Outstanding Vinotheks

1990 was a year of change, as Germany rejoined East and West and 35-year-old Walter Schuh left the Mosel Valley to start his wine estate in a small village called Sörnewitz on the Elbe.

Don't worry! No one has to climb four hundred and one “Stäffele” - people outside Lembergerland would say "steps" - to get their wine at the top. That's what athletes do who meet once a year for a cross-country run.

The "Wein-Schatzkeller" from the Heilbronn Winegrowers Cooperative opened in May 2015 to immediate acclaim as an architectural jewel, with an airy feel that invites guests to relax and try new things, to explore and enjoy.

Swabians are a little different from other people. They have their own dialect and quaint words, for example, a ‘Kischtle’ for a six-carton case of the wine that grows on the slopes around Esslingen - a city that has its enchanting sides.

The Bihlmayers set up their new vinothek with love and dedication. The bright, open design with a sandstone colored floor and large windows overlooking the surrounding vineyards, was opened in 2015 after a year of construction.

A few years ago, Marcel Idler tried it with a Tiny House, one of those architectural miracles of space in which everything fits into a few square metres. It worked, that's true, and even won prizes, but it was really very small.

The "wine basket" catches every eye as it comes into view: a large trellised structure of wood and steel covering the three-story house like a second skin — a modern interpretation and architectural wordplay on the town name.

The strength of the church's influence in Zabergäu can be seen in the completely rebuilt vinothek, which was first opened in 2015. With an impressive barrel vault and imposing portals, it almost resembles a sacred building.