Weingut St. Antony
Encyclopedia
St. Antony is a wine estate in the Rheinhessen
wine-growing region in Germany
, that has been making wine
since the end of the First World War.
The small-scale winery is located in Nierstein
on the Rhine and owns around 26 hectares of vineyards. It is member of the Verband Deutscher Prädikats- und Qualitätsweingüter
(short VDP). Chief oenologist is the Geisenheimer
Felix Peters.
in the south of Nierstein
including the neighbouring vineyards. The limestone
is needed as raw material for the production in the ironworks
of Oberhausen
(Ruhr Area
). After the First World War the demand for limestone decreased drastically and the management decided to use the purchased area for viticulture
. In 1920 the first vintage is vinified. The wines of the estate „Gutehoffnungshütte“ were consumed only within the company or donated, later sold, to key customers. The lime pit was sold in 1955, with the proceeds reinvested in the winery
. As part of this transaction top Nierstein vineyard sites were purchased and became assets of the estate and the oenologic
equipment was modernized.
In the 1980s the corporate structure was changed and the Gutehoffnungshütte run under the MAN label. Also the Weingut received a new name in 1995 and is called Weingut St. Antony, after the first ironworks, St.-Antony-Hütte, in Oberhausen.
The responsibility for the winery had been directly located at the corporate management, chief oenologist was Alexander Michalsky. During this time St. Antony gathered a place in the top 100 wineries in Germany.
In 2005 Detlev Meyer, a private investor who is a textile merchant, acquired the estate. Since July 2008 another top Nierstein winery „Heyl zu Herrnsheim“, with another 13 hectares, was long time rented by Meyer and merged with St. Antony. The winemaking of both is located now in the former Gustav Adolf Schmitt winery.
-expressive", display the Lage on the label.
ranks the winery among the 30 best wineries in Germany
Rheinhessen (wine region)
Rheinhessen is the largest of 13 German wine regions for quality wines with under cultivation in 2008. Named for the traditional region of Rhenish Hesse, it lies on the left bank of the River Rhine between Worms and Bingen in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate...
wine-growing region in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, that has been making wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
since the end of the First World War.
The small-scale winery is located in Nierstein
Nierstein
Nierstein is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
on the Rhine and owns around 26 hectares of vineyards. It is member of the Verband Deutscher Prädikats- und Qualitätsweingüter
Verband Deutscher Prädikats- und Qualitätsweingüter
Verband Deutscher Prädikats- und Qualitätsweingüter e.V. or the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates, is an organisation where most of Germany's top wine producers are members. It is commonly known under its acronym VDP...
(short VDP). Chief oenologist is the Geisenheimer
Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute
The Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute was founded in 1872 and is located in Geisenheim, Rheingau, Germany. In 1876 professor Hermann Müller from Switzerland joined the institution, where he developed his namesake variety Müller-Thurgau , which became the most planted grape variety in Germany in...
Felix Peters.
History
In 1912 the Gutehoffnungshütte (later MAN AG) purchased a lime pitLime (mineral)
Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is also the name for a single mineral of the CaO composition, occurring very rarely...
in the south of Nierstein
Nierstein
Nierstein is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
including the neighbouring vineyards. The limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
is needed as raw material for the production in the ironworks
Ironworks
An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and/or steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e...
of Oberhausen
Oberhausen
Oberhausen is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen . The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. It is also well known for the...
(Ruhr Area
Ruhr Area
The Ruhr, by German-speaking geographers and historians more accurately called Ruhr district or Ruhr region , is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.2 million , it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany...
). After the First World War the demand for limestone decreased drastically and the management decided to use the purchased area for viticulture
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
. In 1920 the first vintage is vinified. The wines of the estate „Gutehoffnungshütte“ were consumed only within the company or donated, later sold, to key customers. The lime pit was sold in 1955, with the proceeds reinvested in the winery
Winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...
. As part of this transaction top Nierstein vineyard sites were purchased and became assets of the estate and the oenologic
Oenology
Oenology,[p] œnology , or enology is the science and study of all aspects of wine and winemaking except vine-growing and grape-harvesting, which is a subfield called viticulture. “Viticulture & oenology” is a common designation for training programmes and research centres that include both the...
equipment was modernized.
In the 1980s the corporate structure was changed and the Gutehoffnungshütte run under the MAN label. Also the Weingut received a new name in 1995 and is called Weingut St. Antony, after the first ironworks, St.-Antony-Hütte, in Oberhausen.
The responsibility for the winery had been directly located at the corporate management, chief oenologist was Alexander Michalsky. During this time St. Antony gathered a place in the top 100 wineries in Germany.
In 2005 Detlev Meyer, a private investor who is a textile merchant, acquired the estate. Since July 2008 another top Nierstein winery „Heyl zu Herrnsheim“, with another 13 hectares, was long time rented by Meyer and merged with St. Antony. The winemaking of both is located now in the former Gustav Adolf Schmitt winery.
Geography
The estate streches across the so-called „Roter Hang“ (red slope) with steep slope viticulture and presence of red slate in Nierstein and comprises part of the top vineyard sites „Orbel“, „Pettenthal“, „Hipping“ and „Ölberg“. The „Brudersberg“ site is in exclusive possession of „Heyl zu Herrnsheim“. St. Antonys vineyards in the Rheinhessen wine region are within the boundaries of the collective sites (Großlagen) of Spiegelberg, Rehbach and Auflangen, which are not displayed on the label. The basic wines are simply labelled with grape variety and estate name. Only the Erstes Gewächs designation which claim to be highly "terroirTerroir
Terroir comes from the word terre "land". It was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate of a certain place bestowed upon particular varieties...
-expressive", display the Lage on the label.
Visitors
The estate is not open to the public. Jancis RobinsonJancis Robinson
Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, MW is a British wine critic, journalist and editor of wine literature. She currently writes a weekly column for the Financial Times, and writes for her website jancisrobinson.com...
ranks the winery among the 30 best wineries in Germany