The Winemaker

Katrin Wind

Garage winemaker, wine craftswoman, lover of Riesling and Pinot Noir — in Arzheim on the Southern Wine Route since 2013.

Katrin Wind · Arzheim

Biography

From Lecture Hall to the Garage

I studied oenology at Geisenheim University — the home of German wine science. After five years at a large, established winery, my family and I decided to start over: a small family vineyard in Arzheim, a garage, and the ambition to make wines without compromise.

The decision was deliberate. Big cellars and rows of machinery mean efficiency — but also distance from the wine. In my small cellar I stand right next to every barrel, I know every lot, and I decide wine by wine whether it gets bottled or not.

Today I farm 8 hectares around the Kleine Kalmit and in the Arzheim sites. Every grape is hand-picked, every wine fermented spontaneously with wild yeasts, and most are bottled unfiltered. The result: wines that taste of origin — not of technique.

"I want honest wines — wines that taste of the place they grew. If a vintage was cooler, you should be able to taste it in the glass. That's not a weakness — that's origin."

Katrin Wind

Philosophy

Honest wines that taste of where they come from

In the Vineyard

For me, organic farming isn't a question of certificates — it's a matter of course. My vines grow on soils that have, in part, been in the family for generations. I treat every parcel on its own terms — by soil, site, grape and vintage. Selective hand-harvesting means every grape is judged on its own. What doesn't convince ends up on the ground.

In the Cellar

Low-intervention means to me: as little as possible, as much as necessary. No cultured yeasts — fermentation starts spontaneously with the yeasts from the vineyard. No fining agents. No enzymes. I bottle most wines unfiltered. What ends up in the bottle is the unadulterated expression of site, soil and vintage.