Founded in 862 AD, Staffelter Hof is not only one of the world’s oldest wineries, but one of the oldest continuously operating businesses of any kind. Based in the village of Kröv, in Germany’s Mosel Valley, the estate has been in the same family since 1805 and is now led by seventh-generation winemaker Jan Matthias Klein.

The Mosel is famous for steep slate slopes and classical Riesling, but Jan has taken Staffelter Hof in a distinctly personal direction. While remaining deeply connected to the region’s history, he has introduced a more experimental, organic and natural approach to farming and winemaking. The estate has been certified organic since 2014, and its vineyards are worked without herbicides or synthetic pesticides, much of the labour taking place by hand on the Mosel’s famously dramatic slopes.

Jan is among the small number of Mosel producers making wines with zero additives: no added sulfur, no fining and no filtration. Fermentations are spontaneous, and the wines are allowed to develop with as little interference as possible. This does not mean abandoning precision; instead, it means trusting healthy fruit, careful farming and time.

Alongside Riesling, Staffelter Hof is known for a freer, more playful side. Bottlings such as Little Bastard, a Riesling–Sauvignon Blanc blend, Orange Utan, a skin-contact wine, and a lively range of pét-nats show Jan’s willingness to challenge expectations. He also works with PIWI varieties, bred for natural resistance to fungal disease, as part of a wider effort to make viticulture more resilient and less dependent on treatments.

This future-focused thinking extends beyond the bottle. Jan has launched a 7-hectare agroforestry project, integrating trees, biodiversity and regenerative farming into the vineyard landscape. It is a bold response to climate change, soil health and the need for a more diverse agricultural system.

Staffelter Hof is where deep history meets fearless curiosity. After more than 1,150 years, the estate remains anything but static: rooted in the Mosel, open to experimentation, and still capable of making wine that surprises.