We spent many hours with Prinz zur Lippe on the tour. We started with a Sekt in the Weinbergshäuschen (a little house in the vineyard), overlooking the city of Meissen. From there, we moved to Schloss Proschwitz, where Prinz zur Lippe gave us a quick tour of the chateau. Then, we drove to another vineyard (Seusslitzer Schlossweinberg) and talked more about the vitivultaral side of Weingut Schloss Proschwitz. Next was the winery, where Prinz zur Lippe gave an extensive tasting with Prinz zur Lippe in the tasting room of the winery.
The winery also has an excellent restaurant, the Lippe'sches Gutshaus, Schloss Proschwitz, where we had dinner; Prinz zur Lippe joined us for dinner.
During the dinner, of course, we had more time to talk about the Sachsen wine region, the history of Weingut Schloss Proschwitz and the tumultuous years after the Russian occupation of East Germany and after the reunification of the 2 Germanys.
Sachsen (Saxony)
Sachsen, located in the former GDR, is the easternmost German wine region and extends some 35 miles north and south of Dresden along the Elbe River. Most of the region’s vines are planted on terraces along the River Elbe, and being at such a gradient, a lot of the work is done by hand. For 8 centuries, vintners here have mostly planted Müller-Thurgau and Riesling, earning a well-deserved reputation for excellent dry whites.
Meissen porcelain, known locally as “white gold,” is one of the things Sachsen is best known for, being the first place in Europe to make china in the early 18th century.
Anette Schiller: This region tickles all your senses with its unique voluptuous baroque architecture, a rich history, its wealth of art, and love of all the good things in life.
Weingut Proschwitz
The zur Lippe family was first mentioned in the early 12th century. The family belonged to the reigning dynasties in Europe until 1918. For more than 300 years, the family branch of Georg Prinz zur Lippe lived in Sachsen and produced wine. However there is a 45 year long interruption, when in 1945 the Russians occupied the eastern half of Germany and disappropriated and expelled the zur Lippe family.
Immediately after Germany’s reunification Georg Prinz zur Lippe started to buy back his family’s wine estate and ancestral residence, the Proschwitz castle. Since then he has restored the castle to its former glory, and invested heavily to build up the winery to become a state of the art wine producing estate. With 90 hectares under vine Weingut Proschwitz belongs to one of the larger wineries in Germany and is the largest privately owned one in Sachsen. Great care is given to sustainable techniques in the vineyard to enable future generations to continue to produce outstanding wines.
Thirteen grape varieties are grown on the estate: Pinot Gris 20%, Pinot Blanc 12%, Müller-Thurgau 11%, Elbling 8%, Pinot Noir 8%, Riesling 8%, Dornfelder 7%, Goldriesling 7%, Scheurebe 8%, Traminer and others.
Weingut Schloss Proschwitz also has a hotel and restaurant (the Lippe'sches Gutshaus). The family’s 18th-century palace hosts conferences and weddings.
The Communist Period and German Reunification
Before the 2. World War, the von Lippe family was one of the richest family in Saxony, with holdings in various sectors, including wine making. When the Soviet Red Army invaded eastern Germany in 1945, the parents of Georg Prinz zur Lippe were expropriated and imprisoned. Fortunately, although the communists hated royalty and routinely executed royals they captures, they were not murdered, but – after a period of imprisonment in Saxony - were able to leave to the western part of Germany. There, as a refugees without any means (lie so many others, including my parents), Christian Prinz zur Lippe had to start a new live. Initially, he took a job as a gardener. Obviously, his son, Georg Prinz zur Lippe was not raised in abashed luxury. Georg Prinz zur Lippe pursued a successful career as an agricultural engineer.
Then, the Berlin Wall fell. Christian Prinz zur Lippe suggested that Georg attempt to recover the family’s property in East Germany. But because the property had been expropriated by the Soviets – and not by East Germany during the GDR period – Georg Prinz zur Lippe did not benefit from the restitution law and did not get any of the assets back from the German Government. Instead, be borrow large sums of money and bought the former property back from the current owners. Eventually, he managed to buy back a large portion of the family’s original vineyards.
The story did not end there, however. Georg Prinz zur Lippe was not welcomed with open arms back to his ancestral home. In the minds of many East Germans, “the Georg Prinz zur Lippe family was still the incarnation of evil,” the Prince explained.
“People weren’t happy to see me and I got anonymous threats on the phone,” Georg Prinz zur Lippe said. “The callers said: ‘we got rid of our princes once, and we’ll do it again.’ My car tires were regularly slashed.”
Locals feared they would lose their homes, even though the German Government didn’t return properties seized under orders of Soviet leader Josef Stalin between 1945 and 1949 to former owners like the zur Lippe family.
Fortunately, the local resistance diminished over time, as Georg Prinz zur Lippe started to win the local people over. The sympathetic mayor of the town of Zadel offered to sell Georg Prince zur Lippe a courtyard of historic but dilapidated buildings for their winery. “Over the years a total of 800 people have come forward to sell us small parcels of land that was once ours” said Georg Prinz zur Lippe.
After extensive renovations, Georg Prinz zur Lippe opened a Weingut Schloss Proschwitz there, including a restaurant, where we had dinner with Georg Prinz zur Lippe. Weingut Schloss Proschwitz was the first in Sachsen to be admitted to the prestigious VDP, Germany’s association of about 200 elite winemakers.
Dinner at the Lippe’sche Gutshaus
The winery also has an excellent restaurant, the Lippe'sches Gutshaus, Schloss Proschwitz, where we had dinner; Prinz zur Lippe joined us for dinner. During the dinner, of course, we continued to talk about the Sachsen wine region, the history of Weingut Schloss Proschwitz and the tumultuous years after the Russian occupation of East Germany and after the reunification of the 2 Germanys.
Falstaff: In the historic, stylishly renovated and well-furnished Lippesche Gutshaus of Schloss Proschwitz, you find regional and while refined dishes made from fresh ingredients on the menu. The exquisite wines of the prestigious winery Weingut Schloss Proschwitz go very well with the superb food.
The Lippe’sche Gutshaus also has 10 rooms and 2 apartments.
Postings: Germany-East Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture and History (Published and Forthcoming Postings)
Germany-East Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture and History
Tasting at Weingut Uwe Lützkendorf, with Uwe Lützkendorf, in Bad Kösen, Saale-Unstrut – Germany-East Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Visit and Wine Tasting Lunch at Weingut Hey in Naumburg, Saale-Unstrut, with Matthias Hey – Germany-East Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
Weingut Pawis in the Saale Unstrut Region: Wine Tasting with Marcus Pawis – Germany-East Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
Schiller's Favorite Winemakers in the Saale Unstrut Region, Germany
Wine Lunch at the Historic Vincenz Richter Restaurant, Weingut Vincenz Richter in Meissen with Senior Boss Gottfried Herrlich – Germany-East Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
Visit, Tasting and Dinner at Weingut Schloss Proschwitz, Prinz zur Lippe in Zadel, Sachsen, with Georg Prinz zur Lippe
Tasting at Weingut Tim Strasser/Rothes Gut in Meissen, Sachsen, with Tim Strasser
Wine Pairing Lunch at Weingut Drei Herren in Radebeul, Sachsen
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)
Lunch at Weingut Lutz Müller, Schloss Albrechtsburg, Sachsen, with Lutz Müller
Schiller's Favorite Winemakers in Sachsen (Saxony), Germany
Vineyard tour, Cellar Tour, Tasting and Dinner at Weingut Zur Schwane in Volkach, Franken with Winemaker Christian Kallisch
Vinyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Horst Sauer in Eschendorf, Franken, with Horst Sauer
Vineyard tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Schmitt’s Kinder in Randersacker, Franken, with Martin Johann Schmitt
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Staatlicher Hofkeller in Würzburg, Franken, with General Manager Marcel von den Benken
Schiller’s Favorites: 2 Legendary Wine Taverns in Würzburg – Juliusspital and Bürgerspital
Schiller’s Favorite Wine Taverns in Würzburg, Franken, Germany
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour, Lunch and Tasting at Weingut Fürst Hohenlohe Öhringen in Öhringen–Verrenberg,Württemberg with Winemaker Joachim Brand
Visit of Staatsweingut Weinsberg in Weinsberg, Württemberg, with Kyle Frank from the Finger Lakes
Cellar Tour, Vineyard Tour, Tasting and Dinner at Weingut Graf von Bentzel-Sturmfeder in Schozach, Württemberg, with Kilian Graf von Bentzel-Sturmfeder