The Winery

We look back on a long tradition. In 1628, the Ludwig family inherited a piece of land in the Thörnich Ritsch. That was the beginning of the Ludwig Winery. Almost 400 years and many generations later, Meike and Thomas Ludwig produce authentic, environmentally friendly Rieslings on 11 hectares of vineyards on 400 million-year-old slate soils. The best locations are in the famous Thörnich Ritsch. The name is derived from the fragile rock. Meike and Thomas focus on traditional, artisanal winemaking, sensible use of technology, and environmentally friendly viticulture. In addition to unique Rieslings ranging from dry to fruity-sweet, Weiss- and Grauburgunder, Sauvignon blanc, and the red St. Laurent are also cultivated.

The History

The winery was founded in 1628 with an inheritance in the area of the Thörnich Ritsch. Since then, much has happened. Wars alternated with quieter times. The dominance of the monasteries on the Moselle was ended by the French secularization around 1800, which was then replaced by the Prussians after the Congress of Vienna. Our ancestors survived existential threats such as the phylloxera epidemic at the end of the 19th century and shortly thereafter experienced the heyday of Moselle viticulture around 1900. In 1927, our „new“ manor house was built. The interim name „Gebrüder Ludwig“ (Ludwig Brothers) goes back to Johann, Peter, and Nikolaus. Johann managed the winery through the war years and then worked together with his brothers to pursue the winemaker’s profession. In 1964, Johann’s son Klaus took over the winery from the brothers. Thomas and Meike have decided to continue the winery under the name Ludwig and hope that one of their 3 children will follow in their footsteps later on.

The Cellar

In the cellar, the guiding principle is „natural purity.“ The aim of winemaking is to preserve the typical natural aromas and contents of the grapes in the wine and make them perceptible. Without technical gimmicks, we give the wines the necessary maturation and development time. All single vineyard wines are fermented exclusively with natural yeasts.
After extensive fermentation, there is a longer period of aging on the lees. Traditionally, a large part of the harvest is processed into dry wines. In recent years, we have seen a trend towards the Moselle’s typical off-dry Rieslings. Among the fruity-sweet variations, Kabinett particularly experiences a renaissance. How fortunate that Riesling is a jack-of-all-trades…