The visit started with a vineyard tour. Björn Probst then showed us the plans for a new winery that will be built in the next years on the grounds of Kloster Pforta a few miles away from the current location of the winery. He then showed us the cellar of the current winery which will continue to be used until the new winery is ready. We then went to the tasting room for a tasting. We ended the visit with a self-guided tour of the Pforta Abbey, where the new winemaking facility will be built.
Landesweingut Kloster Pforta
History
Landesweingut Kloster Pforta is one of the five State-owned wine producing estates in Germany, and is owned by the State of Sachsen-Anhalt. Its history mirrors German history. Its origins date back to the Pforta Abbey, founded in 1137 by Cistercian monks (one year after the founding of the monastery Eberbach in the Rheingau). In 1154 the monks started to plant vines in the Pfortenser Köppelberg vineyard, which still today is one of the six vineyards of the winery, producing excellent wines.
Pforta Abbey soon had a reputation as the richest abbey in medieval Thuringia, with vineyard holdings in 192 communes, totaling at least 250 ha (around 625 acres).
The end of the monastery came in the 16th century with the Reformation. After Reformation (during the 16th century the eastern part of Germany became Lutheran and the monks had to leave), ownership went to the kings of Saxony, which subsequently lost the Abbey Pforta to the Kingdom of Prussia at the Vienna Congress in 1814.
After World War II, it became the socialist co-operative VEG (volkseigener Betrieb / company owned by the people) Weinbau Naumburg in the GDR, with 300 acres of land. After the fall of the Wall in 1989, Abbey Pforta was in the hands of the privatization organization Treuhand for a few years, but privatization efforts were not successful and thus the State of Sachsen-Anhalt took over in 1993.
Vineyards and Grape Varieties
Today, the vineyards total 55 hectares in the Gosecker Dechantenberg (monopoly ownership), Pfortenser Köppelberg, Eulauer Heideberg and Saalhäuser (steep-slope and monopoly vineyard in Bad Kösen).
They are planted with the white wine varieties Müller-Thurgau. Sylvaner. Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Red Traminer. Bacchus. Kerner, White Gutedel ( Chasselas ) Blauer Silvaner, Elbling, Heunisch ( Gouais blanc ) and Pinot Gris as well as the red wine varieties Blauer Portugieser, Zweigelt, Pinot Noir, André and Dornfelder.
Bottle-fermented sparkling wines and brandies are also produced (pomace, grape, fruit). Pforta Monastery is a member of "Latitude 51" ( terroir-oriented Saale-Unstrut Winzer) and Generation Riesling.
Björn Probst
Björn Probst has been Managing Director and Winemaker since late 2017. Earlier in 2017, we had met him at Weingut Fürstlich Castell’sches Domänenamt in Franken. He was in Franken for about 2 years. Before joining the Weingut Fürstlich Castell’sches Domänenamt, he was running Weingut zu Weimar and Weinhaus zu Weimar in Sachsen, owned by Georg Prinz zur Lippe. Born in Cologne, he studied at the Geisenheim University.
Tasting
We tasted 6 wines with Björn Probst.
Bye-bye
Thanks Björn for the wonderful visit.
Tour of the Pforta Abbey
We ended the visit with a self-guided tour of the Pforta Abbey, where the new winemaking facility will be built.
Lunch at Restaurant Stelzenhaus am Heinekanal in Leipzig-Plagwitz
After the visit of Weingut Kloster Pforta, we drove to Leipzig for lunch. Leipzig lies at the confluence of the rivers White Elster, Pleisse and Parthe. There is a system of connecting waterways –canals- in the former industrial area of Leipzig-Plagwitz. There are several charming restaurants sitting on the banks of the rivers and canals.
Postings: Germany-East Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture, History - Berlin, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen, Württemberg, Franken (Published and Forthcoming)
Germany-East Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture, History - Berlin, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen, Württemberg, Franken
Vineyard Tour and Tasting at the Königlicher Weinberg Klausberg in Sanssouci, Potsdam - Germany-East Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture, History - Berlin, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen, Württemberg, Franken
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Wine Pairing Dinner at Restaurant Zufriedenheit in Naumburg, with Chef Robert Klaus and his Excellent Food, and Uwe Lützkendorf, Weingut Lützkendorf, and his World-class Wines - Germany-East Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture, History - Berlin, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen, Württemberg, Franken
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
Visit and tasting at Landesweingut Kloster Pforta in Bad Kösen, Saale-Unstrut, with Managing Director Björn Probst
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Schiller's Favorite Winemakers in Sachsen (Saxony), Germany
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Cellar Tour and Tasting at Staatlicher Hofkeller in Würzburg, Franken, with General Manager Marcel von den Benken– Germany-East Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
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