| Willi Schaefer | |
|---|---|
| Location | Graach, Germany |
| Appellation | Mosel (wine region) |
| Key people | Willi Schaefer, Christopher Schaefer |
| Cases/yr | 2000-3000 |
| Varietal | Riesling |
Willi Schaefer is a German wine grower and producer based in Graach, in the wine-growing region of Mosel, Germany.
The Schaefer family believe their viticulture roots in Graach extend back to 1121, [1] [2] with documentation from 1590. [3]
The current winery came into the hands of the Schaefer family in 1950 and Willi Schaefer took over as the winemaker in 1971. [1] [4] [5]
Willi Schaefer has been a member of the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter since 1993. [2] [3] In 1997, Schaefer was awarded "Newcomer of the Year" by the Gault Millau wine guide. [6]
Since 2001 Willi Schaefer's son Christoph, and Christoph's wife Andrea have been assisting with running the winery. [2] [4] [5]
Willi Schaefer works with 3 hectares of Riesling vineyards, including vines in Graacher Himmelreich, Graacher Domprobst and Wehlener Sonnenuhr. [3] Wine writers Stephen Brook and Stephan Reinhardt are of the opinion that the best wines from this estate are usually produced from the Graacher Domprobst parcels. [4] [5] [7] The oldest vines are around 60 years of age and 60-70% of the vines are ungrafted, resulting in low yields. [5]
The wines ferment and are matured for around six months on lees in old 1000 litre foudres before bottling. [4] [8] [7]
Around 2000 to 3000 cases of wine are produced each year. Only a very small number are made in a Trocken or off-dry style and Schaefer avoids the presence of too much botrytis influence in his sweet wines where permissible. [4] [7]
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