Working in a team is often one of those convenient phrases that appear in brochures and corporate speeches. In practice, there is almost always a leading figure and a supportive environment. However, at Stallmann-Hiestand, this concept is naturally reversed. The team is not a structure surrounding someone; it is the structure itself. And here, moreover, that team is a family. This time, the expression is not metaphorical.
Everything happens in Uelversheim, in Rheinhessen (Germany), within a house that not only functions as a winery but also serves as a living memory of the place. Beneath its walls lies a subterranean cellar around 250 years old, a space where the constant temperature reminds us that wine is an activity deeply rooted in time and generational continuity.
Werner Hiestand represents the generation that marked the turning point. He was the one who drove the transition from a mixed agricultural operation to a winery focused exclusively on wine, and he also went on to preside over the winegrowing organisation of Rheinhessen. Today, he maintains an active presence, especially in the vineyard and through direct engagement with the wine via tastings, but the daily operations no longer depend on him.
That role has been assumed by Christoph Hiestand, his son, educated at the University of Geisenheim. His responsibility encompasses the entire process, from fieldwork to the winery, where the prevailing idea is to intervene as little as possible to allow the origin to express itself with utmost clarity.
What makes this system work is not just the generational transition but also the way each role is distributed. Siglinde Hiestand, a wine-specialised journalist and Werner's wife, is the one who connects the winery with the outside world through tastings and events. Nora Hiestand, Christoph's wife, manages the economic and organisational aspects, ensuring the entire mechanism is viable.
The harvest is carried out manually, with strict selection already in the vineyard. In the winery, the process follows the same logic of restraint: gentle pressing, fermentations in stainless steel at low temperatures, and long durations that favour aromatic expression without losing tension. After fermentation, the wines remain in tanks on their fine lees, slowly refining, gaining texture without sacrificing definition or purity.
This way of working is clearly reflected in wines like Riesling Spätlese Trocken Tafelstein, originating from the Rhine terraces, in a vineyard with deep loess, limestone, and marl soils. There, everything begins in a natural balance between soil and climate and ends in a winery that avoids interfering more than necessary, allowing the wine to maintain its original identity.
In Stallmann-Hiestand Riesling Spätlese Trocken Tafelstein, there is no unnecessary weight or distracting sweetness. It is a riesling that leaves an impression of purity and a very uncommon sense of direction.