Germany · Rheinhessen

Weingut Knewitz

Appenheim family estate working more than 100 Welzbachtal parcels for dry, limestone-linked Riesling and Chardonnay.

The producer

Weingut Knewitz works from Appenheim across 30 hectares in more than 100 small parcels around Appenheim, Nieder-Hilbersheim and Gau-Algesheim. Cool nights and a long growing period support dry Rieslings with freshness, while limestone appears plainly in Appenheimer Kalkstein Riesling: citrus, floral notes and a mineral, savoury edge rather than sweetness.

The range separates village and vineyard Rieslings such as Appenheimer Kalkstein, Hundertgulden and Steinacker, then moves into Chardonnay. Chardonnay Réserve can develop from reductive notes toward nutty, buckwheat-like character with air; Chardonnay Sekt Brut Nature puts the grape into a dry sparkling form, where mousse changes the texture.

Known for

Dry, site-focused Riesling and Chardonnay, from Appenheimer Kalkstein and individual-vineyard Rieslings to Chardonnay Réserve and Brut Nature Sekt.

Notable facts

The story

The move to estate bottling

The Knewitz family had made wine in Appenheim since the nineteenth century when Gerold Knewitz began estate bottling in 1976. Wine from the family’s work in the village could then leave under the Knewitz name rather than only as wine sold on. Tobias Knewitz took over the estate in 2007 after training at Geisenheim. His wife Corina later joined the work, followed by his brother Björn; Tobias and Björn are identified as the cellar masters. Today, bottles such as Appenheimer Kalkstein, Hundertgulden and Steinacker carry the place names of the Welzbachtal parcels into the range.

From the atlas

Weingut Knewitz

At A Glance

Weingut Knewitz works from Appenheim in Rheinhessen, where Tobias and Björn Knewitz are the cellar masters. The family farms 30 hectares across more than 100 parcels in the Welzbachtal, and its named wines move from dry Riesling rooted in limestone to still and sparkling Chardonnay.

Cool nights and a long growing period shape the estate’s setting around Appenheim, Nieder-Hilbersheim and Gau-Algesheim. That spread matters on the label: Appenheimer Kalkstein names a village-level Riesling linked to limestone, while Hundertgulden and Steinacker identify separate Riesling sites.

The Producer

The Knewitz family has made wine in Appenheim since the nineteenth century. Tobias Knewitz, who trained at Geisenheim, took over the estate in 2007; his wife Corina and his brother Björn later joined him. The result is a family estate whose dry Rieslings and Chardonnays are tied to named places and distinct cellar treatments rather than presented as one house style.

Place

Appenheim sits in the Welzbachtal, a part of Rheinhessen where Knewitz works across three neighbouring communities: Appenheim, Nieder-Hilbersheim and Gau-Algesheim. More than 100 small parcels, bordered by orchards and arable land, break the estate into many growing locations; the range responds with village, vineyard and site names instead of a single regional bottling.

The estate describes cool nights and long growing periods as central features of the valley. For dry Riesling, that pattern supports fruit that can ripen over time while retaining freshness; in the glass, the documented examples move toward citrus, floral and savoury notes rather than broad sweetness.

Soil And Site

Westerberg began as a coral reef more than 40 million years ago and later hardened into limestone. That physical history is not decoration on a label: limestone is named directly in Appenheimer Kalkstein Riesling, and it provides the ground beneath the estate’s site-specific white wines.

Hundertgulden carries an older local thread, with a documented history reaching back to 1148, while a Prussian vineyard map recorded the Welzbachtal and Westerberg in 1820. These names locate wines within an established agricultural landscape, then separate bottles by vineyard rather than simply by grape variety.

Story

The modern estate began with a change in how the family’s wine was presented. Gerold Knewitz started estate bottling in 1976 after generations of Knewitz winegrowing in Appenheim. When Tobias took over in 2007, the work expanded into a range where Appenheimer Kalkstein, Hundertgulden and Steinacker each carry a more specific place name.

That family arc now includes Corina, Tobias and Björn, with Tobias and Björn identified as cellar masters. The continuity is visible in bottles that stay close to the estate’s two key grapes: Riesling for dry, site-marked wines, and Chardonnay for both a reserve still wine and a Brut Nature Sekt.

Vineyards And Cellar

Thirty hectares divided across more than 100 parcels demand separate attention in the vineyard. Orchard and arable-land borders surround the vines, while the Welzbachtal’s cool nights extend the ripening period; site selection can therefore carry through to named Riesling bottles rather than disappearing into a blended estate wine.

The cellar work is most clearly documented bottle by bottle. Appenheimer Kalkstein Riesling 2022 has recorded fermentation and ageing details, Hundertgulden Riesling GG 2024 has its own vinification record, and Chardonnay Réserve 2020 has separate élevage evidence. Those individual treatments help explain why the range moves from citrus-led Riesling to a Chardonnay that can show nuttier, grain-like notes as it opens.

Wines

Appenheimer Kalkstein Riesling 2022 provides the Appenheim-and-limestone frame: a dry Riesling whose name joins village and ground. Its documented tasting material points toward citrus, floral and mineral character, with freshness carrying the wine rather than sweetness.

Hundertgulden Riesling GG 2024 and Steinacker Riesling take Riesling into individual sites. A comparative tasting of the 2015s found Hundertgulden becoming creamier and more open through an evening while staying fresh; the two labels are therefore useful as separate site expressions, not interchangeable versions of the same wine.

Chardonnay extends the range beyond Riesling. Chardonnay Réserve 2020 is the still, cellar-aged expression, while Chardonnay Sekt Brut Nature 2018 places the grape in a dry sparkling format, where mousse and dosage become part of the wine’s texture and shape.

In The Glass

Across the Rieslings, expect citrus and floral perfume first, followed by dry fruit, mineral notes and a savoury edge on the palate. Cool nights and a long growing period support freshness, while the site names signal that Hundertgulden, Steinacker and Appenheimer Kalkstein should not land with identical weight or texture.

The 2015 Hundertgulden showed a different kind of development over an evening: it became creamier and more open without losing freshness. Chardonnay Réserve 2020 also changed with air, becoming less reductive overnight and showing more nutty and buckwheat character. The Chardonnay Sekt brings a separate sensation again: dry fruit carried by sparkling mousse rather than by still-wine body.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Appenheimer Kalkstein Riesling 2022. It puts Appenheim and limestone on the same label, then translates the estate’s dry Riesling work into citrus, floral and mineral notes with a fresh finish. It is a useful first bottle because the village, the soil word and the grape all point in the same direction without requiring a comparison among the individual vineyard wines.

Anecdote

The Knewitz family had made wine in Appenheim since the nineteenth century when Gerold Knewitz began estate bottling in 1976. The change attached the family name to wine bottled at the estate, after generations of work in the same village. Three decades later, Tobias Knewitz took over in 2007 after training at Geisenheim. Corina later joined Tobias, as did his brother Björn; Tobias and Björn are now identified as the cellar masters. The current range still carries place names from the Welzbachtal, including Appenheimer Kalkstein, Hundertgulden and Steinacker.

Final Word

Knewitz is worth seeking out for dry white wines that show their coordinates plainly: Appenheim, limestone, a named vineyard and a grape. Begin with Appenheimer Kalkstein Riesling, then compare it with a Hundertgulden or Steinacker Riesling when the chance arises.

Sources

Open Weingut Knewitz in the interactive map →