The winery is located in the municipality of Sonnendorf (near Bad Sulza) in the German wine-growing region of
Saale-Unstrut. It was founded in 1992 as the first winery in Thuringia. The Burkhardt family and the town of Bad Sulza have owned the estate since 1997. The winery has been managed by Andreas Clauß (winemaker and technician for viticulture and cellar management) since 1994. Wolfram Proppe is the cellar master. In recent years, the winery has been modernised and a wine shop and tasting rooms have been created. The vineyards cover 42 hectares. The
Sonnenberg (Bad Sulza) and
Tamsel (Auerstedt) vineyards are cultivated on the slopes of the Ilm valley and, since 2008, the historic terraces of the single vineyard Schlossberg (Dornburg), below the Dornburg castles, have also been cultivated. In spring 2010, a new site was established in Kunitz near Jena with 2.7 hectares of vineyards. The white wine varieties Müller-Thurgau (20%), Kerner, Gutedel, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Traminer, Muscat, Auxerrois, Ortega, Scheurebe, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay are cultivated to 75%, and the red wine varieties Regent, Cabernet Dorsa, Frühburgunder and Pinotin to 25%.
