The "Wein- und Sektgut Wilhelmshof" is located in the community of Siebeldingen (area Südliche Weinstraße) in the German wine-growing region
Palatinate. In 2010, Barbara Roth and husband Thorsten Ochocki took over the business from their parents Herbert and Christa Roth. The two are regarded as "pioneers of the new German sparkling wine culture", who began producing sparkling wine after the classic bottle fermentation in the 1970s. Herbert Roth had got to know the sparkling wine production according to the classical method during his training in
Champagne - his daughter Barbara followed suit. The vineyards cover 18 hectares of vineyards, planted with Riesling, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and other varieties.
The vineyards are cultivated in a near-natural way by sowing sunflowers, vetches and alfalfa, appropriate
plant protection and organic
fertilization. A strict yield reduction is achieved by radical
thinning out. After harvesting, the grapes are gently tipped into the press without pumping. This is followed by gentle pressing and temperature-controlled fermentation. The red wines ferment for fifteen to twenty days on the mash in order to dissolve as many colourings and
tannins as possible from the grape skin. They are aged in barriques and wooden barrels for 12 to 18 months, depending on the type of wine desired. The white wines are destemmed and undergo a short
maceration period, depending on the grapes.
For the production of the basic sparkling wines a
whole grape pressing is obligatory. The bottle-fermented sparkling wines are stored on the yeast for at least 15 months. A particular speciality is the "Patina-Sekte", which mature extremely long between 5 and 35 years on the yeast.
Brandies are also produced. About 80,000 bottles of sparkling wine and 60,000 bottles of wine are produced annually. The winery is a member of the associations Generation Riesling and Klassische traditionelle Flaschengärung e.V.
