Vineyard in the municipality of Graach (Bernkastel area) in the German Moselle wine-growing region. In terms of wine law, it is not a single vineyard, but a single vineyard-free district. It was mentioned in documents as early as the 10th century. The name derives from the single-farm settlement Josephshof, which was a former monastery estate and lies just outside and northwest of Graach. For almost a millennium, the estate belonged to the Abbey of St. Martin from Trier, which is why it is still called "Merteshof" today. In the course of secularisation under Emperor Napoleon (1769-1821), Matthias Joseph Hain from Trier bought the estate at auction in 1803 for 247 gulden and gave it its present name. His son-in-law Mohr sold the estate for 58,000 thalers to the Count of Kesselstatt. Since then, the vineyard has been the monopoly property of Count von Kesselstatt.
![]()
Serious sources on the internet are rare - and Wine lexicon from wein.plus is one such source. When researching for my articles, I regularly consult the wein.plus encyclopaedia. There I get reliable and detailed information.
Thomas Götz
Weinberater, Weinblogger und Journalist; Schwendi