Weingut J. Neus

Wine trader J. (Josef) Neus had a “nose” for unique terroir in 1881 and also had historical awareness. He based his winery in Ingelheim and built up a wine business with roughly 70 hectares. J. Neus also developed his own pinot noir clone that is used today by Weingut J. Neus itself and by others in Rheinhessen. According to experts, this clone gives the Ingelheimer pinot noir a more “Burgundian” character. This includes notes of red currant and cherry instead of the more classic 'German' taste which is more towards strawberry and plum and has less tannins. It is a clone in which the vines grow almost vertically, making the tying work easy. The bunches are compact, the grapes are small and have a thick skin.

Over the years, Weingut J. Neus (VDP) fell into decline and Ingelheim's Spätburgunder was not being sold anymore. When there was also no successor from within the family, the family sold the company in 2012 to a building contractor from Mainz. He planned to smash everything to the ground and build apartments on the site where (today still) the monumental Villa Neus stands.

Fortunately, there was wine enthusiast Christian Schmitz. He managed to take over Weingut J. Neus, and save it from destruction. For a few years now, the talented top winemaker Toni Frank has been in charge of vinification of the wines. We met Toni in spring 2024 and were actually “ instantly hooked. What a talented winemaker and what quirky, elegant, pure wines with modest wood influence and what an intriguing history! Since 2015 -witness the reviews in the wine guides- the company is clearly on the rise again. It now has around 12 hectares and produces (only) 50,000 bottles annually.

The cellar under the house is the largest “Gewölbekeller” in Rheinhessen.

A unique terroir - Ingelheim
The vineyards around Ingelheim (Rheinhessen) had world fame at the end of the 19th century. On wine lists in London, the Ingelheim Spätburgunders fetched the same price as Gevrey-Chambertin from Burgundy! Thereby, the terroir consists mainly of limestone deposited millions of years ago in a sea. A limestone reef: unique to Rheinhessen.

Charlemagne - Charles the Great - in Ingelheim
Charlemagne's kingdom was too extensive to rule from one location. Therefore, in several places he had so called “Keizerpfaltzen,” you could call it a mobile place of government. It is even whispered that Charlemagne - King of Franconia - was born in Ingelheim. Charles the Great supported viticulture and even then mainly red grape varieties were planted. In fact, in the centuries that followed, Ingelheim never lost this tradition for pinot noir. This makes it one of the German locations with a very long tradition of red wine. Assmannshausen (Rheingau) and Bürgstadt am Main (Franconia) also fit into that list.