Schloss Johannisberg, Riesling Spatlese, Grunlack

About Schloss Johannisberg

This is where the legend began in 1775. The famed rider, depicted in the monument near the vinotheque, was delivering the official authorization for the start of harvest from the prince bishop in Fulda, who then owned the estate and gave an annual blessing. For reasons unknown until this day, the messenger was delayed for a couple of weeks. Since 817, grapes have been cultivated on these slopes, and for the last 300 years almost exclusively Riesling. The estate of Schloss Johannisberg is thus a monument for establishing Riesling as the dominant German wine grape. A dictionary of viticulture, stemming from 1930, notes succinctly under the entry of Riesling: 'Native country: Germany. Probably a variety from the Rheingau.' In any case, one fact holds: Schloss Johannisberg is a treasure chamber for Riesling wines and the art of winemaking. Legend says that the vineyards themselves were planted according to the orders of Charlemagne. From his royal palace in Ingelheim, on the western side of the Rhine in the region of Rheinhessen, he looked across the river and noticed that the snow melted there first, on the Johannisberg. That may well be possible since the vineyard site along the Elsterbach is first noted in a historic document in 817 the time of Charlemagne. Around the year 1130, they built a basilica. The new monastery was dedicated to Saint John, and its properties called Johannisberg.