This traditional winery with a history stretching back many centuries is located in the municipality of Wallhausen in the German wine-growing region of Nahe. It is the oldest family-owned vineyard in Germany in uninterrupted family ownership. The oldest known document on the vineyard ownership of the Dalberg family (which at that time still called itself Weierbach) comes from a property register of the year 1200 with the designation "Wingert in Summelachen" (today Sommerloch), or vineyard on "Breitwiesen" in 1217. The great-grandmother of Felix Prinz zu Salm-Salm, the present owner, was the last Dalberg. She married Prince Franz zu Salm-Salm in 1911. Michael Prinz zu Salm-Salm, the father of Prince Felix zu Salm-Salm, was president of the VDP (Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates) from 1990 to 2007, of which the winery is a long-standing member.
The vineyards on the Nahe comprise 11.5 hectares of vines in the single vineyard sites Berg (Roxheim), Felseneck and Johannisberg (Wallhausen), Ritterhölle (Dalberg) and Steinrossel (Sommerloch). The conversion to organic viticulture was completed as early as 1995. Among other things, a year-round cover crop is used in the vineyards to ensure the natural nitrogen supply of the soil and the vines. Additional nutrients are added exclusively through organic fertilisation, which is why mineral fertilisation can be completely dispensed with.
In 2006, the former Villa Sachsen winery in Bingen in the Rheinhessen growing region became the sole property of the Prinz zu Salm-Salm family. After the cellar in Bingen was closed down in 2011, the wines are vinified in Wallhausen. Until the 2011 vintage, the wines were marketed under the RHEINGRAF label. With the 2012 vintage, the winery was then fully integrated. The vineyards cover 10 hectares of vines in the Kirchberg and Scharlachberg vineyards in Bingen. From the 2012 vintage onwards, this farm was also converted to organic viticulture.
Around three quarters of the vineyards in the Bingen and Wallhausen sites are planted with Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Scheurebe and Merlot. All wines from both farms bear the Prinz Salm label - with the origin Nahe or Rheinhessen. Around 65% are vinified dry, 30% semi-dry and 5% residual sweet. At the top of the quality pyramid are Rieslings from the Grossen Lagen Felseneck and Johannisberg (Wallhausen) in Nahe and Kirchberg and Scharlachberg (Bingen) in Rheinhessen, as well as the Erste Lagen Steinrossel (Sommerloch), Ritterhölle (Dalberg) and Berg (Roxheim) on the Nahe. These are the only ones to bear the vineyard name on the label. Around 40% of the wines are fermented and matured in traditional wooden barrels; only Pinot Noir and Merlot are matured in barriques. The winery is a member of die Güter.
