The Hiestand family has been living in harmony with nature and its vines for more than six centuries now. In 1401, the name Hiestand was recorded in documents for the very first time, near Lake Zürich in Switzerland. Following the turmoil of the 30 Years’ War, the Hiestands relocated to the banks of the Rhine in Rheinhessen.

Today, the winery is operated by Gunther Hiestand, who works tirelessly to combine the harmony and fruit of the grapes with the power and minerality of the top-class soils, and bring the result to the discerning wine lover. In a time where everything is dominated by speed and “shareholder value”, the Hiestand winery has retained its priorities: a deep respect for nature and a refusal to exploit it. Leaving vineyards fallow for a few years, targeted use of cover crops, and complete avoidance of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides – these are a few of the key pillars of Hiestand’s quality-driven cultivation philosophy. In the pursuit of truly natural processes, wine development is influenced as little as possible in the wine cellar. Hiestand wines need time to mature. Often quite reserved at an early age, they become that much more outgoing later on to provide unique and lasting enjoyment.

 

Riesling and Sylvaner dominate, and, together with the Burgundy varieties, take up two-thirds of the area under vine. For the red wines, the traditional Portugieser variety and Pinot Meunier are cultivated. Traminer is something of a hobby for Gunther’s father, Erich Hiestand. The vines of this variety in Hiestand’s vineyards stem from the estate’s own selection process.

 

A dream becomes reality! In 1997, after a break of over 100 years, the distilleries went into action again at Hiestand´s Hofbrennerei. Using the fruits from our vineyards, pomace, wine yeast and grape spirits are produced. Quinces from the farm garden, wild plums from the terraces and green vineyard peaches are collected and sorted by hand. The skill of the distiller is then needed to bring their authentic taste into the drinker’s glass: naturally converting the sun’s warmth into fruit sugars, fermentation into alcohol, distilling and enrichment of the flavourings. The still is used to create a range of unparalleled brandies and liqueurs.