Outstanding Vinotheks Details

Arrive, relax, recover. The Nahe Valley is picturesque beyond compare. It can put a spring in the step of even the world-weariest traveler. Rising Riesling estate Gut Hermannsberg is proud to call this tradition-rich area home. Since acquiring the Gut in 2009, new owner Christine Dinse and Jens Reidel have shown a knack for beautifully blending the historic with the modern.

Gut Hermannsberg was founded in 1902 as the Königlich-Preussische Weinbaudomäne (Royal Prussian Wine Domain). The pressing house and director's manor were erected in the years following World War I. Curving gables and dormers in steep slate roofs and powerful building foundations laid with porphyry quarrystone from the region remind even today of the Wilhelminian style. Look carefully and you'll see that its powerful beams still show traces of the original machine brackets. Large industrial hanging lights and a new flooring designed to resemble the original workshop are examples of the painstaking details that build a notable bridge between the original state and the present. The 160-square-meter vinothek can hold up to 60 guests, and the panoramic terrace another 40.

Gut Hermannsberg is a member of the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP), which has classified the estate's roughly 30 hectares of vineyards in Schlossböckelheim, Niederhausen, Traisen and Altenbamberg as VDP.GROSSE LAGEN. Gut Hermannsberg's vineyard are comprised up to 95 percent of Riesling. It is the forte of Cellarmaster Karsten Peter, who leads the estate with Achim Kirchner. Working together with their team, they focus squarely on the estate's Riesling tradition, producing expressive, world-class Rieslings that take advantage of the exposition and composition of their outstanding sites. In 2014, two fine sparkling Sekts produced using the traditional bottle fermentation method were added to the portfolio.

One romantic element: Désirée and Christian Patsch's guest house, which also oversees the estate's gastronomic offerings. On Friday and Saturday evenings the kitchen presents a "weekend menu," a three-course prix fixe with accompanying wines. Another highlight is the "wine tasting weekends." Once per month the estate kitchen engages in a culinary dialog — five courses and five top wines to tickle every palate. Should that extravaganza leave guests wanting to stay the night, the guest house's eleven rooms and suites stand ready. The culinary offerings and the latest opening hours can be viewed on the estate's homepage.

For more about the history of the location, its Rieslings, and wine generally, peruse the book from owner Christine Dinse. "Gut Hermannsberg: The Book" is a fascinating piece of history related to wine, culture and time. It uses previously unpublished original files, tasting notes, historical maps, photos, documents and large-format landscape shots to illustrate the long path from "fiscal model vineyard" at the turn of the century to the modern rebirth of Gut Hermannsberg.