One unplanned glass of natural wine changed the course of two careers. Michael Volker and Melanie Drese were working in science publishing and traveling the world when they tasted natural wine for the first time. They were hooked, and they went home to Franconia to make it.
Backstory
The family winery dates to 1843, set on the banks of the river Main in northern Bavaria. Michael's father had already converted two parcels to organic farming in the 1990s. Michael and Melanie took the reins in 2012 and launched their first natural wines in 2013, beginning with just a few hundred bottles from those two plots. The couple's earlier years abroad in science publishing shaped a research-minded, evidence-first approach to farming that still defines the estate.
The Region
The estate is based around Volkach and Kitzingen in Franken (Franconia), a cool-climate region in northern Bavaria known for dry, structured whites and the local Silvaner grape. Many of the best sites here sit on shell limestone (Muschelkalk), which gives the wines firm acidity and a chalky cut.
Vineyards & Farming
All 7 hectares are farmed organically. The vineyards are planted to Silvaner, Bacchus, Muller-Thurgau, and Schwarzriesling (Pinot Meunier), among other varieties, and in some years the couple supplements with organic or biodynamic fruit from neighboring growers. The estate is known for an unusual conservation effort: in 2014 they took over a Muller-Thurgau vineyard with a small cottage and installed bat boxes, drawing colonies that provide natural pest control and guano fertilizer in a closed loop. The bat, or Fledermaus, has since given its name to the estate's signature wines.
Winemaking
The wines are made without additives and without fining or filtering. Fermentations run on native yeasts with minimal intervention. The Fledermaus Rot, a single-vineyard Schwarzriesling from shell limestone in Volkach, is hand-harvested, macerated on the skins for around three days, then aged on the lees in stainless steel for roughly 18 months and bottled with zero added sulfur. Some bottlings, such as the Vater & Sohn blend, also carry no added sulfites.
The Wines
The range includes the Fledermaus whites and reds, the Silvaner-based Wilde Heimat, the Vater & Sohn cuvee, and a rotating cast of small-batch, often experimental bottlings that reflect each vintage.
