Rainer Sauer

“Actually, everything is very simple: a unique vineyard, the Escherndorfer Lump, as our workplace in nature and the cellar of the winery as the birthplace of our wines. Every year there is an opportunity for delicious wines…”. But as simple as they sell it themselves, the combination of elements at Weingut Rainer Sauer is actually very complex. Here on this estate, namesake Rainer and his wife Helga have been running the winery since 1979. Their son Daniel joined them almost 15 years ago. He studied oenology and was already named ‘young winemaker of the year’ in 2011, which means he represents the next generation within this successful wine family. “World class”, is how Gerhard Eichelmann even described them.

“If you are interested in Silvaner, Rainer Sauer will not come along”, Eichelmann continues his hymn of praise. Because that is the grape variety that everything revolves around for the Sauer family from the Escherndofer Lump: silvaner. Here on this unique terroir in the Franconia region we can possibly speak of the world’s best place to plant silvaner. The steep slopes of the Lump owe their existence to one of the last major shifts of the tectonic plates, approximately two million years ago. This shift meant that nature had to work hard and the river had to dig deep into the eroded rubble, creating steep slopes on both sides.

This has created a kind of bowl that protects the grapes from the north wind and reflects the sun in the summer and late summer. Most of the vineyards are therefore oriented towards the south and the soil here consists mainly of ‘muschelkalk’, or shell limestone. This combination of factors in the terroir contributes to the undisputed signature of Rainer Sauer; tight and dry silvaner with a great presence of fruit and an unbridled energy! Add this to a great philosophy, sympathy and secure working method and you will see the reasons why we were also deeply impressed after our first visit. Everything is right here and we are incredibly proud of this new addition to our portfolio…