Castell (Franconia/Northern Bavaria, Germany)

The Fürstlich Castell'sche Domäne, commonly known as Castell Winery, is one of Germany's oldest and most prestigious wine estates, located in the heart of Franconia (Franken) in Northern Bavaria. Family-owned by the noble Castell-Castell family for 26 generations, the estate traces its origins back to 1057 and has cultivated vineyards for more than 800 years, making it one of Germany's true pioneers of fine wine.

Castell is internationally renowned as the birthplace of German Silvaner. On 5 April 1659, the Count of Castell ordered the planting of the first documented Silvaner vines on German soil. The original document recording the planting of 25 vines is still preserved in the Castell archives. Today, Silvaner remains the estate's signature variety, producing elegant, dry and deeply structured wines with remarkable freshness, herbal complexity and mineral precision. 

The estate encompasses around 80 hectares of vineyards on the slopes of the Steigerwald, with the distinctive Gypsum Keuper (Gipskeuper) soils providing the wines with their characteristic minerality, spice and structure. As a member of Germany's prestigious VDP, Castell owns a remarkable collection of historic vineyard sites, including the monopole locations Schlossberg, Hohnart, Kugelspiel, Trautberg and Reitsteig. Some of these vineyards have been documented for centuries.

While Silvaner is the cornerstone, Castell also cultivates Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Bacchus, Weissburgunder and Spätburgunder, with many of the finest single-vineyard wines presented in the iconic Franconian Bocksbeutel bottle. The estate combines its extraordinary heritage with an increasingly sustainable approach, including work on soil health, biodiversity, lighter bottles and the use of wood from the estate's own forests.

The quality of the wines continues to receive international recognition. In the 2025 Sommeliers Choice Awards, the 2023 Casteller Silvaner received 93 points and a Gold Medal, while the 2022 Casteller Kugelspiel Silvaner received 90 points and Gold. The estate's older wines are also showing impressive ageing potential: the 2019 Casteller Schlossberg Silvaner GG has recently been highlighted as one of the outstanding Silvaner GGs tasted, with critics noting its mineral depth, complexity and elegant development after several years in bottle. 

For Wine Provision Shop, Castell has an especially personal significance. Hannes Hentze grew up near Schweinfurt, only a short distance from Castell, and has known the estate and its wines for decades. Castell therefore represents not only one of Germany's great historic wineries, but also a connection to the region where Hannes grew up and developed his appreciation of wine. That relationship has continued into the present: he recently visited the estate again, meeting winemaker Peter Geil and export manager Elisabeth Finkenbeiner, with whom Wine Provision Shop has maintained a close relationship over the years.

Today, Castell combines more than eight centuries of history with a clear modern vision. Above all, it remains one of the great homes of German Silvaner — wines that express the distinctive Gipskeuper terroir of Franconia through depth, minerality, freshness and remarkable ageing potential. For Hannes and Wine Provision Shop, Castell is also something more personal: a winery rooted in the landscape of his own childhood and one that he has been following for decades.