Anton Hammes Wine Estate

The stash deep in the cellar

We happened upon Anton Hammes one rainy morning. We were scurrying down the wet sidewalk searching for open wineries and saw someone emerge from this cellar-level tasting room with a few bottles. Jackpot!

Over 300 years of wine!

As is typical in many Mosel wineries, we were greeted by the owner. In this case, he was a very friendly man named Franz-Josef Hammes, whose family has owned the winery for 150 years. The operation is more than 300 years old and the vines grow on the hill directly behind the shop. Originally, the cellars were part of the Wiltburg castle, owned by the former free lords of Wiltberg.

Oak barrels for aging

The tasting room was empty (actually, Mr. Hammes was loading his car between pours and the cellar didn’t seem to be officially open), but the atmosphere was cozy and welcoming. It was like being in a dimly lit cave, but one that’s seen a few rollicking, wine-soaked parties.

Tasting/dining room

The specialty of the house is, of course, Riesling. All the wine is processed in the three-room winery, then matured in oak barrels. I don’t know how far the cellar extends underground, but it clearly runs under at least a few buildings since the neighborhood was pretty dense.

More equipment

Part of the wine-making operation

We sampled a variety of Rieslings ranging from very dry to medium-dry. They were pleasantly crisp and some of the drier ones were quite acidic. The winery also produces a few red wines and some schnapps, which we did not sample.

Von-Wiltberg-Strasse 17, Alken

www.anton-hammes.de

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