Wines still and sparkling

Taste of tradition and quality

Esslingen was an important winegrowing and wine-trading location in medieval times. Even today, still and sparkling wines from Esslingen are a feature of German and international wine tastings due to their phenomenal qualities.

Esslingen is a place you can take in with all of your senses at still and sparkling wine tastings, guided tours through the wine cellars with their vaulted ceilings, and walks up the vineyard slopes.

It is generally believed that monks brought winegrowing to the Neckar valley during the Middle Ages. The townsfolk were quick to realise the opportunities this new culture offered. The town became a centre for winegrowing and wine trading, and developed its own wealth upon wine.

Wine was a daily tipple in the rooms of the citizens and the workshops of the artisans. Even the poor dwellers of the hospital were given a generous ration. The Esslinger Eimer, or Esslingen Pail – which contains around three hundred litres – used to be the standard unit of measure in the South German wine trade, a further demonstration of the fame of Esslingen wine.

Around eighty-two of the original 1,200 hectares of winegrowing area are still used to grow grapes. However, it takes a lot of sweat to make this sweet liquid, as the wine slopes that surround the city are very steep. But it is worth the effort – Esslinger Lemberger has already been awarded the “Vaihinger Löwe” in the German competition for this wine type; and Trollinger is known as the quintessential Swabian red.

The longstanding winegrowing tradition attracted Georg Christian Kessler to Esslingen in 1826. The expert winegrower had previously learned the secrets of champagne-making at Veuve Clicquot in Reims. He founded the first cellar for sparkling wine in Germany in Esslingen’s old tithe cellar. Esslingen has not only been home to fine table wines, but also sparkling wines for more than 180 years. Even today, you will find precious bottles of sparkling wine stored in these huge cellars.

• Sektkellerei Kessler
• Weinkeller Webergasse 7
• Weinbau