The fall and rise of the house of Hermannsberg

The name of Gut Hermannsberg may actually not ring a bell (yet) with too many lovers of German wine, so it might come in useful to know that this Nahe estate was once known as the Staatliche Weinbaudomäne Niederhausen-Schlossböckelheim. Founded in 1901 by the Kingdom of Prussia as a model estate to promote modern production methods, it was initially named Königlich Preussische Domäne Niederhausen-Thalböckelheim, but achieved greater fame after switching to the more prestigious village designation of Schlossböckelheim.

For many years the State Domaine was the biggest Nahe player by far, and it would be fair to say that, before...