Schonleber

Schonleber is guided by three core principles: to create wines that provide genuine drinking pleasure, to make honest and authentic expressions of their origin, and to craft single-vineyard wines with distinctive personalities—they aim for more than just “good” wine. These principles shape every step of their work in the vineyard and cellar, from planting to bottling, allowing each wine to develop naturally, with a unique approach to every cask or tank.

The Schönleber family, making wine since the mid-18th century, work together to uphold the estate’s high standards. Werner oversees meticulous vineyard care, adapting to each year’s challenges, while Frank manages both vineyard and cellar during harvest. Hanne and Anja handle customer relations and winery administration.

Monzingen is located on the western fringes of the Nahe winegrowing area. Its vineyards are 160 to 250 metres above sea level. The extensive Soonwald forest is situated a few kilometres away to the north. It is a relatively cool climate for winegrowing, where sites with abundant sunshine, steep slopes, stony soils and warm microclimates offer the best chance for high-quality wine. 

The family highly values Monzingen’s vineyards and has spent 40 years maintaining and recultivating steep, historic plots. They carefully nurture soil and vines to ensure healthy, balanced growth, controlling yields and aerating foliage by hand. This allows grapes to ripen fully and late in the harvest, with nutrients largely returned to the soil through minimal intervention and homemade compost. Their top vineyards, Halenberg and Frühlingsplätzchen, benefit from steep south–southwest slopes and Monzingen’s 1,900 annual sunshine hours.

The vines grow on stony, slate-rich soils, producing small, highly aromatic grapes. Warm thermal winds from the valley raise daytime temperatures, while the nearby Soonwald forest provides gentle cooling at night, allowing the best vineyard blocks to cool slowly—ideal for optimal aroma development.

In 1994, Schönleber became a member of the VDP. With that came the GG status for the vineyards Halenberg and Frühlingsplätzchen and the Monzinger Niederberg Erste Lage. Of the Halenberg GG, more than 60% belongs to Schönleber, they have made it famous again and cultivated a large part after decades of life as scrubland.