20213041_WGDE2021_ENGL

Stefanie and Fabian Lassak have run their
small boutique estate since 2016
with just three hectares of vines.
WEINGUT LASSAK | HESSIGHEIM, WÜRTTEMBERG
LOOKING AT THE
LONG TERM
WORDS MATTHIAS NESKE
Photos: Lucie Greiner Medienagenten, Weingut Lassak
Diversity.’ Fabian Lassak only
reflects a few moments before
answering the question what
the most important element in
his and his wife’s vineyards is. ‘We believe
in biodiversity, not only when it comes to
cover crops but also when it comes to
vines.’ Ever since Stefanie and Fabian
Lassak started their small estate in the
Neckar valley from scratch in 2016, there
has been a breath of fresh air in the
valley.
Spectacular vineyard terraces on the steep
slopes of the Neckar river are bounded by
gentler, vineyard parcels, as ancient and
fragmented as the terraces themselves, in
this landscape shaped by centuries of
human culture. ‘Actually, everything here
should be done by hand, everything
should be done on a small-scale,’ Lassak
says as he gazes across the surrounding
vineyards. ‘The conditions for quality
viticulture are in fact wonderful here; it is
mass production that meets its economic
limits here.’
The Lassaks now own 3.4 hectares of
wines, a part of which still lies fallow so
that the soils can regenerate a little before
replanting. ‘We two could subsist on four
to five hectares,’ he reckons and notes
that the first two years were hard. ‘While
we managed to get hold of great parcels,
we met with quite some scepticism: such
close planting, crooked posts, all the
weeds in the vineyard and such bitter
wine without residual sweetness,’ he
remembers. ‘Once we had the 2018
vintage in the cellar I just panicked and
thought how on earth are we going to sell
all of this stuff?’ He laughs. ‘Now our cellar
is empty, and that’s an interesting
emotion too.’
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