In the early 1980s, Stefan Rumpf’s vineyard was the first on the Nahe river to plant Chardonnay vines as he thought that the climate and soil of the lower Nahe valley would provide an ideal basis for this grape variety. He deserved to be right and he was!

At the Kruger-Rumpf winery we are constantly experimenting. However not all of what we do is entirely new. Sometimes we revert to traditional methods and modify them. Some these traditional methods were in use over a hundred years ago.

For example, we wanted to revive the use of wooden barrels. We experimented extensively with grape varieties, types of wood, the degree of toasting, what we filled the barrels with and cooperage... until we achieved the desired result.

We also refill the wines from one barrel into the other and we fill our Pinot Noir without filtering.

Much of what defines the Kruger-Rumpf winery today is the result of experimentation - like the Blanc de Noir, which we have been growing since the early 1990s.

Experimentation is as much a part of the Kruger-Rumpf winery as preserving tradition is. We like to try out new things. Sometimes these new things are traditional methods. It just has to suit us and feel right.

It is important to us that this central theme is clearly visible at the winery and in our wines.

Our father studied agronomy almost 40 years ago, including the keeping and breeding of livestock. He dreamed of retiring and raising sheep and goats.

In 2013 we laid out the vineyard terraces on the steepest part of the Münster Rheinberg. We wanted to carry out the planting with as little use of pesticides as possible while at the same time trying to avoid burdening the soil with heavy machinery.

A conservation project in the Middle Rhine area grabbed our attention where green areas were kept in check using grazing goats. We were very excited.

We are convinced that in an agricultural scenario, farm animals can make an essential contribution to a circular recycling economy.

We therefore put five Boer goats to graze in our vineyards. After they escaped several times, we switched to Heidschnucken sheep.

To start with having goats worked really well. Alas, escaping became part of their daily routine and, for us, catching them was too exhausting long term. Now we keep Heidschnucken in the vineyard, and they have proven themselves to be very diligent workers.

We now have between ten and twenty sheep and lambs grazing in the vineyard, depending on the season. This works well for us, especially where the vineyard terraces are steep like in Langenberg and Rheinberg.