When summer draws to a close, a time of anxiety begins for Walter Beck. Reports about “rain showers” or “a drop in temperature” in the weather forecast immediately put the vineyard boss on alert. It’s always necessary to carefully ponder whether the grapes have enough sweetness and acidity. And whether enemy number one, rot or mould, poses any threat.

“It’s okay to gamble a little, but you have to be able to assess the risk. After all, the fruits of an entire year’s work are being harvested. And a hectically arranged harvest can sometimes be exactly the wrong decision,” says the energetic 52-year-old, casting a glance across the vineyard. At this moment it’s hard to imagine a better place to work than the Schloss Proschwitz vineyards located high above the Elbe with a direct view of Meißen and the late-Gothic Albrechtsburg Castle on the other side.

Under Walter Beck’s watchful eye 13 grape varieties are grown here, and each of them matures differently. All varieties of red wine, the late vintages and Große Gewächse (“great growths”, a German wine classification) are harvested by hand. Harvesting machines are used for simpler qualities. The son of a vintner from Kaiserstuhl in South Baden, who wound up in the Saxon province 5 years ago, has obviously always made the right decision in terms of giving the start signal. Schloss Proschwitz has risen to the top ranks of eastern German growing areas.

In addition, since 1996 it is the only winery in Saxony to be a member of the Verband deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates). And it was the first eastern German winery to break into Germany’s top 100 – thanks to wines such as Pinot Gris aged in the barrel, which smells of melons and bacon, or “Großes Gewächs”, a Pinot Noir with aromas of dark chocolate and black cherries. Stuart Pigott, the renowned British wine critic, enthusiastically acknowledged that it could hold its own against any good French equivalent.

Saxony’s oldest existing wine estate is following established traditions with these successes. After the reunification of Germany Georg Prinz zur Lippe bought back the castle that belonged to his forefathers. Until expropriated from the family in 1945, the baroque structure was the seat of one of Germany’s oldest lines of nobility. “The vineyard soils were in a terrible state when I arrived here at the beginning of the 90s,” recalls the Agricultural Engineering graduate with slightly greying hair. “They had become sterile from excessive use of herbicides and contained no humus whatsoever.”

Yet the existing substrate of loess and granite bedrock is especially valuable, because along with the southern location of the vineyards and the favourable microclimate of the Elbe river valley it leaves its unique mark on Proschwitz’s products. The estate now practices controlled environmentally-friendly viniculture.

Georg Prinz zur Lippe has invested ten million euros in making the dream of his life come true. He now lives with his wife and five-year-old son in one of the restored buildings that is part of the castle ensemble. The gates of the extensive estate are also open to visitors when classical concerts and Tango evenings take place.

In contrast, the winery in Zadel, located about five kilometres away, is open to guests all year round. The four-sided estate which is over 300 years old not only accommodates the state-of-the-art wine cellar. There’s also a rustic wine shop. The adjacent estate restaurant entices with culinary delights accompanied by Proschwitz wines. And on a mild autumn evening you sit in the courtyard for a last glass together before the guests retire to their rooms in the estate house to be awakened the next morning by the bells of the nearby village church.

Walter Beck says he feels at home in the countryside above the Elbe river valley and looks up at the clouds in the sky. The time of anxiety is approaching once more. He forecasts that the grape harvest will be taking place in mid-September. Only then will he be able to say how next year’s wine will be. But that’s the thing that makes his job exciting, says Beck.

Text: Grit Mocci  Photos: Veit Hengst

 

Information

Weingut Schloss Proschwitz, Dorfanger 19, D-01665 Zadel über Meißen, Germany
Tel. +49 (3521) 767 60, www.schloss-proschwitz.de

Opening hours: Wine shop in winery daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.,
Restaurant in winery Wed to Fri from 5 p.m. and Sat/Sun from 12 noon