The Thanisch & Son winery is situated on the steep banks of the Mosel in the idyllic village of Lieser across the river from Bernkastel. The family-owned vineyard has produced wine since 1648 and has been operated by Jörg Thanisch since 2001, when he took over the estate from his father Ludwig.

The Thanisch family can be traced back to the Thirty Year War, when a village with the name of Thanisch existed between the towns of Bernkastel and Trarbach near the Mosel. Sometime between 1630 and 1640, a traveler brought the plague to the town, killing its entire population with the exception of one citizen, who later named himself after the village of his ill-fated ancestors.

The estate grows grapes on 5.5 hectares, yielding approximately 60,000 bottles a year. Most commonly planted is Riesling (75%), followed by Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir. Jörg Thanisch’s zeal is a high quality, limited production harvest that produces a great classic Mosel-Riesling. The wines are fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks using natural yeast and are filtered only once before bottling. The estate also produces champagnes following traditional French methods.

Jörg Thanisch has already won many awards in both state and federal competitions and is considered at the forefront of a group of up-and-coming young Mosel vintners.

The winery’s premier vineyard in Lieser is the Niederberg-Helden, which consists of the formerly separate vineyards of Niederberg, Helden and Süssenberg. The steep location consists mostly of slate and possesses a microclimate that is very conducive to noble sweet wines.

The Brauneberger Juffer is one of the Mosel vineyards with a truly global reputation and was already considered by Napoleon as a premier location. The site is extremely steep with 80% inclines and mostly south-facing. The iron-rich slate soil has all the characteristics that produce a complex, full-bodied wine of the characteristic Mosel minerality.