Steinbachhof

The winery is located in the municipality of Vaihingen/Enz-Gündelbach northwest of Stuttgart in the Stromberg Nature Park in the German wine-growing region of Württemberg. The first documented mention of the Steinbachhof dates back to 1178. The nearby Maulbronn Monastery, founded by Cistercians about 30 years earlier, acquired the estate from the Speyer Cathedral capital. Subsequently, the royal house of Württemberg took over the property, and as tenants the Eißler family farmed the Steinbachhof from 1848 onwards with cattle breeding, arable farming, fruit growing and viticulture. After almost 150 years, the farm and part of the vineyards became the property of the family. Today it is run by Ulrich and Nanna Eißler. The vineyards cover almost five hectares of vines in the Steinbachhof and Wachtkopf (Gündelbach), and Halde (Mühlhausen) sites. They are planted with the varieties Lemberger, Schwarzriesling, Spätburgunder, Trollinger and Riesling. The white wines ferment in temperature-controlled steel tanks. This is followed by three to four months of ageing on the fine lees. The red wines ferment exclusively on the skins. They mature for 8 to 18 months in steel tanks, the best of them in new and used 500-litre oak barrels. The best wines are bottled without filtration.