In the Franconian village of Auernhofen, between Wuerzburg and Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Stephan Kraemer has become one of Germany's most distinctive natural winegrowers. Wine is a small part of a larger farm, but it is where his uncompromising passion lives.
Backstory
The Kraemer family has grown grapes since the mid-1980s, and since 1990 the entire farm has been managed organically under the guidelines of the Naturland association, giving the family some 25 years of organic experience. Stephan farms alongside his wife Simone.
The Region
The estate sits in the Franconian Taubertal, part of the Maindreieck area of the Franken wine region. Natural wine remains a hard road in Germany, and Kraemer pursues it with conviction.
Vineyards and Farming
About four hectares of vines are farmed organically as part of a larger mixed agricultural operation that also includes grain, vegetables and some livestock. The wider farm context reinforces a holistic, ecological approach.
Winemaking
The wines ferment spontaneously without temperature control in stainless steel and large Franconian oak casks, rest on their fine lees until just before bottling, and are neither fined nor filtered. They are bottled with little sulfur and are intentionally cloudy.
The Wines
Expect naturally cloudy yet bright, puristically spicy, dry wines including Silvaner, whose lightness is matched by structure, minerality and lively freshness meant to reflect the health of the vines and the saltiness of the soil.
