Villa Wolf

Ernst “Erni” Loosen's estate has been in the same family for 200 years. They operate two wineries; their headquarters are at their St. Johannishof estate located in Bernkastel in the heart of the stunning Mosel Valley and their second winery is in the Pfalz. Erni took over the J.L. Wolf winery in the picturesque village of Wachenheim in 1996. The beautiful Italianate Villa Wolf was built in 1843, designed by the Karlsruhe architect Friedrich Eisenlohr, and already had established vines on prime vineyard sites. Wachenheim is in the Mittelhaardt, the northernmost wine-growing region of the Pfalz, which has a special climate rather like Alsace; it is one of the warmest, sunniest and driest of the German wine regions. Erni's philosophy is that great wines are the perfect expression of the soil, the climate and the grape variety, and he saw Villa Wolf as an opportunity to produce fist-rate dry wines in the Pfalz to complement the fruity Rieslings from his Dr. Loosen winery in the Mosel. The vineyards are farmed organically, with maximum attention to produce quality fruit that needs minimal attention in the cellar. Four single vineyard sites are under vine.
Wachenheimer Belz Vineyard in Wachenheim has unique red sandstone soils, interspersed with calcium-rich shell limestone deposits, which imbue the Riesling wines with delicate flinty aromas and a beguiling fruitiness.
Wachenheimer Goldbächel Vineyard in one of the most exposed sites in Wachenheim. Here the sandstone-like soils are interspersed with fine riverbed rock, which creates very fruity, mineral-driven Rieslings.
Ruppertsberger Hoheburg Vineyard, south-east of Deidesheim, is a cooler site with higher rainfall and this, coupled with light soils of weathered red sandstone, results in elegantly expressive Rieslings with fine acidity.
Forster Pechstein Vineyard in Forst has very special soils: the black basalt “Pechstein” or “Pitchstone” is the only basalt occurring in the Palatinate and produces racy Rieslings with pronounced mineral aromas.
Additional vineyards are under vine with Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir and Dornfelder for Villa Wolf's great value Varietal and Village Wine ranges, and Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Dorsa for the unusual Philia white and red wines. Villa Wolf has had many years experience working with old oak barrels and experimentation with different types of wood. They use acacia, French, American and Hungarian oak barrels of varying sizes for ageing. Dry wines, rich in extract can only be produced from very ripe grapes, and the climate in the Pfalz ripens the grapes to perfection, which the two young winemakers, Patrick Möllendorf, who has worked at Villa Wolf since 2011, and Claudia Fadda who joined the team in 2019, craft to produce an impressive portfolio of terroir-driven wines of exceptional quality.