Weingut Alte Grafschaft is a family estate in Kreuzwertheim, on the river Main between Frankfurt and Würzburg. Our 14 hectares lie on both sides of the border between Franconia and Baden, on red sandstone and shell limestone, some on slopes of up to 60 percent. We grow dry Pinot Noir, Riesling, Pinot Blanc and Silvaner. The wines ferment spontaneously and take their time in a vaulted cellar built in 1594. The Spielmann family runs the estate together with Jérôme Legras of Champagne Legras & Haas. Our winemaker Julius Spielmann was named Falstaff Newcomer of the Year 2026.
This page gathers what importers, retailers and sommeliers need: facts, critics, tech sheets, pictures and contacts.
Weingut Alte Grafschaft
Steep-slope wines from Franconia and Baden · Information for importers, retailers and sommeliers
Location | Kreuzwertheim, Bavaria, Germany – on the Main, opposite the town of Wertheim
Estate | house and vaulted cellar built in 1594; Alte Grafschaft since 2010
Owners | the Spielmann family and Jérôme Legras of Champagne Legras & Haas
Winemaker | Julius Spielmann, since the 2020 vintage
Vineyards | about 14 hectares in five vineyards: Kaffelstein in Franconia; Satzenberg, Ebenrain, Sonnenberg and First in Baden (Tauberfranken)
Soils | red sandstone (Buntsandstein) and shell limestone (Muschelkalk)
Slopes | up to 60 percent; the Satzenberg terraces are held by more than 16 km of dry-stone walls
Grape varieties | Pinot Noir (main variety), Riesling, Pinot Blanc and Silvaner
Vineyard work | hand harvest, no herbicides, green cover; in conversion to organic farming since 2024, first certified organic vintage 2027
Cellar | spontaneous fermentation, long lees ageing, many wines unfiltered
Style | all wines are dry
Range | village wines and single-vineyard wines; large formats up to 5 litres
Annual production | ~ 50.000
Export | importers in ten countries in Europe, Asia and North America
At a glance
Facts for your files
History and cellar
Since 1594 in Kreuzwertheim
Peter Herrschaft, magistrate and wine merchant of Kreuzwertheim, built our house in 1594 above a vaulted cellar. In 1630 the cellar was enlarged to store wine for the troops of the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus. A year later the king visited the cellar himself. From 1662 the estate belonged to the house of Löwenstein, who later ran their court cellar here. In 2010 the Spielmann family bought the estate and named it Alte Grafschaft, after the former County of Wertheim to which all our vineyards once belonged. Since then, wine from our own vineyards has been made in this cellar again.
Today the cellar covers around 700 square metres in four parts, each with its own climate. Pinot Noir matures in barriques beneath the main house. Pinot Blanc and Silvaner age in wood beneath the bottling house. Riesling ferments in stainless steel in the coolest part, beneath the courtyard. Between them lies the Swedish cellar, named after Gustavus Adolphus. We bottle a wine only when it is ready, many of them unfiltered.
The families
Spielmann and Legras · connected for almost 30 years
“I fell in love with Alte Grafschaft at first sight when Norbert Spielmann […] bought it over ten years ago. They made me realise how important it is to maintain viticulture on these heroic plots. Norbert and I, with the help of Julius Spielmann, want to prepare this great estate for the next generations.”
– Jérôme Legras
Two wine families stand behind Alte Grafschaft. The Spielmann family has traded wine in Wertheim since 1932, first wine in bulk, later mainly wines from France. This is how they met the Legras family almost 30 years ago, who run the house of Legras & Haas in Champagne. In 2023 the long collaboration became a partnership. Since then Norbert Spielmann and Jérôme Legras have run Alte Grafschaft together.
The winemaker
Julius Spielmann · Falstaff Newcomer of the Year 2026
Julius Spielmann knew as a child that he wanted to make wine. He trained at Weingut Dr. Heger in the Kaiserstuhl and studied International Wine Business at Geisenheim University for four years. He made his first vintage at Alte Grafschaft in 2020. Since then he has been responsible for vineyards and cellar, and he runs the estate as managing director. Falstaff named him Newcomer of the Year 2026, James Suckling placed his first vintage in the Top 100 Germany.
My winemaking style
“I want to make wines that keep the uniqueness of each vintage, the character of our vineyards and the microclimate of our cellar. For me, wine is a kind of liquid memory. It holds the work of the whole team and the particular character of each vintage. What fascinates me most is how wines evolve over time. They keep changing their personality in the bottle and later in the glass. I wait patiently for the right moment to move a wine, and I trust the ageing process. The key is perfectly healthy grapes and a strict selection at harvest. The rest is trust in the terroir and in the microclimate of our cellar.”
Critics and awards
James Suckling · Falstaff · Henris · Vinum · Gault&Millau
JamesSuckling.com included our Kaffelstein Riesling 2020 in the Top 100 Wines of Germany 2023 with 98 points. The Falstaff Wine Guide Germany 2026 named Julius Spielmann Newcomer of the Year. In the 2027 editions Falstaff gives the estate three and a half stars, the Vinum Wine Guide Germany three stars. The Henris Wine Guide Germany 2026, successor to the Gault&Millau guide, rates the estate four out of five grapes. Below you find the highlights, the scores of all wines on sale and early scores for the coming vintages.
Our Wines
Where to find our wines
Importers in ten countries · trade partners in Germany
Our wines are imported into France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Norway, Lithuania, South Korea, China and Canada. In Germany they are sold by selected retailers and are on the wine lists of top restaurants such as Tim Raue in Berlin, Alois in Munich and Lafleur in Frankfurt. Your market is not listed? We look forward to hearing from you.
Working with us
We are a small family estate, so you deal directly with the winemaker and the owners. We send our price list, current availability and samples on request. Our single-vineyard wines are made in small quantities. Several wines are also available in Magnum, Double Magnum and Rehoboam (5 l). For your price lists and catalogues, you find tech sheets, labels and bottle shots with every wine on this page.
Meet us at the trade fairs
Wine Paris · 15–17 February 2027 · Paris Expo Porte de Versailles
ProWein · 7–9 March 2027 · Messe Düsseldorf
To book a meeting at our stand, write to Julius Spielmann at js@altegrafschaft.de.
Ask for prices and samples
Visit us
We welcome importers, retailers and sommeliers in Kreuzwertheim. A visit includes a walk through the vaulted cellar and a tasting of our wines. Please arrange a date with us in advance.
Weingut Alte Grafschaft · Rathausgasse 5 · 97892 Kreuzwertheim · Germany
By car: please use our car park at Hauptstraße 16, as the lane to our main entrance is narrow. Frankfurt Airport is about an hour’s drive away.
Gallery
All pictures in this gallery may be used free of charge to present and promote our wines and our estate. Please credit: © we are the good children.
Contact
Julius Spielmann · winemaker and managing director
js@altegrafschaft.de · +49 9342 5500
Jérôme Legras · co-owner, export sales
Weingut Alte Grafschaft Vertriebs GmbH · Rathausgasse 5 · 97892 Kreuzwertheim · Germany
FAQ
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We work with importers in France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain (Mallorca), Finland, Norway, Lithuania, South Korea, China and Canada (British Columbia and Ontario). For any other market, please write to us.
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Write to Julius Spielmann at js@altegrafschaft.de. We send our price list, current availability and samples on request.
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Our vineyards have been in conversion to organic farming since 2024. The 2027 vintage will be our first certified organic vintage. We work by hand, use no herbicides and keep green cover between the rows.
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Yes. All the village and single-vineyard wines we offer for export are dry.
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Because we love mature wines. With time they become more harmonious and show their full potential. Our wines therefore stay long on their lees. The Kaffelstein Riesling 2021, for example, spent 32 months in the cellar before bottling.
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Our village and single-vineyard wines are ready to drink on release, but show their full potential later. A village wine reaches its peak of complexity after about five years, a single-vineyard wine often after 10 to 15 years.
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Satzenberg Pinot Blanc 2022, Kaffelstein Silvaner 2022 and Ebenrain Pinot Noir 2021 come in Magnum, Double Magnum and Rehoboam (5 l). Kaffelstein Riesling 2021 comes in Magnum and Double Magnum, Wertheim Pinot Blanc 2022 in Magnum and Rehoboam.
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They show which vineyards the grapes come from: KFS Kaffelstein, SZB Satzenberg, EBR Ebenrain, SNB Sonnenberg, FST First. Our village wines combine red sandstone and shell limestone in roughly equal parts.
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Yes. We welcome importers, retailers and sommeliers for a cellar tour and tasting in English or German. Please arrange a date with us in advance. You can also meet us at Wine Paris and ProWein.