Winery : Brennfleck
A sense of tradition, a clear commitment to the spirit of the times and a love of detail characterize the winery and the wines of the Brennflecks. “Clear, simple and self-assured” describes the minimalist cubic building with its exposed concrete walls and the philosophy of the wines pressed there.
A sense of tradition, a clear commitment to the spirit of the times and a love of detail characterize the winery and the wines of Hugo and Susanne Brennfleck. The married couple from the Franconian wine town of Sulzfeld am Main, represent the 13th generation of vintners in this family-run winery and have been running the business since 1998.
The heart of the Brennfleck winery is the heritage-listed late Medieval estate. This made the challenge of integrating the renovation and extension of the press house into the existing ensemble all the greater. Not only in connection with the original estate, but also in relation to the small historical winemaking village where it is situated. This was not an easy task for the designers from the Dold + Versbach architecture firm in Giebelstadt, but in conjunction with the initiative, courage and willingness to innovate of the Brennflecks, Sulzfeld is now all the richer for this architectural highlight.
The old vaulted cellars of the winery, dating back to 1479, had not only to be preserved, but also connected to the modern press house. Therefore, a new building, whose pure design deliberately stood out from the historical context, was built. The design also makes it possible to observe almost the entire winemaking process.
"Clear, simple and self-assured” is how the owners describe the cubic building with its exposed concrete walls. The same spirit is then implemented in the philosophy of the wines pressed there. “The use of top-quality materials and a minimalist aesthetic lends the wine a certain harmony and brings unity to the overall picture. Now the customer can not only explore the vineyards, but also get an insight into the processing and cellar work,”explain Hugo and Susanne Brennfleck, "and that is of great interest."
The building materials are as minimalist as the form: wood from the estate’s own forest, glass, sober exposed concrete on the exterior and interior walls, and shell limestone from the region at the interface to the original building. An unusual design solution can be seen with the tunnel-like ramp to the cellar. Due to its successful symbiosis of tradition and modernity, the press house of the Brennfleck winery, completed in 2008, has received several awards, including in 2010 as part of the Wine Architecture Awards.
