Dönnhoff
- Location
- Oberhausen an der Nahe, Nahe
- Founded
- Familie seit über 250 Jahren an der Nahe
- Vineyard area
- 25 (VDP-Profil); 28 laut Word on the Grapevine ha
- Member of
- VDP (seit 1991)
Home of Riesling editorial team · researched on 24 September 2026
Profile
Based in Oberhausen for more than 250 years, this family estate became the internationally celebrated benchmark for Nahe Riesling under Helmut Dönnhoff, who made the wines from 1966; his son Cornelius took over with the 2007 vintage. The vineyards lie on very different soils – volcanic rock, slate, Buntsandstein – and include top sites such as the Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle. The Leistenberg, a steep south-east-facing site on grey, weathered clay slate in a side valley near Oberhausen, is reserved for Kabinett. Stylistically, the focus is on precision, clarity and fidelity to origin.
The people
Cornelius Dönnhoff (owner and cellar master); Helmut Dönnhoff (his father, winegrower since 1966)
Voices from the estate
From third-party interviews. These quotes come from interviews and profiles in other media, not from our own conversations. The source is given with each one.
Physiological ripeness is key to which wine will be made whereIf all the work is done in the winery then I may as well farm just one large single plotOur focus across all of our wines is to create wines with purity and clarityThe basis for exceptional wines are exceptional vineyards.