Knipser Winery

Knipser Winery – Wine from the Palatinate

Knipser Winery is one of the best wineries in Germany; its home since 1876 has been Laumersheim in the northern Palatinate. Today, it is still run as a family winery by brothers Volker and Werner Knipser, along with the latter’s son, Stephan Knipser. The winery, also known as Johannishof, which originally operated as a mixed farm including fruit and vegetable cultivation, also features a popular restaurant and wine shop called Halbstück, which we highly recommend visiting during a trip to the Palatinate.  

Knipser Winery – the top-tier winery

Since 1993, the Knipser winery in Laumersheim has been a member of the VDP, the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates. The vineyards extend from the Freinsheimer Höhe in the south to the edge of the neighboring northern village of Dirmstein and boast renowned sites such as Großkarlbacher Burgweg, Laumersheimer Kirschgarten, Laumersheimer Steinbuckel, and Dirmsteiner Mandelpfad. 

The 75 hectares of vineyards are planted in small plots with both red and white grape varieties, with Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) accounting for the lion's share of the red wine and Riesling for the white. The estate wines, such as Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, or the white wine cuvée of Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc, are all crafted for excellent drinkability. “The wines should be expressive, but not thin. But in a way that makes you want to open a second bottle,” as Volker Knipser puts it.

The wines from calcareous marl grow on limestone, which was formed from deposits of calcareous algae that built reefs in a tropical sea during the Miocene epoch. The calcareous marl wines impress with a cool minerality and light hints of flint, and they already possess good aging potential. However, the Grosses Gewächs category wines, such as the Spätburgunder Kirschgarten, surpass even this level of quality, as do the top cuvée X, made from Bordeaux grape varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot, or the Syrah. These wines exhibit fullness and density, complexity and great structure, possessing a body with a touch of “bacon” while remaining elegant and multi-layered. They require time, and the Knipsers grant them exactly that, as they are only released to the market after a few years of bottle aging.

Knipser Winery price list: with us, you can buy Knipser wines at ex-cellar prices.