VDP documentary on ZDF - Löwenstein, Prinz Salm-Salm & Co.

The first level of the association only accepts wineries that fulfill a very strict criteria: class instead of mass, only the best harvest yield and an ecologically organized winemaking process. They want to rise and shine by only selecting excellent wines. Solid ambience is the key to achieve this and thus cast a spall on wine lovers all over the country. This plan works: The VDP winemakers produce only about 2.5 percent of the total amount of German wine on roughly 4 percent of  the German wine-growing sites, however, 12 percent of German wine profits is theirs.

For the longest time, the VDP was known to be a group of cliques, which basically only welcomed royalty, princes and counts - those rather stay among themselves, there is no room for lateral entrants and newbies. However, the VDP has long proven that this is just a prejudice. Let's take Reinhard Löwenstein from Winningen. The incitive vintner from the Moselle, only recently discovered his passion for viticulture. When he was young he was not interested in his parents winery whatsoever - he was more interested in the Rolling Stones than any wine queens. He turned a hippie instead of vintner, hitchhiked through the world and he lived in Paris for a while. Instead of learning how to cut Riesling grapes, he researched Fidel Castro's theories.

Reinhard Löwenstein has a few years ago the VDP pointed a new direction - actually returned to the roots, as they did 100 years ago as an association "German wine auctioneer nature" began (Photo: ZDF)

Long story short, sometime later he changed his mind, studied agriculture and business administration. Löwenstein is still a revolutinary, but later in his life he focused more on rattling through the German Wine World: He was one of the first who strongly believed in making terroir wines. Wines that have a close relationship with the land and  the local climate like no others. He grows Riesling vines on his slate balcony high above the Moselle, only produces a small amount and in the cellar of his old winery villa he only uses the natural yeast in the wines, instead of artificial yeast. (Also read our article:  30 years Winery Heymann-Löwenstein)

Reinhard's methods even convinced VDP members to change things up a little bit - basically he took them back to the roots of the VDP, when they started out as "Deutsche Naturweinversteigerer" (German Auctioneers of natural wine). It is a success!  His wines have won him numerous big prizes internationally. Terroir wines is the magic word among wine lovers. One of the people who, very early on, supported Reinhard  Löwenstein in his work was Michael Prinz zu Salm-Salm. The former president of the VDP, like noone else, personified the traditional history of the VDP and viticulture along the Nahe river. The Wallhausen castle is the oldes German winery still in family posession.

In terms of ambience, this winery is just like you would imagine a typical vintage winery. Prinz Michael's son, Constantin, took over his father's business 4 years ago and now comes up with trendy ideas in order to show his wines in a  new light. Despite their differentces, both the Löwenstein as well as the Salm-Salm winery are the two most significant flagships of the VDP today. (red.yoopress)