Producer Information
Weingut Max Ferd. Richter is a famous and historic wine producer, located in the Mosel wine region of Germany. The estate has been family-owned and passed through generations of winemakers for the past 300 years. Weingut Max Ferd. Richter produces a large portfolio of wines, principally from the Riesling which are prized for their purity and minerality. It includes a range of styles from dry to the richly sweet ice wine. The popular Zeppelin label is produced from the Mülheimer Sonnenlay vineyard, which is the largest vineyard holding. Among the 33 or so wines in the portfolio there is only one wine not made from Riesling – a Pinot Blanc. The estate has around 17 hectares (42 acres) of vineyards in some of the very best sites in the Mosel including Graacher Domprobst and Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr. The estate’s Helenenkloster vineyard, on the edge of Mülheim has a terroir that is well-suited to the production of ice wine each vintage. This site has slate-based soils with layers of quartz, and a cooler microclimate creating a longer growing season, especially in comparison to neighbouring vineyards. It was here that the Richter’s ancestor Franz Ludwig Niessen met with Napoleon in 1813. He donated a large sum of money in return for the vineyards’ safety from the oncoming French army. In gratitude for this, the Richter family received the land on which the Veldenzer Elisenberg vineyard is planted. The Richter family first bought vineyards in Brauneberg in 1634, and founded Weingut Max Ferdinand Richter in 1680 as an export company. The estate mansion and its garden were built in 1774, and the cellars in 1880. The estate is currently managed and operated by ninth generation Dirk Richter.
