Juliusspital is Germany’s second largest winery with 180 hectares under vines in the most renowned sites of Franken, and one of the always top rated wineries. The appeal of the wines lies in their fascinating diversity. This winery is part of the charitable foundation Juliusspital, which was founded more than 430 years ago by the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg, Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn, and still today comprises among other institutions a hospital, a hospice, and care facilities for the elderly and the poor. In order to equip the foundation with the necessary financial means Julius Echter founded, among other business entities, a winery to guarantee steady income. The beautiful historical cellars with the old traditional wooden casks are still in use for fermentation and aging.
Franken
Franken, located in the northern part of Bavaria, is boasting a long tradition and some fine terroirs (mostly shell limestone and Keuper, a kind of marl). Its two leading grape varieties are Riesling and Silvaner. Typically, Franken wine comes in the distinctive, dumpily-rounded Franken “Bocksbeutel” wine bottle. The bottle’s unusual shape dates back to at least the 16th century. The Bocksbeutel may only be used for Franken wines. In Germany, it is a sign of excellence, while in the US, many consumers link this kind of bottle shape to lower quality wine.
Juliusspital Foundation
Weingut Juliusspital is Germany’s second largest winery with 177 hectares under vines in the most renowned sites of Franken, and one of the always top rated wineries. Weingut Juliusspital is a member of the VDP – the association of about 200 German elite winemakers.
Weingut Juliusspital is a very special winery in that it is owned by and part of the charitable Juliusspital Foundation, which was founded in 1576 by the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg, Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn.
At the center of the Juliusspital Foundation are a hospital, an assisted living home for elderly people and a hospice. This has been so for more than 400 years. Today, the buildings of the Juliusspital Foundation comprise many modern buildings but also very impressive and well maintained historical buildings.
As to the latter, the Fürstenbau, a palatial building, designed by the architect Antonio Petrini built in the Barock style with its historical cellar vaults, its garden pavilion and the fountain statues of Jacob van der Auvera, make the Juliusspital a unique monument of art and culture at the heart of the city of Würzburg. The historical cellars, which we had the opportunity to visit, with the old traditional wooden casks, are still in use for fermentation and aging.
Weingut Juliusspital
Since its establishment, the profits of the Weingut Juliusspital have contributed to the financing of the social services of the Juliusspital Foundation. In addition to the vineyard land, the Juliusspital Foundation also owns farm land and forests.
Vineyards: 177 ha (437 acres) all over Franken
Annual production: 1.4 million bottles - all screwcap
Average yield: 63 hl per ha (25 hl per acre)
10% export
60% Bocksbeutel bottles
Grape Varieties: 40 % Silvaner, 25 % Riesling, 6 % Müller-Thurgau
Vineyards and Soil Types
Muschelkalk (shelly limestone): Wines from our sites in Würzburg, Randersacker, Thüngersheim, Volkach and Escherndorf are influenced by medium and upper Muschelkalk. They are elegant, have a fine fruity taste and intense minerality.
Keuper: The deep, dark, fine-grained gypsum Keuper soil around Iphofen and Rödelsee produces a well-defined wine with a herbaceous character and long cellar life.
Red Sandstone: Near Bürgstadt on the Lower Main, the soils are shallow and stony. They are characterised as “fervid”. Fruity, elegant red wines with a pleasant tannin level are produced from the vines grown here.
The top sitesof Weingut Juliusspital are: Würzburger Stein, Iphöfer Julius-Echter-Berg, Volkacher Karthäuser, Randersackerer Pfülben, Rödelseer Küchenmeister and Escherndorfer Lump.
10 percent of the Weingut Juliusspital vineyards are organic.
Tasting
The tour ended with a tasting in one of the rooms of the cellar.
Here are the wines we tasted:
2016 Juliusspital Riesling trocken VDP.Gutswein
2016 WürzburgerMüller-Thurgau trocken VDP.Ortswein
2016 Würzburger Abtsleite Silvaner trocken VDP.Erste Lage
2016 Ihöfer Kronsberg Silvaner trocken VDP.Erste Lage
2016 Würzburger Stein Silvaner trocken VDP.Erste Lage
2015 Iphöfer Julius-Echter-Berg Silvaner trocken VDP.Grosse Lage GG
2015 Volkacher Karthäuser Weisser Burgunder trocken VDP.Grosse Lage GG
Lunch at the Juliusspital Tavern
Following the tour and tasting, we walked over to the Juliusspital wine tavern and had lunch there.
Postings: Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture and History (Published and Forthcoming Postings)
Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture and History
Wine Tasting Lunch at Weingut Frölich-Hake in Naumburg-Rossbach, Saale-Unstrut, Germany, with Sandra Hake – Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
Weingut Pawis in the Saale Unstrut Region: Tour and Wine Tasting with Marcus Pawis – Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
Tasting at Weingut Uwe Lützkendorf, with Uwe Lützkendorf, in Bad Kösen, Saale-Unstrut– Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
Schiller's Favorite Winemakers in the Saale Unstrut Region, Germany
Wine and Music:"Martin Luther Lunch" at the Historic Vincenz Richter Restaurant, Weingut Vincenz Richter, in Meissen with Senior Boss Gottfried Herrlich and the Music of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven – Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
Visit of Weingut Klaus Zimmerling: The Wines of Klaus Zimmerling and the Art of his Wife Malgorzata Chodakoska - Germany-East Wine and Art Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015)
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Dresden is the New Unlikely Place for Fine Barolo Wine: Weingut Martin Schwarz– Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
Tour and Dinner at Weingut Schloss Proschwitz - Prinz zur Lippe in Zadel, Sachsen, with Georg Prinz zur Lippe - Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
Schiller's Favorite Winemakers in Sachsen (Saxony), Germany
Vinyard Tour and Tasting at Weingut Horst Sauer in Eschendorf, Franken, with Horst Sauer - Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Fürstlich Castell’sches Domänenamt in Castell, Franken, with General Manager and Winemaker Björn Probst - Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
Lunch with Christian L. Stahl, Winzerhof Stahl, Franken: Not only a Gifted Winemaker but also a Gifted Chef - Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
Tour and Tasting at the Historic Weingut Juliusspital in Würzburg, Franken - Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
Schiller’s Favorites: 2 Legendary Wine Taverns in Würzburg – Juliusspital and Bürgerspital
Schiller’s Favorite Wine Taverns in Würzburg
Cellar Visit and Tasting at Weingut Fürst Hohenlohe Öhringen in Öhringen–Verrenberg, Württemberg, with General Manager and Winemaker Joachim Brand - Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
Tour and Tasting at Weingut Wachstetter in Pfaffenhofen, Württemberg, with Rainer Wachtstetter– Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
Lunch at the 1 Star Michelin Restaurant Gutsschenke Schlosshotel Monrepos, with Chef Ben Benasr - Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Herzog von Württemberg at Schloss Monrepos, with Andrea Ritz, Wine Queen of Württemberg (2016/17) - Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar Tour, Tasting and Dinner with Kilian Graf von Bentzel-Sturmfeder, Weingut Graf von Bentzel-Sturmfeder in Schozach, Württemberg - Germany-East Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours