Terrassenmosel: Lower Mosel (Winningen - Uhlen Laubach GG, Röttgen; Heymann-Löwenstein, Reinhard & Beate Knebel)

Weingut Knebel cites a document from the year 871 as the first written record of winegrowing in Winningen, and says the vineyards spread step by step into the extreme steep sites, which only became usable once terraces were built by hand. Moselwein e.V. calls the terraces built by hand over centuries, for example at Winningen, an impressive cultural monument. The Röttgen came late: the VDP says its rock was impossible to cultivate until modern times and quotes the viticultural pioneer Johann P. Bronner (1792-1864), who wrote that after the 1820s it was blasted with gunpowder and worked into a vineyard. Heymann-Löwenstein says that in 1984 it decided to ferment its wines fully, forgoing Prädikats such as Kabinett, and that as far back as 1985 it described its best parcels in Röttgen and Uhlen as grand crus.

• Knebel dates the first written record of Winningen viticulture to a document from 871
• The VDP says the Röttgen was blasted with gunpowder after the 1820s, quoting Johann P. Bronner (1792-1864)
• Heymann-Löwenstein: founded in 1980 by Reinhard Löwenstein and Cornelia Heymann-Löwenstein, from a family growing grapes in the same place since 1520
• Heymann-Löwenstein decided in 1984 to ferment its wines fully and to forgo Prädikats such as Kabinett

Moselwein e.V. places the Terrassenmosel between Zell and Koblenz, where the Mosel valley grows ever narrower and the slopes are often so steep that vines grow only on narrow terraces secured by dry-stone walls. Moselwein e.V. says the rocks and soils of the lower Mosel were once sandy beaches and mudflats of a primordial ocean, with quartzitic sandstones, silt and clay slate forming most of the soils, and calcareous sandstone, formed where coral skeletons settled, shaping some sites. DWI describes the soils of the lower Mosel as clayish slate and greywacke. Moselwein e.V. dates the Devonian slate to 400 million years and says the slate's stored heat is a considerable advantage in cool autumn nights. In Winningen, the VDP profiles the Uhlen Laubach as facing south-southwest with slopes of 100 to 150%, the Uhlen Roth Lay as south-facing on grey to dark red, very iron-rich slate, and the Uhlen Blaufüsser Lay as facing southwest on blue-grey clay-bearing slate. The VDP describes the Röttgen as facing south-southeast, rising from 80 to 180 metres above sea level with gradients of up to 170%, and calls it one of the steepest vineyards in Germany.

• VDP: the Uhlen Roth Lay slope rises to 240 metres with an inclination of up to more than 170%; the VDP says the rare Apollo butterfly has its largest distribution north of the Alps here
• Heymann-Löwenstein says Uhlen holds three radically different characters under one name; the VDP classifies all three as VDP.GROSSE LAGE: Laubach (grey slate with a high fossil lime content), Roth Lay (grey to dark red, very iron-rich slate) and Blaufüsser Lay (blue-grey clay-bearing slate), per the VDP
• VDP: the Röttgen's blue slate oxidizes quickly to a yellow-brown colour, and in long sun petroleum can bake out of the rock, giving it a blue shimmer
• Knebel says it practises viticulture in extreme steep sites, where the terraces tower up between slate cliffs

The VDP lists Riesling and Spätburgunder as Heymann-Löwenstein's grape varieties, and Riesling and Weißburgunder as Knebel's. The VDP calls dry wines from VDP.GROSSE LAGE sites VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS, while fruity and noble sweet wines from those sites carry the classic Prädikats. Heymann-Löwenstein makes its Uhlen Laubach, Uhlen Roth Lay, Uhlen Blaufüsser Lay and Röttgen wines dry as VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS, vinified exclusively with wild yeasts in wooden barrels, without enzymes or fining agents, and aged on the lees at least until the summer after harvest. In notable years it also makes residually sweet Auslesen, Beerenauslesen and Trockenbeerenauslesen from Uhlen Laubach, Uhlen Roth Lay and Röttgen. Knebel says its two Grosse Lagen, Röttgen and Uhlen, yield its most expressive wines, dry as Grosses Gewächs and noble sweet, and the VDP quotes Matthias Knebel saying the estate uses no cultivated yeast, fining agents, deacidification or Süssreserve.

• Heymann-Löwenstein uses the name Schieferterrassen for wines from its ERSTE LAGE parcels in the Devonian Rittersturz slate, per the estate
• Knebel's estate shop lists a Röttgen Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese and Trockenbeerenauslese and an Uhlen Auslese alongside its Röttgen and Uhlen Grosses Gewächs
• Heymann-Löwenstein grows Pinot Noir on several parcels, which it calls a rare exception to its Riesling rule
• Moselwein e.V. says Mosel Riesling spans every sweetness level and quality tier, from feinherb Qualitätswein and mineral dry top wines to light Kabinett and noble sweet Eiswein

Heymann-Löwenstein, at Bahnhofstraße 10 in Winningen, has been a VDP member since 1997, according to the VDP. The estate says it was founded in 1980 by Reinhard Löwenstein and Cornelia Heymann-Löwenstein, that Sarah Löwenstein, the 14th generation, gave it decisive impetus over the last 10 years, and that the winery has now been handed over, with Thomas Dörr continuing it with the support of Jochen Heigoldt. Weingut Knebel, at August-Horch-Straße 24 in Winningen, traces its roots to 1642; the estate says Reinhard and Beate Knebel founded their own winery in 1989, when the Terrassenmosel was almost unknown in the wine world, and that Matthias Knebel joined its management in 2008, straight after his studies. The VDP lists Beate and Matthias Knebel as owners and records Knebel as a member since 2017. Knebel labels also carry the FairChoice sustainability seal, according to the estate.

• Heymann-Löwenstein: VDP member since 1997; grape varieties Riesling and Spätburgunder; a sparkling wine producer at VDP.SEKT.PRESTIGE level (VDP)
• Heymann-Löwenstein makes VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS from Uhlen Laubach, Uhlen Roth Lay, Uhlen Blaufüsser Lay and Röttgen, each listed by the estate as VDP.GROSSE LAGE
• Weingut Knebel: VDP member since 2017; owners Beate and Matthias Knebel; grape varieties Riesling and Weißburgunder (VDP)
• The VDP lists both Heymann-Löwenstein and Knebel as growers in Uhlen Laubach, Uhlen Roth Lay and Uhlen Blaufüsser Lay

Moselwein e.V. says the Mosel growing region is divided under wine law into six Bereiche, with Burg Cochem covering the Terrassenmosel from Koblenz to Zell. The VDP classification is not set by German wine law but by the VDP's own private rules; its four-tier model of VDP.GUTSWEIN, VDP.ORTSWEIN, VDP.ERSTE LAGE and VDP.GROSSE LAGE was adopted unanimously in January 2012, which the VDP calls analogous to Burgundy's Premier Crus and Grands Crus. The VDP says VDP.GROSSE LAGE vineyards are precisely demarcated by parcel, harvested selectively by hand, and that white VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS wines are released on September 1 after roughly one year of maturation. Heymann-Löwenstein says that after many years it convinced the EU to register Uhlen Blaufüsser Lay, Laubach and Roth Lay as Protected Designations of Origin, which it describes as the first single sites in Germany to qualify for the system of appellations d'origine contrôlées, with rules that include Riesling only, dry, off-dry and nobly sweet taste profiles only, and no Kabinett or Spätlese. DWI says each Prädikat has a defined minimum must weight that depends on the grape variety and growing region, and that Prädikat wines may not be enriched.

• The VDP lists Röttgen, Uhlen Laubach, Uhlen Roth Lay and Uhlen Blaufüsser Lay in Winningen as VDP.GROSSE LAGE
• Heymann-Löwenstein says the Uhlen PDOs rest on a precise geological delineation by the State Office for Geology
• VDP: dry wines from VDP.GROSSE LAGE sites are VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS; fruity and noble sweet wines carry the classic Prädikats
• DWI: Spätlese is not necessarily sweet, and Auslese is not always sweet

Heymann-Löwenstein's VDP profile gives its opening hours as Friday and Saturday 11.00 to 18.00 and by appointment, at Bahnhofstraße 10 in Winningen, where Sarah Löwenstein describes a vinotheque for tasting alongside the estate's architecture, including a historic art nouveau villa and the modern 'Kubus'. Weingut Knebel is at August-Horch-Straße 24 in Winningen. Decanter's Mosel cycling itinerary ends its fourth day, Cochem to Koblenz, at the Deutsches Eck, where the Mosel meets the Rhine, and lists Richard Richter in Winningen among the estates for that stage. The VDP describes the dry-stone walls of Uhlen Laubach as a habitat for houseleek, sedum, Apollo butterflies and lizards.

• Heymann-Löwenstein: Friday and Saturday 11.00 to 18.00 and by appointment (VDP)
• Decanter's Cochem-to-Koblenz stage lists Richard Richter in Winningen among its estates
• Moselwein e.V. calls the hand-built terraces at Winningen an impressive cultural monument

Primary sources (Deutsches Weininstitut / Wines of Germany, Moselwein e.V. at weinland-mosel.de, the VDP at vdp.de, and the estates' own sites hl.wine and matthiasknebel.com): https://www.winesofgermany.com/our-regions/growing-area/72/mosel, https://www.weinland-mosel.de/de/die-region/die-teilregionen, https://www.weinland-mosel.de/de/die-region/wurzeln-geologie, https://www.hl.wine/en/löwenstein-family, https://www.hl.wine/en/uhlen-laubach, https://www.hl.wine/en/uhlen-roth-lay, https://www.hl.wine/en/uhlen-blaufuesser-lay, https://www.hl.wine/en/roettgen, https://www.hl.wine/en/schieferterrassen, https://www.hl.wine/en/classification-of.the-vineyards, https://www.matthiasknebel.com/pages/unsere-geschichte, https://www.matthiasknebel.com/pages/die-terrassenmosel, https://www.matthiasknebel.com/pages/uber-uns, https://www.vdp.de/en/die-winzer/mosel/heymann-loewenstein-vdp, https://www.vdp.de/en/die-winzer/mosel/vdpweingut-knebel, https://www.matthiasknebel.com/collections/vdp-grosses-gewaechs, https://www.vdp.de/en/the-wines/vineyardonline/lage/4104-roettgen, https://www.vdp.de/en/the-wines/vineyardonline/lage/4133-uhlen-laubach, https://www.vdp.de/en/the-wines/vineyardonline/lage/4134-uhlen-roth-lay, https://www.vdp.de/en/the-wines/vineyardonline/lage/4130-uhlen-blaufuesser-lay, https://www.winesofgermany.com/our-wine/quality-standards/quality-standard/449/pr%C3%A4dikat-categories, https://www.vdp.de/en/the-wines/classification, https://www.weinland-mosel.de/de/wein-sekt/rebsorten. Secondary source: https://www.decanter.com/features/meandearing-along-the-mosel-247040/. Last verified 2026-09-28