In 1576, Prince Bishop Julius Echter founded the Juliusspital Foundation with its charitable mission. Then, as now, the social areas of the Juliusspital Foundation devote themselves to this mission – in the hospital, the senior citizens' foundation and hospice and palliative medicine. The winery has been part of the Foundation from the very beginning and its profits are always contributed to fulfilling its social responsibilities.
The Juliusspital Foundation is located in the center of Würzburg. The Princes' Building – or Fürstenbau – is the foundation's emblem and the ancient barrel cellar is the winery’s home. The Juliusspital winery lives and operates in these buildings. The history is impressive and ever-present, but the Juliusspital is no museum. Because this is where wines are made!
The 250-metre-long cellar corridor, built in 1699 by Antonio Petrini, is the longest wooden barrel cellar in Germany and is lined with 220 oak barrels. The Juliusspital is also home to a modern cellar, which features the newest technology and shows the current, younger face of the Juliusspital.
Their missions is their message: Excellent wines. The Juliusspital vineyards are spread across more than 100 km and the whole of Franconia. Their vines are planted on the Franconian Triassic – a three-part rock formation made of red sandstone, shell limestone and keuper – which is unique in all the wine-growing regions. They own and maintain the best locations in Franconia, which is why they can produce such excellent wines. Wine has been a part of their history since 1576 – that's what you can call experience in wine-growing.
Their philosophy is to strive for excellence. Wine is their passion and they believe that a wine’s quality starts on the vine. They cultivate through sustainable viticulture with "gentle pruning" and strict yield reduction. It's the complete opposite in the cellar: "Controlled idleness" – preserving and carefully forming what nature gives them.
They cultivate selected and classic grape varieties that match their vineyard plots excellently. From Riesling and Müller-Thurgau, the popular Burgundy varieties Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir to traditional varieties such as Muskateller and, Traminer. Silvaner is especially important to them and, with a total of 40% Silvaner, they are the largest Silvaner wine estate in the world.
