The village of Graach and its vineyards

The village Graach enters written history in 975 AD. But the name "Graach" is of celtic origin and reflects the colonization of the Mosel area by the celtic tribe of "Treverer" around 500 BC. In those days Graach must have been an important settlement, for recent excavations revealed a hugh temple area on the hill just above the village.

Graach, the third largest wine growing community in the medieval territory of the Bishop and Elector of Trier, used to be dominated by large ecclesiastical properties. According to a list from 1720 the clergy had a 25% share of the total vineyards and, including some lower rural lordships, more than 1/3 of the land was in hands of the church. The vineyard names "Himmelreich", "Dompropst", "Abtsberg" and "Josefshöfer" are reminders of their one-time ecclesiastical masters.

As elsewhere in the Mosel, the rise of quality-orientated winegrowing started in 1803, when Emperor Napoleon I. expropriated most of the clerical domaines and sold the land to private individuals for little money. The integration of the Mosel area into the Prussian Kingdom after 1815 caused an economic uprise and the new landowners started to plant Riesling vines, to produce more quality than the commonly used "Kleinberger". The latter grape variety produced hugh volume of low quality to meet the high requirements of the quantity tax system of the time.

The Graach vineyards are geographically part of the great, six kilomters long slate mountain above the right bank of the river, reaching form Bernkastel, via Graach and Wehlen down to Zeltingen and incorporating such world-famous Riesling sites as: Berncasteler Doctor and Badstube, Graacher Dompropst and Himmelreich, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Zeltinger Sonnenuhr and Schloßberg. The vineyards of Graach have a total of 135 hectares and are planted nearly 100% with Riesling vines. The Graacher Himmelreich and Dompropst themselves cover 87 and 28,5 hectares respectively. The exposition is facing south-west and the soil consists of fresh weathering clay-slate.

Whereas the denominatio"Dompropst" directly refers to the Dean of the Trier Cathedral, who received 1/3 of the total tax, raised in Graach, the name "Himmelreich", literally "Kingdom of Heaven", implies that it is the vineyard which will fulfill all winegrowers hopes and wishes!

The property of Max Ferd. Richter in both vineyards dates from the beginning of the 19th. Century. The wines form Graach always show a full bodied and well structured character.