Visit Bürgerspital Würzburg in Germany’s Franken wine region
We discover this iconic world-famous wine estate, Weingut Bürgerspital, in the beautiful wine city of Würzburg
Weingut Bürgerspital - Source: Winekeller
The centre of Germany’s Franken wine region is the baroque festival town of Würzburg, one of the greatest wine cities in Europe and home to some top vineyard sites and several iconic, world-famous wine estates.
You can’t visit the Franken wine region in Germany’s Bavaria without visiting historic Würzburg and to appreciate Franken wine, a visit to arguably its most famous and historic wine estate, Bürgerspital, is a must. We did just that - read on to see what we discovered!
Watch the video here:
About Bürgerspital Würzburg
Weingut Bürgerspital is a world-famous VDP wine estate with 120 hectares of vineyards and over 700 years of history and tradition, making it one of the oldest wine estates in Germany and Europe. The winery is also part of a charity and private foundation - ‘Stiftung Bürgerspital zum Heiligen Geist’, which was established in Würzburg in 1316.
Stiftung Bürgerspital zum Heiligen Geist
This famous Würzburg charity, one of the oldest in Germany, was set up by wealthy Würzburger citizens, who donated their private property to a facility to care for the city’s sick and elderly and its mission remains unchanged. In fact today it is the largest provider of care homes and senior citizen facilities in Würzburg and one of the city’s largest employers. The charitable activities are largely funded by the proceeds from property management and the winery, Weingut Bürgerspital. Learn more about the foundation’s history here.
In the Weingut Bürgerspital cellars - Source: Winekeller
Weingut Bürgerspital
Weingut Bürgerspital is a ‘VDP’ wine estate - one of some 200 top wine estates in Germany producing wines from the top vineyard sites in the country. The VDP label on a bottle of German wine signifies a top quality wine.
For more information about Germany’s VDP classification system see here.
Bürgerspital is known for its special, premium vineyard sites in the Franken wine region in and around Würzburg and especially its Bürgerspital Silvaner ‘Stein’ wines and its Pfaffenberg wines.
The top wines are sold in the famous and distinctive, flat, squat ‘bocksbeutel’ bottles.
The estate produces approximately 1 million bottles of wine each year and only about 5-6% of the production is exported. Weingut Bürgerspital is certified sustainable and organic processes are followed in the vineyard and the cellar.
Bürgerspital vineyards
Beautiful Bürgerspital vineyards, Würzburg - Source: Winekeller
Weingut Bürgerspital produces wine from 120 hectares of prime vineyards, all single vineyards and 90% located in Würzburg, on the banks of the River Main.
The unique limestone soils, rich in fossil shells and known in German as ‘Muschelkalk’, in these special vineyards define the Bürgerspital wines and give them their unique characteristics.
According to the German VDP classification the Bürgerspital vineyards are classified as VDP Erste Lage (premium sites - similar to ‘Premier Cru’) and VDP Grosse Lage (the very best vineyard sites - similar to ‘Grand Cru’).
See the Bürgerspital vineyard sites here.
Würzburg Stein vineyard
The world-famous ‘Erste Lage’ Würzburger Stein vineyard which looks over the city, is the largest single vineyard in Germany (85 hectares) and within this site, Bürgerspital has its own ‘monopole’ Grand Cru or Grosse Lage vineyard site ‘Stein Harfe’. This produces some of the estate’s top, premium Franken Silvaner and Riesling wines.
The name ‘Steinwein’ was used historically for all Franken wines and wines produced from grapes grown in this world-famous vineyard, ‘Wine from Stein’, have been cultivated by the top three large Würzburg wineries since the beginning (Bürgerspital, Juliusspital and the Staatliche Hofkeller) - this is what makes Würzburg and Franken wines so special.
The world-famous Würzburger Stein vineyard - Source: Winekeller
Bürgerspital wines
Again, following the VDP classification, Bürgerspital produces a range of mainly Silvaner and Riesling wines across the 4 VDP quality categories, ‘Gutswein’, ‘Ortswein’, ‘Erste Lage’ and ‘Grosse Lage’. The every day ‘Gutswein’ wines are bottled in the standard bottles, all of the others are produced in the distinctive Franconian wine bottles, the ‘bocksbeutel’.
Bürgerspital also produces a smaller range of wines from other grape varieties, as well as a range of sweet wines and some Sekt sparkling wines. See the full range here.
Our visit to Weingut Bürgerspital
Discovering the famous Bürgerspital vineyards with Robert McGregor
We spent two fascinating hours at Weingut Bürgerspital, hosted by Export Manager, Robert McGregor.
We started by doing a tour of some of the Bürgerspital vineyards - you can easily visit the famous Würzburger Stein site by yourself and enjoy the fabulous views across the city of Würzburg. There are lovely walking paths through the Stein vineyard as well as the Innere Leiste vineyard which took us from our hotel to the Marienberg Fortress (see later).
Following our tour of the vineyards we returned to the beautiful, historic Bürgerspital winery and cellars in the centre of Würzburg, where Robert proceeded to show us around the winery and the historic cellars. The highlight was viewing the very special 1540 Steinwein - the oldest white wine in the world and the last remaining bottle of this legendary vintage.
After our cellar tour Robert led us through a fabulous tasting of various Bürgerspital Silvaner and Riesling wines, including single vineyard wines, all fermented in large oak casks and some special Grosses Gewächs wines (from the Grosse Lage vineyards), from 50+ year old vines.
We also tasted the Stein Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) and Stein Chardonnay wines and a fabulous sweet wine, the Würzburger Rieslaner Spätlese, with just 8% alcohol.
Overall we were very impressed with all of the wines - they were superb. It was a fabulous tasting!
For details about visiting Weingut Bürgerspital for a tour and tasting, see here.
Visiting the Bürgerspital Weinhaus
Just around the corner from the Bürgerspital cellars is the Bürgerspital Weinhaus - a shop or vinothek - where you can browse, taste and purchase the Bürgerspital wines, as well as enjoy some traditional snacks or a meal.
The Bürgerspital Weinhaus is an institution in Würzburg and we can highly recommend spending some time there!
Spending time in Würzburg
Whilst in Würzburg we took the time to visit two of the most famous city sights: the Würzburg Residence with its Court Gardens and Residence Square as well as the imposing Marienberg Fortress which dominates over the city.
Würzburg Residence
The Würzburg Residence Palace is one of Europe’s most renowned Baroque castles and was registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 1981. This enormous palatial building was one of the most magnificent in Germany and one of the most important palaces in Central Europe before the Second World War, when it was sadly destroyed (as was much of Würzburg). It has now however been beautifully restored to its former glory.
Würzburg Residence and gardens - Source: Winekeller
Highlights of the palace include the magnificent Central Staircase with its incredibly beautiful ceiling painting by the Venetian artist Giovanni B, the ornate White Hall filled with its stucco decorations and the grand Imperial Hall with its stunning furnishings, marble work and its large dome. You can also visit the impressive Hofkirche church (when there are no church services).
Equally as beautiful and impressive as the interior of the palace, the gardens are a key feature of any visit to the Würzburg Residence. The palace gardens are spectacular, with beautiful sculptures, neatly trimmed hedges, colourful flowers and relaxing fountains.
We suggest taking a guided tour round the Residence Palace to get the most from your visit.
The grand Residence Square in front of the palace is also very impressive and from here you can also visit the Staatliche Hofkeller - one of the oldest wineries in Germany and the world.
Marienberg Fortress (Festung Marienberg Würzburg)
Marienberg Fortress dominates the skyline of Würzburg. The fortress was built on a hill overlooking the city, and its construction began in the late 12th century. Over the centuries, it was expanded and modified several times, including significant additions in the Renaissance and Baroque styles.
Today, the fortress is a popular tourist attraction and serves as a museum. Visitors can tour the castle’s various rooms and exhibits, which include displays on the history of the fortress, the bishops of Würzburg, and the art and culture of the region.
One of the main highlights however, are the panoramic views of Würzburg and the surrounding area from the castle walls.
Old Main Bridge (Alte Mainbrücke Würzburg)
We also made time to visit the famous, historic bridge over the River Main - the ‘Alte Mainbrücke’, which is a focal meeting point in the city, with wonderful views across the vineyards and up to the Marienberg Fortress. The bridge was erected from 1473 to 1543 and the distinctive 12 statues of saints were added around 1730.
The beautiful Alte Mainbrücke and Marienkapelle church, Würzburg - Source: Winekeller
We spent time there in the evening and there was a wonderful environment with lots of people simply enjoying the setting, some local wines and good company!
We can highly recommend a popular restaurant located right on the bridge called ‘Alte Mainmuehle’ - here you can enjoy a great atmosphere, traditional food and excellent wines.
Hotels in Würzburg
We stayed at the 3 star superior Hotel Wittelsbacher Höh, a popular hotel and restaurant located on the hill above the city with views across to the famous Würzburger Stein vineyard. What we also particularly enjoyed is the hotel’s proximity to the Marienberg Fortress - just a 30 minute stroll through the vineyards!
Conclusion
We fell in love with Würzburg and were just blown away by Weingut Bürgerspital! Not only are the wines exceptional - with grapes from some of the best vineyards in the world, add to that the size and scale of this winery and its incredible history and that’s a great story in itself! But then consider the charitable purpose that is the foundation to everything at Weingut Bürgerspital, then you have something very special. We encourage you to visit and experience for yourself!
