Weingut von Hövel

The charismatic and effervescent Eberhard Von Kunow finally hung up his pipette in 2010 and passed it on to his son, Max, who has since been converting the estate to organic farming. Max is a very dynamic individual, and over the past decade has all but doubled the size of the estate (now 21 hectares) with some exciting vineyard purchases and significantly developed the range of dry wines.

Vinification has evolved, too, and the wines are now a touch more structured and crystalline than they used to be, right across the range. Bunches are given greater hang time, which works well in the cooler pockets of the Saar and adds an extra layer of complexity to the finished wines. Blessed with some great sites, including one of Germany’s legendary vineyards, the Scharhofberg, Max has really risen to the challenge, and in fact is relishing the task of moving this historical estate into the very top echelons of the region’s estates.