The year was 1996, almost a quarter of a century ago. Renovations were underway at the Kirchheimerhof. Again. It seems to be in our DNA never to be able to sit still. To have something new in mind again. In any case, this time it was the hotel lobby we were tackling. Making it even more beautiful, more inviting, more radiant. But what came to light during the excavation work astonished us and gave us an idea.

Gerald’s sister Sabine, who was supporting our team for a few seasons, proved to be a walking history encyclopedia and a woman with a long-term memory. “Over there under the hotel lobby must be the old coal cellar. How about bringing it back to life?” And so it happened. We explored and dug and freed the buried cellar from all the construction debris. Old vaults came to light, the ideal place to turn water into wine – well, coal into wine. That was immediately obvious to all of us. It took a lot of cleaning, renovation and carpentry. But soon the former black room presented itself as a very cozy wine cellar, where our wines can slumber and where our Hans Jörg hosts his weekly wine tastings.