Franken Region

Wines

Wirsching Estate

Franken, Germany

Located in the sleepy Franconian village of Iphofen the Wirsching family has been producing "Frankenwein" since 1630.

Iphofen is one of the top wine centers in Franconia and produces wines of unsurpassed quality from its steeply sloping Gypsum-Keuper based vineyards.

The Wirsching estate is not only the finest in Iphofen but also one of the very best in all of Franconia. The 1994 Gault-Millau guide on Germany rated it as one of the top four estates in Franconia.

Dr. Heinrich Wirsching is the owner and in charge of the estate. He carries on 350 years of family wine making tradition.

Franconian wines of clearly defined character – a small treasure chest of glass for our specialties like the dry Spätleses from both the Silvaner and Riesling. Wine and wine grower are two personae that belong together. The life of a wine grower is made complete by hard work and shaped by the weather and each vintage. This and a love for good wine forms a bond between our families and our co-workers.All work in the vineyards is done with one goal in mind, that of producing the best wines that nature will permit. This includes pruning to yield a meager 65 hectoliters/hectare, using predominantly organic fertilizer and very late, often high risk harvesting.

Nestled like the inside of a shell on this south facing slope, is one of Germany’s great vineyards – the Julius-Echter-Berg. At the top of the hill the “Steigerwald� ,(forest), provides protection. Composed of gypsum and red marl laced throughout with reed sandstone, (all from the Triassic period’s marl series), along with the near perfect exposure make it a great sun trap. The vineyard’s make-up lends the wines a special character. Minerality along with layers of fruit, spice, and great depth makes the Julius-Echter-Berg wines unique. It is here where our “Great Growths�, (Große Gewächse), originate. They are wines of unmistakeable character expressing both site and varietal.

For centuries the Wirsching’s have cherished the quality, complex aromas and typicity of their wines – a tried and true philosophy that has stood the test of time.

Over 35 years ago Wirsching was the first estate in Franconia to plant Scheurebe in its vineyards. Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc are at this juncture produced in very small quantities. Because there is high demand, plans are to increase the production of both.
Cellarmaster Werner Probst vinifies 75% of the wines in the franconian dry style (Fränkisch trocken) which means residual sugar of less than 4 grams/liter. (German trocken is less than 9 g/l.)

Even traditionally made Spätlese's rarely have residual sugar levels exceeding 15 grams/liter. Vinification is "reduktiv" which implies little oxygen contact with the juice. Suessreserve is never used.

Wirsching wines have had many admirers including German Chancellors Ludwig Erhard and Kurt Georg Kiesinger. In 1980, during his visit to Germany, Pope John Paul II celebrated mass with a 1967 Iphöfer Burgweg Silvaner feine Auslese. It was submitted after the altarboy had accidentally spilled the offering wine. The Pope later finished the Wirsching wine with his evening meal. Wirsching wines are frequently served at functions of the state of Bavaria and the city of Munich. They are also served in many of the leading restaurants in Germany. Most of the wines are sold in Germany, with small portions exported to England, Japan, and the USA.