Schmitt Heinz

The winery is located in the municipality of Leiwen (Bernkastel area) in the German wine-growing region of Mosel. It was founded in the 1950s by the parents of the current owner Heinz Schmitt, who then took it over in 1983 with 3.5 hectares of vineyards. After training as a viticultural and cellar technician in Bad Kreuznach, he focused early on the production of high-quality dry wines. After visiting many wine-growing regions around the world, he completed a two-year practical stay in California's Napa Valley. This resulted in the uncompromising orientation of all measures in the vineyard and cellar towards the highest possible quality. He combines the experience gained with the traditional methods of European winemaking. Today, the vineyards cover 23 hectares in the single vineyard sites Annaberg (Schweich) with some parcels of rootless vines, Altärchen and Apotheke (Trittenheim), Bruderschaft (Klüsserath), Klostergarten (Leiwen), Laurentiuslay (Köwerich and Leiwen), Maximiner Herrenberg (Longuich), Rosengärtchen (Neumagen), as well as Blattenberg and Zellerberg (Mehring). The grapes are gently pressed and the must is then filtered. Fermentation takes place spontaneously in stainless steel tanks as well as in traditional wooden barrels with the natural yeasts from the vineyard. Since 2002, first-class passengers of the German airline Lufthansa have been served Heinz Schmitt wines. Around 150,000 bottles of wine and around 10,000 bottles of sparkling wine are produced annually.