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

For me, good wine begins where you intervene as little as possible and trust the natural process. I don't use cultured yeasts: fermentation starts spontaneously, with the yeasts that come in from the vineyard. I use no fining agents and no enzymes. Most of my wines are bottled unfiltered. What ends up in the bottle is the unaltered expression of site, soil and vintage.