A. Christmann
About A. Christmann
The beautiful winery and home of the Christmann family can be found in the town of Gimmeldingen.This quaint little village is in the centre of the Mittelhaart of the Pfalz, about an hour from Frankfurt & half an hour from Strasbourg, in the Palantine, that lies on the Rhine River and connects Alsace in the north to Rheinhessen in the south.
The story of this brilliant and historic estate dates back to the 16th Century and the French Republic that once ruled the village of Gimmeldingen as well as the greater Palantine region.
In 1798 the area was transformed after the local nobility fled, and after the church were relieved of their sovereign rights.Georg Köhler, an ancient ancestor of the Christmann family, seized the opportunity to acquire some land and laid the original foundations of what would become the Christmann estate that we know and adore today.
Skip forward a few hundred years & a few generations to the present day, and the estate today is managed under the watchful eye of the superstar father-&-daughter duo that is Steffen & Sophie Christmann.
About Steffen & Sophie Christmann
Today, father and daughter Steffen and Sophie Christmann manage the winery. Steffen had his start in a successful career in Law, but in 1996, found his way back to his roots when he became the figurehead of the family’s estate, taking over from his father Fritz. He came on board with one mission: to turn the estate into one of the most quality driven & innovative growers in the whole of Germany. As the 7th generation of the family, he was set to guide the estate forward, with a keen eye for detail in the vineyard. In 2002, Steffen felt it was important for the family site to follow biodynamic principles, and in 2015 became a prominent member of the Respekt-Biodyn – a group of likeminded quality focused producers that strive to express their vineyards in the best possible manner, following biodyanamic methods.
Much like her father, Sophie Christmann takes a progressive approach to winemaking and viticulture. After completing her studies in Geisenheim & Bordeaux, and having honed her craft at various growers in Germany (Weingut Huber) & Australia (Grosset), Sophie was drawn back to the family estate in 2018 and became the 8th generation to enter the winery. Bringing in new ideas from around the world, Sophie has formed a true partnership with her father, and helps push the estate to new levels. She has been the spearhead of a renewed focus on Spätburgunder, which was once grown purely to tick a ‘red wine box’, but is today one of the most exciting and thrilling projects we know of.