Weingut Kranz

History of the Kranz Winery

The history of the Kranz W inery dates back to shortly after World War II, when Hilda and Willi Dennhart, along with their daughter Ella and her husband Hugo, built their home in 1948, purchased some vineyards, along with additional land and livestock, and established the winery as a bulk wine operation.

Lieselotte, in turn, Ella and Hugo's daughter, began bottling the wine they produced for sale in the 1970s. Her husband Robert supported her and started an apprenticeship as a vintner. From then on, things went uphill and they were able to buy more vineyards. Also new wine cellars with modern technology were built.

Lieselotte and Robert had two sons, Boris and Kai, of whom Boris was the one who knew early on that he wanted to become a vintner. He was not yet 20 when he took over the management of the wine cellar of the Kranz w inery. Today, he is managing the winery together with wife Kerstin. In 2012, the winery was accepted into the VdP (Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates).

The vineyards

The wines of the Kranz Winery should above all be authentic, long-lasting, timeless and straightforward. The basis for this lies in the vineyard, its soils and sites. The Kranz family pays careful attention to where the vines should be planted in order to make the most of the terroir and climate. The vineyards at Weingut Kranz are farmed organically. Herbicides, synthetic chemical fungicides and mineral fertilizers are completely avoided.

The vineyards

• Ilbesheim
• Arzheim
• Ranschbach

The individual sites

• Ilbesheimer Westerberg: West slope of the Kleine Kalmit, with stony loess loam soil and high lime content, cool morning temperatures, long evening sun, Riesling grape variety
• Kirchberg: south-southwest slope, partly cross-grazed, core of the Kleine Kalmit, high lime content, grape variety Riesling
• Kalmit: South slope of the Kleine Kalmit, clayey and marly soil, sun all day, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir grape varieties
• Arzheimer am Fürstenweg: on the eastern slope of the Kleine Kalmit, the earliest and warmest first site of the Kranz Winery, loess loam soil with a high active lime content, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grape varieties
• Arzheimer Klingenwingert: Eastern slope of the Kleine Kalmit, classic eastern slope with a lot of morning sun and early warmth, deep loess loam soil with a high active lime content and good water storage capacity, Pinot Blanc grape variety
• Arzheimer Rosenberg

The grape varieties

• Riesling
• Pinot Blanc
• Pinot Noir
• Chardonnay

Vinification in the cellar

At Weingut Kranz, only minimal invasive intervention is made in the vinification process. However, whether controlled or spontaneous fermentation, stainless steel, wooden barrels or both, whole bunch pressing or several hours of maceration, this is individually adapted to the respective conditions of the vintage.

Ilbesheim

The Kranz Winery is located in the wine-growing region of the Palatinate, which is situated along the eastern slopes of the Haardt Mountains and is divided into the Mittelhaardt, German Wine Route and Southern Wine Route. In the Südliche Weinstraße lies the old winegrowing village of Ilbesheim, with its varied soil conditions. From light sandy soils to water-retaining loamy loess soils to heavy calcareous marl, everything is present here. The rainfall in the wine-growing area is between 500mm and 700mm, fortunately well distributed over all months of the year. In excessively dry years, however, there can be a lack of water in certain locations.