Über uns
The land of a thousand hills
Rheinhessen lies in the bend of the Rhine at the end of the Upper Rhine Valley and surrounded by wooded low mountain ranges, roughly between the cities of Mainz, Worms, Alzey and Bingen. In the south, the plateau and hill country merges into the Rhine plain. The fertile landscape is the largest wine-growing region in Germany - and yet impresses with its quiet highlights: the old villages that nestle gently into the slopes, the soft hills and valleys of loess and marl covered with vines and a wide horizon that is rarely interrupted by a tree.
The mild climate is ideal for winegrowing in Rheinhessen, which is one of the warmest regions in Germany. The protective mountains in the west protect against too much rain and ensure plenty of sunshine in every season: when the vines turn green in spring, in the shimmering summer heat and in autumn when the sun makes the colorful vine leaves shine.
Guntersblum – hollow ways and heathen towers
The loess soil in Rheinhessen is particularly suitable for growing wine - the Romans already recognised this. Loess consists of tiny grains, smaller than sand. Where the soft material was driven over by carts, it crumbled into dust, and rain carried the dust away. This is how deep and narrow ravines developed over the centuries. In many places, the ravines were filled in during land consolidation. With a great deal of commitment and foresight, Burkhard Schnell (1935-2010) was able to contribute to the integration of the ravines with their diverse flora and fauna into the newly structured cultural landscape in Guntersblum.
But Guntersblum has more to offer than just its beautiful surroundings: the so-called "heathen towers" of St. Victor's Church look like something out of 1001 Nights. Returnees from the First Crusade brought oriental architectural styles from the Orient to Rheinhessen in the 11th century. The Guntersblum Cellar Trail with its more than one hundred wine cellars is also well known. The Cellar Trail Festival, which takes place every year in August, is one of the largest wine festivals in Rheinhessen.
If you are visiting Guntersblum from far away for the Kellerwegfest or don't want to drive home after a nice wine tasting at the Geheimrat Schnell winery, you will find our recommendations for overnight accommodation here .
From Privy Councillor to Organic Winemaker
The winery's origins lie in the 19th century, when Jakob Kern founded a wine and fruit business. In 1926, he passed the business on to his son-in-law Dr. Heinrich Schnell, the respected privy councilor. The "privy councilors" were originally a council of the German kings, and later the title was awarded to deserving officials, including Heinrich Schnell.
Grandson Burkhard Schnell took over the business in 1964 and over time transformed it into an ecologically managed winery. Early on - when his fellow winemakers had only just started using chemicals - Burkhard Schnell realised that an arms race against nature was the wrong way to go. His efforts led to the creation of ECOVIN, the Federal Association of Organic Winegrowing, which was founded at the Geheimrat Schnell winery. Master winemaker Johann Schnell has been running the winery since 1999, and since 2011 together with his wife Stéphanie.
Burkhard Schnell and organic wine
As a passionate butterfly collector, Burkhard Schnell observed that the introduction of the insecticide E 605 in 1960 led to a rapid decline in the natural diversity of butterflies and many useful insects. At the same time, however, pest insects were spreading like epidemics, which made the use of even more insecticides necessary. Alarmed by these developments, he began to observe other conditions in the vineyard: although artificial fertilizers helped the vines, they damaged the diversity of flora at the edge of the vineyard. The use of herbicides did not only bring advantages: the substance atrazine led to groundwater poisoning.
All of this led Burkhard Schnell to realise that the path that the agrochemical industry was setting out for the future was the wrong one for nature and people. He began to produce his wine in a more sustainable way. At the same time as other winemakers, he founded organic winemaking in Germany.
Johann and Stéphanie Schnell
Johann Schnell wanted to get away from his parents' business when he started an apprenticeship as a mechanic after school. A few years in the bicycle industry and many trips to the climbing rocks of the world followed until he finally felt the calling to become a winemaker in 1992. He completed his apprenticeship as a winemaker in the Ahr Valley and passed the exam to become a master winemaker. In 1999 he took over his parents' winery.
He continues his father Burkhard's idea of producing wine in harmony with nature. His views may be less radical, but he is just as passionate about organic winemaking.
Johann's wife Stéphanie was also born into winemaking: when she was born in Vitry-le-François in Champagne, she was practically destined to work in winemaking. Johann and Stéphanie have been married since 2011 and run the Geheimrat Schnell winery together.
