Maximin Grünhaus

Viticulture at Grünhaus reaches back to Roman times, and the Grünhaus name begins appearing in historical documents in the 10th century. The estate was given to the Benedictine monks as the monastery of Saint-Maximin of Trier in 966 CE, and for nearly a millennium it served as a secondary location of the Sankt Maximin cloister, supplying the monks in the city. By the late Middle Ages its wines had reached a quality that allowed them to be sold to the wider world. A rise in the land lease fee from one in six to one in four grapes led to the creation of the parcel called the Viertelsberg ('Quarters Hill'). In the course of Napoleon's secularization the estate was auctioned in 1811 to its first secular owner; bidding stopped only when the price had reached 25 times the estimate, at 84,700 francs. In the 19th century the monastery was transformed into a palace complex in the neo-Gothic style, and the manor house dates to 1597. In 1881 Carl Ferdinand Freiherr von Stumm-Halberg bought Grünhaus with all its premises, land and vineyards; through the marriage of his daughter Ida to Conrad von Schubert, the estate came into the hands of the von Schubert family, which has owned it since. A Fuder of the 1893 vintage fetched 12,750 Marks, against an average of 5,085 Marks for other estates at the time. Wilhelm II planned a visit to Maximin Grünhaus around 1914/15, which was cancelled because of the outbreak of the First World War.

• Roman-era roots; the Grünhaus name appears in documents from the 10th century; given to the Benedictine monastery of Saint-Maximin of Trier in 966 CE.
• 1811: auctioned to its first secular owner in the course of Napoleon's secularization, for 84,700 francs.
• 1881: bought by Carl Ferdinand Freiherr von Stumm-Halberg; passed to the von Schubert family through his daughter Ida's marriage to Conrad von Schubert.
• 1923: a cask of 1921 Herrenberg Trockenbeerenauslese was sold for 100,000 gold Marks to the Hotel Waldorf Astoria in New York, a sale the estate counts as the record for the most expensive barrel of Mosel wine ever sold at auction.

The estate is run by the sixth generation of the family, Maximin and Amelie von Schubert, and Maximin von Schubert is named as its owner. He took over management from his father in 2014 and lives in the castle with Amelie and their two children. Maximin Grünhaus has been a member of the VDP since 2016. By early 2024 Maximin von Schubert was experimenting with drones for spraying, in a region where the steep slopes have historically been sprayed by helicopter.

• Maximin von Schubert: owner, sixth generation; took over management in 2014.
• Amelie von Schubert: runs the estate with Maximin von Schubert.
• VDP member since 2016.

The vineyards of Maximin Grünhaus are contiguous and enclosed, and form three monopole sites, each owned and cultivated by the estate alone. All three are classified VDP.Grosse Lage and are named after the monastery hierarchy. The hill on which they sit, the Grüneberg, has blue Devonian and red slates towards the top. Abtsberg, at 14 hectares the estate's most renowned vineyard, is pure blue Devonian slate on a rounded summit that opens from southeast to southwest, at 140 to 270 metres with gradients of 40 to 75%; its wines were designated for the abbots, and it also carries the vines for the estate's Pinot Noir 1G and GG. Herrenberg spreads over 19 hectares at 190 to 290 metres with gradients of 20 to 60%; mostly sheltered by the forest of the Grüneberg, it is less steep and cooler than Abtsberg, has sections of blue Devonian slate with reddish slate on its flatter portion, is planted with both Riesling and Pinot Blanc, and supplied the abbey's choirmasters. Bruderberg, one hectare planted exclusively to Riesling, lies at 140 to 170 metres on blue Devonian slate with slopes of 50 to 70%; it abuts the forest on two sides and is the coolest of the three, and its wines were designated for the brothers. Beyond the 34 hectares of monopole vineyards, the estate holds another 210 hectares of agricultural land and forest, including the Grünhäuser forest.

• Abtsberg: 14 ha, blue Devonian slate, 140 to 270 m, gradients of 40 to 75%; Riesling and Pinot Noir.
• Herrenberg: 19 ha, blue and reddish Devonian slate, 190 to 290 m, gradients of 20 to 60%; Riesling and Pinot Blanc.
• Bruderberg: 1 ha, blue Devonian slate, 140 to 170 m, slopes of 50 to 70%; Riesling only.
• A further 210 ha of agricultural land and forest.

Winegrowing in the Maximin Grünhäuser vineyards is based on natural methods and holds FAIR'N GREEN certification, with wild herbs and grasses planted as cover crops and intensive canopy management. The cellar was built to keep the journey from vineyard to press to little more than a few minutes. After pressing and filtration, the musts are brought to fermentation temperature and ferment with the wild yeasts of the estate's cellar and vineyards in traditional oak fuder and small stainless steel tanks. Where possible each lot ferments in its own small cask, and whenever harvest volumes allow, portions of the must ferment in traditional 1,000-litre fuder; all premium quality classifications are matured in oak. Wood for new fuder comes from the estate's Grünhäuser forest, where trees can require up to 200 years to reach full size in the sparse slate soils. Bottling timing depends on the vintage and classification level. The cellar below the press house is the heart of the estate, and the estate keeps a library in which special wines are placed to mature.

• FAIR'N GREEN certified; wild herb and grass cover crops and intensive canopy management.
• Spontaneous fermentation with the wild yeasts of the estate's cellar and vineyards.
• Traditional 1,000-litre oak fuder and small stainless steel tanks; premium classifications matured in oak.
• New fuder made from oak from the estate's own Grünhäuser forest.

The range falls into style groups. The dry wines are the Schloss Gutswein, the Grünhäuser 1G and the GGs; the off-dry wines are Maximin, Grünhäuser Feinherb and Superior; the fruity and noble sweet wines are Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese; the Pinots are Pinot Blanc, Pinot Blanc Reserve and Pinot Noir; and the sparkling wines are Maximin Sekt and Riesling Sekt Brut. The Schloss Riesling Trocken is made from fruit harvested from Abtsberg, Herrenberg and Bruderberg, while the Maximin Riesling is made from non-estate sites. The Superior bottlings are the top off-dry wines for each site, selected from old vines. With the 2022 vintage the estate began bringing Abtsberg, Herrenberg and Bruderberg back to the origins of their historic hierarchy, which it plans to reflect in its future price structure. Multiple casks within a quality level, such as Abtsberg Kabinett, are typically blended, but the barrels that best capture a wine's ideal are left unblended and reserved for auction under their cask numbers. Barrels of Grünhaus Riesling are sold at the Grosser Ring, the annual wine auction in Trier. The Art Nouveau-style label received a small facelift in 2016.

• Dry: Schloss (VDP.Gutswein), Grünhäuser 1G, Abtsberg and Herrenberg Riesling GG.
• Off-dry: Maximin, Grünhäuser Feinherb, Superior.
• Fruity and noble sweet: Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, plus single-cask auction bottlings.
• Pinot Blanc, Pinot Blanc Reserve and Pinot Noir; Maximin Sekt and Riesling Sekt Brut.

The estate links its style to spontaneous fermentation, which in Riesling encourages, in its words, 'the herbal minerality for which the Ruwer is renowned.' It presents Abtsberg wines as finely structured, with refined terroir aroma, delicate fruit and almost peerless aging potential; Herrenberg wines as very juicy, slightly tangy and classic, with strong minerality and a creamy finish; and Bruderberg, the coolest site, as lively, with herbal and saline aromas. Maximin von Schubert calls the Großen Gewächse 'the keystone for our work,' where 'minerality and elegance are taken to their logical extreme,' and the Kabinetts 'our unmistakable classic.' The German Wine Institute characterises the dry Rieslings as having grip and minerality with a little spice, and the sweeter styles as fruity without sacrificing freshness.

The vinothek in Mertesdorf is open for tastings by appointment, Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm, and closed on Saturdays from November to March. The tasting fee is 25 euros per person for about six to eight wines, refunded on an order of at least 200 euros per person. Cellar tours are offered only twice a year, during the estate's vintage presentation; in 2026 the presentation takes place on 21 and 22 November. A table made of Grünhäuser oak is the focus of the vinothek.

• Address: Maximin Grünhaus 1, 54318 Mertesdorf, Germany.
• Tastings by appointment; 25 euros per person, about six to eight wines.

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://maximingruenhaus.de/en/winery/history, https://maximingruenhaus.de/de/weingut/historie, https://maximingruenhaus.de/en/winery/viticulture, https://maximingruenhaus.de/de/weingut/weinbau, https://maximingruenhaus.de/en/winery/cellar, https://maximingruenhaus.de/en/vineyards, https://maximingruenhaus.de/de/lagen, https://maximingruenhaus.de/en/wines/taste, https://maximingruenhaus.de/en/winery/castle, https://maximingruenhaus.de/en/contact/opening-hours, https://maximingruenhaus.de/en/news/news-en, https://maximingruenhaus.de/en/imprint.Secondary sources: VDP, https://www.vdp.de/en/die-winzer/mosel/vdpestate-maximin-gruenhaus; Deutsches Weininstitut (Wines of Germany), https://www.winesofgermany.com/wine-industry/winery-search/winery/440/weingut-maximin-gr%C3%BCnhaus; Decanter (Clive Pursehouse, published 4 March 2024), https://www.decanter.com/premium/maximin-grunhaus-producer-profile-and-wines-to-try-520392/. Last verified 2026-10-20. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.