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For the tenth time now the “top seven”, the winners of the seven best wine tourism offers in Mainz and Rhinehessen were awarded the coveted “Best Of Wine Tourism-Award 2018” of the Great Wine Capitals Global Network.
Great Wine Capitals: Mainz & Rhinehessen Best Of Wine Tourism 2018
A jury of eight members chaired by the mayor of Mainz Michael Ebling made its decision after detailed consultation on the 5th of September in the Mainz city hall.
“Innovative new applications always surprise, but also companies already awarded with the “Best Of” award surprise with their fresh ideas, investments and real business pioneer spirit”, jury chairman Michael Ebling remarked enthusiastically.
“Promoting wine tourism, always looking for new appropriate award candidates and encouraging them to apply is an exciting challenge which was successfully met in 2018.”
Seven awards in seven categories:
Wine tourism services
Meyerhof Winery, Flonheim
The classical middle-class family-run business has been supplemented by a small “Wine Paradise” since 2014 – a combination of guest house, winery and event location. To enjoy wine and dining from the vineyard kitchen in a relaxed atmosphere the Hammer family has initiated the event series “Wine meets…”. The comprehensive service is rounded off with an e-bike hire service, motorbike tours led by the winemaker himself and hiking tours through the vineyards of Flonheim. www.weingut-meyerhof.de
Art and culture
Wagner Winery, Essenheim
The “Three Wagner brothers” run the 300-year-old family business within the historical centre of Essenheim together with their partners. Each family member brings in their skills in the maximum way, creating a wine tourism world to experience.
Originally the six brothers are an oenologist, historian, mineralogist, journalist, biologist and hotel manageress. They create the framework for their especially culturally oriented wine tourism experience.
Whether with a cabaret stage or farm festivals, wine and crime readings or children’s events in the vineyard where the young generation takes care of its patrons’ vines – the Wagner winery lives wine culture. www.wagner-wein.de
Wine tourism restaurants
Mundart Restaurant, Saulheim
In the old part of Nieder-Saulheim the restaurant is located in a protected homestead harmonically matching the historical structure of the village. Beatrix und Markus Hebestreit provide seats for 45 guests on to levels as well as an idyllic inner courtyard for 50 people.
The focus on wine is guaranteed by the 80 sparkling wine and wine list, a third of which is changed every three months to offer maximum variety. The gastronomic offer is completed by German cuisine with French elements. The friendly service including great wine knowledge combined with upper class cuisine was the reason for the jury’s nomination. www.mundart-restaurant.de
Accommodation
Domhof Winery, Guntersblum
Already honoured with the award in the category Architecture and landscapes in 2010, the winery again convinced with its application. The Baumann family has built sleeping facilities in the former bottle storage area. Twelve individually designed double rooms classified with 3 stars superior by the DeHoGa (German Hotel and Restaurant Association) as well as endowed with the seal of approval “tested accessibility”.
This last innovation makes it an all-round wine tourism experience: celebration, meetings, wine enjoyment and overnighting – including an own geo-cache park with eight stations. www.weingut-domhof.de
Sustainable wine tourism practices
Westwind Wines, Hein Winery, Wachenheim
Protection and preservation of cultural landscape – this is a core topic for the Hein winery. In order to transfer the sustainability of the vineyard to the winery, the wine house building was built emphasising sustainability in 2015: vacant vault cellars were integrated into the building, old staves as panelling were supplied for new usage. Beside several solar systems for the generation of electricity, a wood chipping heating system with grapevine cuttings is run.
Westwind wines reside at and inside the tower of the newly built wine house of the Hein winery: this fresh green is the counterpart of the medieval living tower and the defense tower on the opposite side which has been guarding the entrance to the Zellertal in Wachenheim for more than ten centuries. From each floor of the building a new façade of the cultural landscape can be admired while enjoying wines – culminating in a beautiful panoramic view on the terrace which reaches down to the Zellertal. www.westwind-weine.de
Architecture and landscapes
J. Neus Winery, Ingelheim
The winery including the appropriate building and park ensemble was newly enlivened since it became property of the Mainz business family Schmitz in March 2013. The villa from the Gründerzeit was built between 1881 and 1883 according to the neoclassical style and was classified as a highly modern farm building in those days.
Along the protected farm villa and the winery there is a large protected park with an old tree population that invites you to stroll along. The carefully renovated rooms radiate a special ambiance. With intentionally used style elements it was possible to modernise the grand winery building appropriately and to create a tasteful atmosphere for wine presentations.
The newly designed wine house in which you can taste the winery’s own spätburgunder wines also radiates timeless elegance. In 2016 it was awarded the architecture prize for wine by the Rhineland-Palatinate Chamber of Architects. www.weingut-neus.de
Innovative wine tourism experiences
Dätwyl Winery, Wintersheim
The Dätwyl winery is a classic example of a Rhine-Hessian foursided yard. In addition to a medieval living tower and defense tower, a romantic cow chapel and a large cellar vault, a day laborer’s house from the 19th century exists there. After numerous construction measures it now serves as a guest room and holiday house. As an intentional contrast to the historic courtyard complex a modern wine-house was built as the new core of the winery for tastings and sale of in-house wines. The winery has been awarded in the context of “barrier-free Rhineland-Palatinate”. Three guest rooms and the holiday house for up to 8 people make possible a restful wine experience. Topical wine tastings, enjoyment packages and guided tours or the participation in the grape harvest round off the innovative wine tourism package as a whole of the Dettweiler family. www.daetwyl.de
For all award winners see: www.mainz.de/bestof
About the Great Wine Capitals Global Network
Founded in 1999, the Great Wine Capitals Global Network is an alliance of nine internationally renowned wine regions – Adelaide|South Australia; Bordeaux, France; Mainz|Rheinhessen, Germany; Mendoza, Argentina; Porto, Portugal; Bilbao|Rioja, Spain; San Francisco|Napa Valley, USA, Valparaiso|Casablanca Valley, Chile and Verona, Italy.
The Best Of Wine Tourism awards serve as an industry benchmark for excellence and recognize leading wineries and wine-tourism related businesses within each Great Wine Capital that have distinguished themselves in areas such as innovation, service and sustainable practices. For more information visit www.greatwinecapitals.com.
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