1909. goes as far back as 862 and is, therefore, one of the

oldest companies This list of the oldest companies in the world includes brands and companies, excluding associations and educational, government, or religious organizations. To be listed, a brand or company name must remain operating, either in whole or in part, ...

in the world. The first written documentation of the Staffelter Hof abbey is on an original document now located in the city archives
Archives de l’État à Liège
of Liège,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. Lands belonging to the

Carolingian Dynasty The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pi ...

(580–876 AD),Schannat, Johann Friedrich. "Eiflia Illustrata" – übersetzt von Bösch, Georg. ''Nachrichten über die Abteien Stavelot und Malmedy''. Verlag Jakob Anton Mayer, Aachen 1852. which spread as far as Kröv and beyondHansotte, Georges. "Inventaires des Archives de l’Abbaye et de la Principauté de Stavelot-Malmédy". conservé à l’archive d’état, Liège. Publiés sous la direction de Maurice Lang 1961. home of the current winery, were donated to the abbey to work as a source of income. These properties were in possession of the abbey until the establishment of the Napoleonic Code in 1804. In 1805, the land in Kröv was purchased by Peter Schneiders for 1773 TalerWackenroder, Ernst. "12. Band IV Kunstdenkmäler des Kreises Wittlich", Druckerei L. Schwann, Düsseldorf 1934 and subsequently passed down 7 generations to Jan Matthias Klein, the current winemaker who took over from his father, Gerd Klein, in 2005.Hüls-Beth, Gudrun. ''Kröv: Straβen und Höfe''. Heimatkundliche Beiträge Gemeinde Kröv, 1988, pp.15–18.

Current business

Guest house

In 1960 the current guest house was established which consists of 4 double rooms and 6 apartments,Staffelter Hof Winery - Kröv, Moselle - Fine Rieslings, guest rooms, holiday apartments and distillery
/ref> all of which is now run by Hildegunde (Gundi) Klein, wife of Gerd Klein, and mother of Jan Klein.

Distillery

The distillery at the property was established sometime after 1890 by Kilian Klein, Gerd's grandfather. Each year schnaps is produced from trester or marc, hefe (yeast lees), mirabell, cherries, apples, pears and plums as well as a few home made liqueurs.

Wine production

There are 12 hectares of vineyards belonging to Staffelter Hof, these are located in Paradies, Kirchlay, Letterlay, Steffensberg, and lastly Dhron Hofberger located in Neumagen-Dhron which was added to the estate from Gundi's family after her marriage to Gerd. All 10 hectares were converted to organic viticulture during 2011-2014 and the property achieved

organic certification Organic certification is a certification process for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products, in the European Union more commonly known as ecological or biological products.Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/ ...

in 2014.

Grape varieties

''White 90% of total production'' Riesling 75% of the harvest, Rivaner (formerly known as

Müller Thurgau Müller may refer to: * ''Die schöne Müllerin'' (1823) (sometimes referred to as ''Müllerlieder''; ''Müllerin'' is a female miller) is a song cycle with words by Wilhelm Müller and music by Franz Schubert * Doctor Müller, fictional character ...

) 11%, Sauvignon Blanc 3% (planted 2010),

Gelber Muskateller Gelber is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alexis Gelber, Goldsmith Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government *Arthur Gelber, CC (1915–1998), Canadian philanthropist *Bruno Leonardo Gelber (born 1941), Argentine clas ...

1% (planted 2012) ''Red 10% of total production''

Pinot noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...

45%,

Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

30% and Frühburgunder 15%

Wines

Staffelter Hof produces three tiers of wine, the Wappenwein – Heraldic Wines, Signatureweine – Signature Wines, Motivweine – Wolf Wines. These wines span dry to sweet, sparkling (including hand remuaged traditional method

Sekt Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne regi ...

), rose, white and red.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.staffelter-hof.de/en/ German winemakers Hotels in Germany