Historic Lotz Winery
By Tanja Reßler and Siegfried Schäfer
Nestled between Obergasse and Untergasse and bordered by the bowling alley, lies the stately home and park-like garden of the former winery Peter Lotz.
“Liberation wine 1929”, celebrations at Lotz winery.
Image source: Doris Meller
Postcard with view from the garden to the main house of the Lotz family from 1910
Image source: Private archive Jürgen Lemke, Mainz-Finthen
Peter Lotz I (1846-1896) was a cooper by trade and came from Dürkheim near Worms to Harxheim, where he founded the company in 1862. At the beginning of the 20th century, under the following generation, the stately home in neo-classical style was built. In the ground level side wings there were wine press house and economic rooms. The spacious, paved inner courtyard, two-thirds of which had a basement, was accessible through two gateways from Obergasse and opened up a view over the park. The small temple of pleasure in the garden, elaborate wrought iron picket fences and three magnificent wall ceramics in the left gate hall still bear witness to the excellent economic condition of this farm. The original four ceramic reliefs were acquired by Peter’s son Georg and commemorate the good wine harvests of 1865 and 1868 and the World War I year of 1918. The whereabouts of the fourth ceramic are unclear.
Historic wall ceramics in the gate hall
Image source: Irmgard Kaiser-Vreke
Historic wall ceramics in the gate hall
Image source: Irmgard Kaiser-Vreke
Historic wall ceramics in the gate hall
Image source: Irmgard Kaiser-Vreke
Peter Lotz I was known as a good winemaker, but also had a strong sense of business. If a winegrower could not pay for cooperage services rendered, the transaction was settled with land. As a result of this constant growth, the family owned more than 21 hectares of its own vineyards at the best of times, mostly in prime locations in the districts of Harxheim, Gau-Bischofsheim, Ebersheim and Hahnheim.
Lotz family (h. R., from left to right: Marie Lotz, daughter-in-law Ilse with husband Carl, Georg Lotz) with staff, 1940
Image source: Christel Deiß
From his father Georg, son Carl took over the management of the farm in the early twenties and hired Aloys Basten as estate manager in 1926. In addition, there was an accountant and another twelve to fifteen permanent employees. Depending on the workload, up to ten seasonal workers were also employed. Due to the size of the farm, the winery even had its own grape scale, embedded in the floor of the press house on the side of the property.
A photo impressively documents the ceremonial presentation of the “liberation wine” in 1929. (see above, first picture)
In anticipation of the withdrawal of the French occupation in 1930, this wine was produced and certainly drunk with great joy for the regained freedom. The opulent autumn finales were legendary, when readers paraded through the local streets festively dressed and ended the reading with a big autumn imbs.
Great autumn graduation 1937
Image source: Christel Deiß
90 years of winery Peter Lotz, autumn graduation 1952
Image source: Christel Deiß
Open to technical progress, around 1952 Carl Lotz bought one of the first new Unimogs on the market, type U 2010, with several accessories to facilitate the work in the vineyard. Many Harxheim winegrowers still used their horses at that time.
90 years winery Peter Lotz, vintage Am Börnchen, 1952
Image source: Doris Meller
In 1955, a 15,000-liter glass-enameled steel tank was purchased, an absolute novelty compared to the oak barrels traditionally used.
The greatest success of the Lotz winery was the delivery of wine on the occasion of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of England on June 2, 1953, which was served as part of the celebrations. These were sweet Riesling wines from the 1950 vintage from the Gau-Bischofsheimer Gauberg and Gau-Bischofsheimer Sandkaut sites. The Mombach wine commissioners Siebchen and Lendle had selected the wines at that time.
15,000 liter wine tank, 1960 (from left to right: Georg Wendel, estate manager Alois Basten, Philipp Deiß in the tank, Willi Deiß)
Image source: Christel Deiß
1971 top wines from the best sites of the winery Peter Lotz
Image source: Siegfried Schäfer
In business terms, Lotz’s company was associated with renowned wine trading houses such as Sichel & Söhne. There were regular (mass) wine deliveries to the bishopric in Mainz, although the Lotz family was Protestant. The main grape varieties were Riesling and Silvaner. In 1958, the first red vines of the Saint Laurent variety were planted in the Ostersteig site in Harxheim.
After more than four generations, i.e. after far more than a century, great-grandson Peter Lotz II. stopped the operation of Harxheim’s most important winery at the beginning of the nineties. Above the stone wall on the right side of the path in the direction of Mainz, the iron company sign Weingut Peter Lotz was visible from afar for a long time.
The Hammen family acquired the estate in 1996 and operated their estate tavern Zum alten Gutshof in the restored premises until October 2021.
References:
Narration by Philipp Deiß (former employee of the Lotz winery)
Eyewitness interviews and reports
