Modern architecture at the Mosel: 5 extraordinary wineries

Sebastian Lauff, architect and editor of the online architecture magazine archimag.de, has visited five architecturally outstanding vineyards at the Mosel and Saar. His journey combines wine, landscape and contemporary architecture.

The route took him from Luxembourg to Koblenz – along the picturesque roads of the Mosel Valley and through small wine-growing villages with spectacular steep slopes. In glorious weather, he gathered a wealth of impressions, from which he selected five particularly fascinating destinations for lovers of architecture and wine.

Set against the impressive backdrop of the vineyard in Kanzem stands the late Baroque “Cantzheim” manor house on the River Saar. The building was renovated and extended by the Swiss architect Max Dudler in accordance with existing listed building regulations. In addition to the conversion of the manor house, an orangery and a guest house have been built. These two new structures maintain a respectful distance from the manor house, thus providing space for Bernhard Korte’s understated landscape design. The house, dating from 1740, was originally built as a vineyard for Wadgassen Abbey and was long owned by the Episcopal Seminary in Trier; it was acquired by its current owners in 2007.

When asked why the manor house had been purchased and why a building project was being planned under the strict conditions of heritage protection, I learnt the answer from the son-in-law and current operator of the vineyard. “My father-in-law had always wanted to build.”

Initial discussions arose from personal contacts with the architect Oswald Mathias Unger. However, Mr Unger had to decline the commission due to his age. He did, however, refer the client to his former student, Max Dudler. Dudler drew up a design that respected the manor house’s Baroque architecture and removed any extraneous extensions. Inside the house, the original structure was left untouched and merely modernised in keeping with contemporary standards.

The technical equipment was housed entirely within the newly constructed carriage house. In terms of form and materials, the buildings are inspired by the landscape. The walls and roof of the two-storey carriage house are formed from handcrafted rammed concrete. These reflect the earthy tones of the surrounding hills. The orangery is constructed of steel and glass and serves as a counterpoint to the monolithic coach house. Its delicate structure echoes the verticality of the vines that dominate the landscape.

The Cantzheim Winery estate is used as a guest house, a winery wine shop, an events venue and a private residence. Three guest rooms and a separately accessed private flat are situated on the upper floor of the manor house. Two additional guest rooms are located on the upper floor of the coach house.

This wine shop was established following the handover of the F. J. Regnery winery to the next generation. The ‘old’ wine shop was already situated on the site, but it still retained the charm of the 1970s. It wasn’t unattractive, but customers’ expectations are changing, so the aim was to create something new and fresh. However, planning the project on the site with the limited space available was no easy task. 

“Nothing angular!”

That was the brief given by Andrea and Peter Regnery to architect Marco Hoffmann from Wittlich. The result is this new, intriguing wine bar, which was voted one of Germany’s top 50 wine bars by the German Wine Institute in 2016. The architecture was designed to create a welcoming atmosphere in which the warm-hearted hosts could showcase their first-class wines. The architect designed a barrel-shaped – or, to be more precise, teardrop-shaped – building on top of the old vaulted cellar, clad in a 6.30-metre-high curtain of rough-hewn, oiled oak beams.

Inside, visitors are greeted by the sales area with its counter, wooden benches and illuminated photographs behind glass. The walls are finished with a clay-and-reed render, giving the rooms a unique textured appearance, improving the indoor climate and ensuring pleasant acoustics. Upstairs, there are seating areas for cosy wine tastings and presentations. The upper room and terrace can be combined into a single open space using folding partitions. From here, visitors can enjoy views of the estate’s own Riesling and Pinot Noir vineyards on the steep slopes of the Klüsserather Bruderschaft.

To truly enjoy the wine and the countryside, a few hours in a wine shop simply aren’t enough. Rather, part of the experience is savouring the moment and taking time to unwind. The Longen-Schlöder Wine Cultural Heritage Centre therefore wanted to expand its capacity and create guest houses. But how do you find the right architect for this? For the Longen family, the search began, in principle, even before the desire to build arose.

“We kept noticing the same style of architecture time and again. And in most cases, this architecture was associated with Matteo Thun from South Tyrol. When we then decided to go ahead with the building project, we simply sent Mr Thun an email. We were delighted to receive a reply just a few hours later,” the Longen family told me.

They soon found a way to meet for the first time in Milan and agree on the framework for the project. Architect Matteo Thun took care of all the details remotely – from the design right through to the use of local materials. The planning authority was involved from the very beginning, and so the extension to the wine shop was completed in 2011, followed by the estate’s guest houses between 2011 and 2012.

The result is a collection of slate holiday homes, each with approximately 20 square metres of living space. The holiday homes feature a light, clean and minimalist design. As the 20 houses are situated on a plot of approximately 6,500 square metres amidst fruit trees, each house has been given a small garden with its own distinct theme. This ensures a high degree of privacy for the holiday homes. Holidaymakers can therefore choose between a shaded garden, a simple herb and cottage garden, an orchard or a rose garden.

This concept also impressed the jury of the 2013 Wein Architecture Prize, which awarded the project first place. As well as delicious wine and a peaceful spot to enjoy some time out, the food here is also excellent. I was able to see this for myself during my trip whilst enjoying a light lunch.

The Barth family’s aim was to create a venue for wine tastings. They do not come from a family with a centuries-old tradition of winemaking, but, as newcomers to the industry, are bringing a breath of fresh air to the Lubentiushof vineyard.

The plan was to partially demolish the old barn and replace it with a space for presenting the wines. Unlike the Upper Moselle, the valley here is narrow and the plots of land are small. The building therefore rises over three storeys on a floor area of 27.5 square metres and leans against the existing walls of the neighbouring buildings. The old walls are complemented by exposed concrete, steel, glass and timber – a mix of materials that was very important to the client.

On the ground floor, this creates a wine-tasting room opening onto a small courtyard, which can be fully opened up using folding panels. A steel-and-wood staircase, whose design takes account of the limited space, leads up to the house’s office on the upper floor. From this point onwards, the façade is clad in timber, shielding the interior from outside view without obstructing the view. The top floor then provides accommodation.

“Our bathroom here is probably the one with the most beautiful view on the Moselle,” says the client, who worked as an interior designer before owning a vineyard. This explains her extremely keen eye for detail. Every aspect and every detail has been considered, discarded and reconsidered. And yet you don’t notice this in the rooms. You simply get the feeling that everything here is just right.

“It’s important to me that guests feel at home. They shouldn’t be able to see how much work has gone into the details. Rather, they should get the intuitive sense that everything here is just right and fits perfectly.”

The last winery I would like to introduce is also the most recent building I visited on my trip; this new facility at the Van Volxem winery is intended to support nothing less than the production of wines in the tradition of Saar wines from around 1900. With great idealism and ambition, Roman Niewodniczanski took over the winery in 2000 and has run it very successfully ever since. The new production facility was then opened in 2019.

The new winery is situated amidst the estate’s own vineyards in Wiltingen on the Saar and was built on the site of an existing wine cellar. The design drew on materials from the surrounding area, particularly slate, and the building was carefully integrated into the natural landscape and the interplay between old and new – namely, the original winery villa on the Wiltingen Schlossberg.

Natural stone plays an important role not only in the building’s exterior design. The façade of the building complex is clad in light-coloured shell limestone and, by foregoing any further treatment, meets the highest sustainability standards. “A building complex that shapes and enriches the Saar landscape,” says owner Roman Niewodniczanski.

The building complex, comprising production and presentation facilities, has been designed in such a way that it not only blends effortlessly into the natural surroundings but also accommodates the production processes. The team led by cellar master Christoph Friedrich works here – just as they did around 1900 – relying exclusively on gravity.

Although only two storeys high, the tower-like ‘Monolith’ is the winery’s most striking building and is modelled on the ‘Bismarck Tower’ situated on the opposite slope. It is connected underground to the production building via the wooden barrel cellar, thereby creating – almost as an added bonus – a courtyard area with a terrace that invites visitors to linger and allows them to experience the area’s unique scenic beauty. 

Four key areas of the building draw every visitor ever deeper into the world of this award-winning wine. The wine bar, located on the ground floor of the ‘Monolith’, invites visitors to enjoy a glass of wine. Even here, visitors can enjoy a spectacular panoramic view of the vineyards in the romantic old arm of the River Saar. The Panorama Room on the upper floor of the ‘Monolith’ easily tops the view from the wine bar. The client, who – despite being a layman – took full charge of the senior site management, had an 8.6-metre-wide glass pane custom-made to ensure the perfect view. “The thing weighs 1.8 tonnes. At the start, it wasn’t at all clear whether such a pane could even be manufactured.”

The hall is designed for wine tastings, events hosted by Michelin-starred chefs, as well as private functions. The barrel cellar is the centrepiece of the entire estate. All the walls are constructed entirely of natural stone, designed to evoke the vineyard walls typical of the Moselle region. The wooden barrels, bespoke-made from timber sourced from the Eifel forests, are a real eye-catcher – and not just for wine lovers. In the basement of the ‘Monolith’ lies the rare wines cellar. Here, selected vintages and wines from prime vineyard sites mature over many years in tanks arranged in a honeycomb pattern, developing into true rarities.

Throughout all this, environmental and social sustainability are given the highest priority. In line with this commitment to sustainability, the utmost care is taken to conserve natural resources in all areas of production. Heat is generated via a wood chip heating system. Generating our own electricity using a photovoltaic system – which is, of course, concealed from view and installed on the main roof – is now almost taken for granted. Even the rainwater that falls on the large roof surfaces is collected in a pond with natural vegetation and reused.