Urban & Eva Kaufmann
Germany
Urban & Eva's Wines
- Germany
- 2 wines
- 1 style
Urban and Eva unite to make biodynamic wines in Germany's historic Rheingau
Urban and Eva Kaufmann’s story is something out of the movies. When they met in 2012, he was a rising star cheesemaker and she was the director of Germany’s largest wine organization. Within 2 years, they jumped headfirst into their winemaking life.
Eva had her heart set on becoming a winemaker and Urban was a wine lover, so they combined their savings to buy a winery in the heart of Germany’s historic Rheingau wine region, famous for its exquisite Rieslings.
They’ve already made their mark – converting the winery to biodynamic practices, replacing old oak barrels for stainless steel tanks, and winning praise from experts. Now it’s your turn to taste their first-class Rheingau wines.
Urban & Eva Kaufmann's Story
Urban Kaufmann had been making top-quality Appenzell cheese for years and was a carrier pigeon breeder who even once entered a championship. Eva Raps was the longtime director of the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates (VDP) and Urban’s life partner. They’re thrilled their Hans Lang wine estate in Hattenheim is flying high (just like the pigeons).
Urban, originally a fan of Piedmont wines, has some training in wine. He saw many similarities in the microbiology of both cheese and wine and felt confident moving into winemaking.
It was like the plot of a romance novel. A Swiss man, a rising star cheesemaker, was drawn to wine out of enjoyment ("It goes wonderfully with cheese!"). He completed the Wine & Spirit Education Trust certification program and interned at the distinguished Bachtobel wine estate in Thurgau. Eva Raps, a farmer’s daughter with hotel management training and an early enthusiasm for wine, ultimately rose to become the director of the VDP, but had been eying a possible role as a winemaker for many years.
They met in 2012, immediately realized that they had chemistry, and started putting out feelers for a wine estate in a German-speaking region. It was not certain whether Urban would actually make the jump from Switzerland. However, took the brave step, and thanks to his frugal way of living, he just had enough money to buy Hans Lang winery.
At first, Urban worked alongside the previous owner. He began as a self-taught winemaker with huge support from Eva, and developed his own style of Riesling, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir. His wines drew praise from experts. He is considered one of Rheingau’s rising stars.
