Honest wines
Winery Forsthof, Steinheim/Kleinbottwar
The wine estate Forsthof has existed since 1758. While initially manufacturing various products, the enterprise has evolved into a pure wine-growing estate in the past 30 to 40 years. The company’s 11 hectares of vineyards are in the competent hands of wine grower Andreas Roth and the entire Roth family.
Roth follows his own path and is continuously preparing the enterprise for future challenges. In 2003 the sales rooms and taprooms were modernized and a new winery was built. The cellar for wood barrels was modernized in 2006. “We always try to expand and remodel ourselves”, Roth describes his investments.
Since 2012 the wines of the estate have been certified under the strict "Naturland-Bio" guidelines. For Roth, "Bio" is not only a seal. The wine maker lives the responsibility contained in these guidelines. “For us, organic farming means more work on the vineyard”, he explains. “We do not want to maximise quantity, but quality.” A quality that needs to be preserved and cultivated in the cellar, and in order to to that, high quality storage products are a basic requirement.
The estate includes a modern sales room and a wine tasting room, the tavern as well as a barn. Also bigger events can be organised in the idyllic location. The Forsthof produces between 70.000 and 75.000 litres wine annually. In recent years the estate has been growing steadily, despite of some constant challenges posed by the grapes in the past years. “We had to use all our sophistication and know-how to get the best out of the grapes”, Roth describes the effort put into the recent vintages.
The Forsthof’s main grape varieties are Riesling, Pinot Noir and Trollinger, but also Merlot has been grown for a long time. In addition, the fungus-resistant varieties Cabernet and Muscaris are important to Roth.
The winemaker describes his own wines as “honest”. Since Roth does not want “commonplace and impersonal wines”, he aims to preserve the individual character of each single variety and "elaborate" the structures of the grapes. Roth’s goal is to preserve the Forsthof as it is. “The size of our enterprise allows a well-balanced alternation of tasks. If we were bigger, we would have to deal with more administration.” For Roth, the preservation of the high quality of his wines is more important than sales figures.
