The Appel winery is located in Niederleuken, a district of Saarburg, directly at the foot of the steep Saarburger Fuchs vineyard. The Appel family has been cultivating vines here since the 17th century – initially, as was common at the time, as a mixed farm combining viticulture and agriculture, and since 1973 as a full-time operation with 2 hectares of vineyards. While this may seem small by today's standards, it was a considerable size for the time, and the winery flourished under the leadership of Julius Appel in the following decades. Investments were gradually made in new viticulture and cellar technology, and the vineyard area was expanded. Since the current owner, Armin Appel, took over in 1996, the cultivated vineyard area has increased from 2.5 ha to 9 ha. In addition to the existing vineyards in the top-quality Saarburger Rausch and the extremely steep Saarburger Fuchs, Armin Appel has also acquired plots in the world-famous Ockfener Bockstein and Ayler Kupp vineyards. Today, he cultivates over 90% Riesling, as well as Rivaner and Pinot Noir. While the typical blue Devonian slate soil of the Saar region dominates in all the aforementioned vineyards, there is a special feature in the Saarburger Rausch vineyard. Here, a hard, greenish volcanic rock called diabase (greenstone) is more frequently found, which often gives the wines grown there a characteristic herbaceous note.



"Traditional craftsmanship supported by state-of-the-art technology leads to success!"


In the mid-1990s, Armin Appel joined his parents' winery in his mid-twenties and gradually took on more and more responsibility. He first modernized the vineyard and cellar, initiating the necessary technological changes. With the construction of a new machine shed and a stainless steel cellar, as well as the acquisition of a new, modern fleet of machinery, he set the course for a successful future. Today, the winery relies on a combination of traditional craftsmanship with selective hand-picking in the vineyard and measured use of machinery for plant protection and cultivation measures. In the cellar, the grapes arriving in the autumn are pressed whole, allowed to clarify overnight, and then fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks.


"Delicate, fruit-forward wines with an outstanding price-pleasure ratio!"


This process results in white and red wines with pronounced, ripe fruit aromas. The delicate aromas of the bouquet continue on the full-bodied palate, and thus the wines, with their moderate alcohol content, present themselves as uncomplicated and extremely drinkable! This makes them excellent everyday wines that offer great drinking pleasure immediately after bottling. However, there is also considerable aging potential, as impressively demonstrated by a fresh 2007 Saarburger Rausch Spätlese feinherb that surfaced during this year's inventory. Its noble sweet specialties from the grandiose 2010 Saar vintage from Saarburger Schlossberg (Auslese) and Saarburger Fuchs (Beerenauslese) are only just reaching their drinking maturity and are unsurpassed in their category in terms of price-performance! If you want to surprise your guests on your next visit, serve one of these noble sweet delicacies with a hearty cheese platter instead of a red wine, and you will see astonished, delighted faces.