J.J. Prüm

Members of the Prüm family have lived in the village of Wehlen since as far back as the 12th century. The original family estate, S. A. Prüm, was established in the early 1800s by Sebastian Alois Prüm. In 1842 his brother Jodocus Prüm installed a sundial on a rocky outcrop of the Wehlen vineyards, which gave the Wehlener Sonnenuhr (sundial) its name. In 1911 S. A. Prüm was split among Sebastian Alois Prüm's seven grandchildren, and the oldest, Johann Josef Prüm, founded Joh. Jos. Prüm. Other wineries descended from S. A. Prüm include Weins-Prüm and Studert-Prüm. Dr. Manfred Prüm succeeded his father at the estate in 1969. His daughter Dr. Katharina Prüm, a great-granddaughter of Johann Josef Prüm, finished her studies in 2003 and returned that year to work at the family estate; she is the fourth generation of her family to manage it.

• Early 1800s: S. A. Prüm established by Sebastian Alois Prüm; 1842: his brother Jodocus Prüm installed the Wehlen sundial.
• 1911: S. A. Prüm split among seven grandchildren; Johann Josef Prüm, the oldest, founded Joh. Jos. Prüm.
• 1969: Dr. Manfred Prüm succeeded his father; 2003: Dr. Katharina Prüm joined the estate.

As of October 2026, the owners are Dr. Manfred Prüm, Wolfgang Prüm and Dr. Katharina Prüm, and Dr. Manfred Prüm is cellarmaster. As of December 2023, Dr. Katharina Prüm and her father were co-owners and co-winemakers of the estate, and as of September 2024 Katharina was responsible for winemaking. Katharina studied law in Münster, and her father is also a lawyer. No member of the family has had a professional winemaking education.

• Owners (as of October 2026): Dr. Manfred Prüm, Wolfgang Prüm and Dr. Katharina Prüm; cellarmaster: Dr. Manfred Prüm.
• Dr. Katharina Prüm: fourth generation of her family to manage the estate; responsible for winemaking as of September 2024.

The estate farms 22 hectares (54 acres) of Riesling in the Middle Mosel on grey Devonian slate and weathered soils. Its VDP.Grosse Lage sites are Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, Graacher Himmelreich, Bernkasteler Badstube, and Lay and Johannisbrünnchen in Bernkastel-Kues. Wehlener Sonnenuhr and Graacher Himmelreich are adjacent vineyards that rise from the Mosel River in direct view of the winery, on steep slopes covered with shards of blue-grey Devonian slate. Wehlener Sonnenuhr has a slightly more southern exposition and a higher concentration of pure, weathered Devonian slate. Graacher Himmelreich, which borders the southern edge of Wehlener Sonnenuhr, is slightly less steep and is distinguished by pockets of blue slate and a deeper, water-retaining soil structure. Because phylloxera is deterred by slate soils, roughly 90% of the estate's vines are ungrafted.

• 22 hectares (54 acres), 100% Riesling, on grey Devonian slate.
• Wehlener Sonnenuhr: slightly more southern exposition and a higher concentration of pure, weathered Devonian slate.
• Graacher Himmelreich: slightly less steep, with pockets of blue slate and a deeper, water-retaining soil structure.
• Roughly 90% of the vines are ungrafted.

Yields are low and, weather permitting, the estate harvests late. Workers harvest by hand with no mechanical assistance, carrying one bucket for healthy grapes and one for botrytised grapes. In 2021, uneven ripeness meant that most parcels were revisited two, three or even four times. The wines are fermented spontaneously and matured on their lees for extended periods in stainless steel. Warmer growing seasons have moved the harvest earlier: when Katharina Prüm started at the estate, harvest never began before October, and the estate now often harvests by mid-September. In extremely dry vintages such as 2022, the estate undertakes more green harvesting than ever before. The estate does not publish analytical data for its wines. It is not fully organic as defined in Germany, although some parcels are grown organically.

• Hand harvest with separate buckets for healthy and botrytised grapes.
• Spontaneous fermentation; extended lees ageing in stainless steel.
• Harvest now often by mid-September; when Katharina Prüm started, it never began before October.
• No analytical data published; some parcels grown organically.

The estate produces only Riesling and virtually no dry wines; the last dry wine Katharina Prüm remembers producing was in 2011. Its range spans the Prädikat levels Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese, along with Beerenauslese, Eiswein and Trockenbeerenauslese. The off-dry and sweet Prädikat wines carry the VDP Grosse Lage designation, but the estate makes no Grosses Gewächs. A Goldkapsel (gold capsule) with a single white stripe on the neck marks some of the estate's best Auslese bottlings, typically richer, more concentrated wines with botrytised grapes. A lange Goldkapsel (long gold capsule) with two white stripes indicates a much higher percentage of botrytis, and Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein always carry it. In the cool 2021 vintage, 7.5% alcohol was not uncommon. As of September 2024, the wines were distributed to 50 markets.

• Only Riesling; virtually no dry wines and no Grosses Gewächs.
• Prädikat range from Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese to Beerenauslese, Eiswein and Trockenbeerenauslese.
• Goldkapsel (one white stripe) and lange Goldkapsel (two white stripes) mark Auslese bottlings with more botrytis; Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein always carry the lange Goldkapsel.
• Distributed to 50 markets as of September 2024.

Katharina Prüm calls the reductive character of the young wines a 'wildness', a smoky, pungent odour reminiscent of struck matches and slate that fades with bottle maturation. Writing in Decanter in 2023, Anna Lee Iijima found the estate's Kabinett wines most often just a shade off-dry and its Spätlese never sweet on the finish; Katharina Prüm's view is that 'Sweetness should never be the main impression for these wines.' Comparing it with Graacher Himmelreich, she calls Wehlener Sonnenuhr 'the marathon runner of the two.' Decanter suggests that a Kabinett can benefit from three to five years of cellaring and that Spätlese and Auslese may not approach their peak for 20 to 30 years. Dr. Manfred Prüm told the VDP: 'We have always been deeply and intimately connected to the idea of natural wine and Prädikatswein!'

Joh. Jos. Prüm is at Uferallee 19 in Bernkastel-Wehlen. Tastings are by prior arrangement by e-mail, and the estate is closed on weekends and public holidays.

Primary sources: https://www.jjpruem.com/ (producer's own site), https://www.vdp.de/en/die-winzer/mosel/vdpweingut-j-j-pruem and https://www.vdp.de/de/die-winzer/mosel/j-j-pruem (VDP estate profile). Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/premium/joh-jos-prum-producer-profile-10-wines-tasted-516272/ (Decanter, last updated 23 December 2023), https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2022/09/mosel-2021-is-a-vintage-that-brings-a-lot-of-joy-prum-winemaker-says/ (The Drinks Business, 14 September 2022) and https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/women-wine-dr-katharina-prum (Jancis Robinson, 5 September 2024). Last verified 2026-10-19.