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Buy Wine from Geltz Zilliken

Geltz Zilliken is a winery placed in the historical city Saarburg, in the cold Saar valley, birthplace of the sweet Riesling wines with most personality and deepness across Germany.

Geltz Zilliken winery has its origin in 1742, with the Geltz family. It was in the middle of the 19th century when Prussian Counsellor Ferdinand Geltz increased the winery's reputation. The current owner, Hans Joachim Zilliken is Ferdinand Geltz's great grandson. Ferdinand Geltz died in 1925 and the vineyards where inherited by his two daughters: Antoinette and Ella. Antoinette received 60% of them and the rest was for Ella. This unequal distribution was due to the fact that Antoinette married a Prussian military man, so that part was actually handled to her husband, Major Krick. After Antoinette's demise the lands were taken over by the Krick family.  

Ella's part, a 40% of the original vineyards, was split between her two daughters: Marianne and Henriette. Marianne married Fritz Zilliken in 1947 and had a child named Hans-Joachim Zilliken (Hanno Zilliken). This is the first time a wine is bottled under the current designation: Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken. Back then the estate had only 2 hectares. Ella's second daughter, Henriette, married an upper class man: Herr Welsch. They remained childless and the vineyards finally became a part of today's winery.

The original buildings and installations were destroyed during the Second World War, on Christmas Day 1944 to be precise, together with many other Saarburg vineyards (unlike neighbour Ockfen village ones).

At the end of the 60's, Zilliken family were able to find and purchase three ancient and deep wineries on which foundations the actual building was constructed.

Hanno Zilliken and Dorothee Zilliken (his elder daughter) are now managing the estate, with the assistance of Ruth Zilliken, Hanno's wife, in the administration. The Zilliken are good friends with another important Saar wine maker, settled 8 km to the north, in Wiltingen: Egon Müller.   

Geltz Zilliken belongs to the selective quality wine producers association VDP since 1910, (founder member) and is considered one of the TOP 10 in Germany by international critics.

Nowadays, Zilliken have four properties in Saarburg and Ockfen:

Saarburger Rausch (delirium). 8,0 hectares. Classified Grosse Lage (Grand Cru). The land is basically made of Devonian blue slate soil with red clay subsoil. Part of the plot has a mixture of Diabas, a green volcanic rock. It is south facing, overlooking Saar.

From the total 8 hectares, around 5 of them are 10 years old in average, the other 3 are from 20 to 100 years old and only 0.4ha of them are planted graftless.

The bulk of the winery's great production is obtained here, these are wines with a genuine personality and remarkable acidity.

Ockfener Bockstein (mutton's rock). 1,0 hectares. Classified Grosse Lage (Grand Cru). This plot belonged originally to the Geltz, but nowadays they don't have all the initial properties. The current vineyards are dated in 1970. The soil is also Devonian slate but it has some quartz as well, which makes it harder than Saarburg's. There is yellow clay in its subsoil. Wines here are friendlier and more pleasant when young if compared with Rausch ones, that result more fruity.

Saarburger Bergschlösschen (small castles mountain). 1,6 hectares. Settled in the western side of the mountain where the Rausch plot is located, these are parts of what Rausch could have been but that come from a time when it was more interesting to have small properties under monopoly conditions in order to be able to offer wines with different names from neighbour competitors.

Saarburger Antonius Brunnen. 0,4 hectares. The estate takes the name of Hanno Zilliken's great-aunt (Antoinette Geltz). Equally to Saarburger Bergschlösschen it is also placed in the western side of the Rausch Mountain.

Regarding wine making processes, Zilliken do not declare themselves as biodynamical. However, they do not use fertilizers in the vineyard and in case it is necessary they apply organic ones only. Fermentations are carried out spontaneously and yeasts (commercial but neutral) are used exclusively for very sweet wines as Eiswein, Trockenbeerenauslese or for basic ones.

In cellar, wines go through horizontal low pressure press (1,5 – 2 bar) and subsequently to stainless steel tanks for wort sedimentation. Next step is to be transferred to 1.000 litres capacity füders which is done by gravity, and where the wine will remain the necessary time (fermentation) until they are sent again to the top floor (stainless steel tanks); there they will remain for a week before being bottled. There is a small press specifically for Auslese as there is only a limited production. Trockenbeerenauslese, for its part, accomplishes fermentation in a small stainless steel vat. Fermentation usually lasts until February-March. 

The APNr meaning in this winery is bond to the quality of wines (the overwhelming majority). Thus, wines nearer to number one would be the best of the year, according to winery's qualification.

A peculiarity on its sweet wines is that sometimes they use a part of Eiswein (1 to 2%) for its production. Zilliken's first Eiswein was produced in 1980 with frozen grapes of Kabinett level.

Because this is Zilliken's philosophy: “to produce long lasting classical wines, light and delicate as well as richly scented” or, as famous British critic Stuart Pigott would say, Zilliken wines are butterfly-like: light but full of nuances.

Zilliken: Riesling like Butterflies!
Showing 1 to 2 of 2 (1 Pages)

Buy Wine from Geltz Zilliken

Geltz Zilliken is a winery placed in the historical city Saarburg, in the cold Saar valley, birthplace of the sweet Riesling wines with most personality and deepness across Germany.

Geltz Zilliken winery has its origin in 1742, with the Geltz family. It was in the middle of the 19th century when Prussian Counsellor Ferdinand Geltz increased the winery's reputation. The current owner, Hans Joachim Zilliken is Ferdinand Geltz's great grandson. Ferdinand Geltz died in 1925 and the vineyards where inherited by his two daughters: Antoinette and Ella. Antoinette received 60% of them and the rest was for Ella. This unequal distribution was due to the fact that Antoinette married a Prussian military man, so that part was actually handled to her husband, Major Krick. After Antoinette's demise the lands were taken over by the Krick family.  

Ella's part, a 40% of the original vineyards, was split between her two daughters: Marianne and Henriette. Marianne married Fritz Zilliken in 1947 and had a child named Hans-Joachim Zilliken (Hanno Zilliken). This is the first time a wine is bottled under the current designation: Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken. Back then the estate had only 2 hectares. Ella's second daughter, Henriette, married an upper class man: Herr Welsch. They remained childless and the vineyards finally became a part of today's winery.

The original buildings and installations were destroyed during the Second World War, on Christmas Day 1944 to be precise, together with many other Saarburg vineyards (unlike neighbour Ockfen village ones).

At the end of the 60's, Zilliken family were able to find and purchase three ancient and deep wineries on which foundations the actual building was constructed.

Hanno Zilliken and Dorothee Zilliken (his elder daughter) are now managing the estate, with the assistance of Ruth Zilliken, Hanno's wife, in the administration. The Zilliken are good friends with another important Saar wine maker, settled 8 km to the north, in Wiltingen: Egon Müller.   

Geltz Zilliken belongs to the selective quality wine producers association VDP since 1910, (founder member) and is considered one of the TOP 10 in Germany by international critics.

Nowadays, Zilliken have four properties in Saarburg and Ockfen:

Saarburger Rausch (delirium). 8,0 hectares. Classified Grosse Lage (Grand Cru). The land is basically made of Devonian blue slate soil with red clay subsoil. Part of the plot has a mixture of Diabas, a green volcanic rock. It is south facing, overlooking Saar.

From the total 8 hectares, around 5 of them are 10 years old in average, the other 3 are from 20 to 100 years old and only 0.4ha of them are planted graftless.

The bulk of the winery's great production is obtained here, these are wines with a genuine personality and remarkable acidity.

Ockfener Bockstein (mutton's rock). 1,0 hectares. Classified Grosse Lage (Grand Cru). This plot belonged originally to the Geltz, but nowadays they don't have all the initial properties. The current vineyards are dated in 1970. The soil is also Devonian slate but it has some quartz as well, which makes it harder than Saarburg's. There is yellow clay in its subsoil. Wines here are friendlier and more pleasant when young if compared with Rausch ones, that result more fruity.

Saarburger Bergschlösschen (small castles mountain). 1,6 hectares. Settled in the western side of the mountain where the Rausch plot is located, these are parts of what Rausch could have been but that come from a time when it was more interesting to have small properties under monopoly conditions in order to be able to offer wines with different names from neighbour competitors.

Saarburger Antonius Brunnen. 0,4 hectares. The estate takes the name of Hanno Zilliken's great-aunt (Antoinette Geltz). Equally to Saarburger Bergschlösschen it is also placed in the western side of the Rausch Mountain.

Regarding wine making processes, Zilliken do not declare themselves as biodynamical. However, they do not use fertilizers in the vineyard and in case it is necessary they apply organic ones only. Fermentations are carried out spontaneously and yeasts (commercial but neutral) are used exclusively for very sweet wines as Eiswein, Trockenbeerenauslese or for basic ones.

In cellar, wines go through horizontal low pressure press (1,5 – 2 bar) and subsequently to stainless steel tanks for wort sedimentation. Next step is to be transferred to 1.000 litres capacity füders which is done by gravity, and where the wine will remain the necessary time (fermentation) until they are sent again to the top floor (stainless steel tanks); there they will remain for a week before being bottled. There is a small press specifically for Auslese as there is only a limited production. Trockenbeerenauslese, for its part, accomplishes fermentation in a small stainless steel vat. Fermentation usually lasts until February-March. 

The APNr meaning in this winery is bond to the quality of wines (the overwhelming majority). Thus, wines nearer to number one would be the best of the year, according to winery's qualification.

A peculiarity on its sweet wines is that sometimes they use a part of Eiswein (1 to 2%) for its production. Zilliken's first Eiswein was produced in 1980 with frozen grapes of Kabinett level.

Because this is Zilliken's philosophy: “to produce long lasting classical wines, light and delicate as well as richly scented” or, as famous British critic Stuart Pigott would say, Zilliken wines are butterfly-like: light but full of nuances.

Zilliken: Riesling like Butterflies!