| The vineyard has
a very old tradition, which goes back on the mother’s
side of the current owner Otto Schaetzel. This
was the Schlamp family. In 1475 the family was
granted a Coat of Arms as recognition for extreme
and outstanding achievements. It shows the Ostrich,
which symbolises indigenous flexibility and greatness.
The three roses stand for good thinking, beauty
and nobility. This Coat of Arms is still used
today on all the wine labels.
Since 1850 the Schlamp family has grown and produced
wine in Nierstein. By the end of the 19th century
the family owned 3 great vineyards and one champagne
factory and already exported wine to England and
America.
During the two World Wars they lost all the male
members of their family. Otto Schaetzel’s
grandfather died as an Officer during the First
World War and his two sons died as Officers during
the Second World War. Only Otto Schaetzel’s
mother, Lisel Schaetzel, born Schlamp, survived.
She married into the Schaetzel vineyard in Guntersblum
in 1946. Up to 1976 Otto Schaetzel’s grandmother
owned this vineyard and in 1978 Otto Schaetzel
and his wife, Nanne Schaetzel, took over the running
of the vineyard in Nierstein and started working
under the name of Schlamp-Schaetzel.
They stuck to their traditions of creating handmade
wines, in particular white wines. In 1985 Otto
Schaetzel was made a professor by the Weinbau
educational establishment in Oppenheim. Since
2000 Otto Schaetzel has been the director of the
Stats research institute for wine growing, horticulture,
farming and agriculture. His three son’s,
Kai born in 1979, Jan born in 1981 and Dirk born
in 1982, together with their mother Nanne, run
the vineyard today and produce the highest quality
of German Wine.
Historically since 1350 the Schaetzel family
has also been active in wine making and has had
the family vineyards in Guntersblum and Selzen
since 1648. In 1950 Otto Schaetzel’s grandfather
received the title of an Economy Senator for outstanding
wine growing of the Silvaner grape.
In the year 2000 the family celebrated their
650th year and created a ‘Jubilee Cuvee’
from the Riesling and the Silvaner grape.
Today the vineyard goes under the name of Schaetzel-Nierstein.
Since 1996 the Schaetzel’s have been producing
a wine which has been influenced more and more
by the sons tastes while still being combined
with old traditional wine making methods.
All wines are grown on 6 hectares of land, mostly
Riesling and Silvaner but now also red wines such
as Spaetburgunder and Portugieser. The wine gets
its special and unique character from being grown
in small quantities, by being gently and selectively
harvested and fermented by a traditional but innovative
economic system in new and old oak barrels in
the 600 year old vaulted underground cellar.
Tradition is the central element of the Schaetzel
family’s attitude of wine production. Their
traditional grape growing is in the best, steep
slope vineyards of the 1250 year old wine producing
town of Nierstein, on the River Rhine, the vineyards
there gain the excellent exposure and favourable
micro climates of this region.
The Schaetzel Philosophy:
“We concentrate on developing the best
wines in the Niersteiner Red Hill region, especially
the Riesling and Silvaner to create a better and
better wine. We want tradition and progress to
work in coexistence with each other.”
Otto Schaetzel
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