"Westwind Weine" is the name of the traditional winery in the heart of Wachenheim, just before the border where Rheinhessen meets the Palatinate. The name is fitting: right in the heart of the old town center, Thilo and Jochen Hein have established a bold new wine shop—a modern tower with a bright green gate and a spectacular interior that now inspires winemakers and wine enthusiasts alike.

“The Lower Castle once stood here,” said Thilo Hein, “and the new building symbolizes that.” Directly across the street, the remaining part of Wachenheim Castle still stands today, featuring the famous medieval residential tower—the largest in Rheinhessen. Its modern counterpart now graces the Hein family’s winery. Thilo and Jochen are the sixth generation; their ancestors have been farmers and winemakers here in Wachenheim since 1837. An old tombstone from 1899 commemorates their ancestors; the family rescued it from the old cemetery.

In 2015, Thilo and Jochen opened the new wine bar: a white, tower-like building that’s a real eye-catcher, with a green gate on the side. Inside, stars twinkle from a midnight-blue ceiling; in the center, a huge golden circle draws the eye and bathes wine glasses, visitors, and wines in golden light. The back wall of the tasting room is made from old barrel staves—and this is by no means the only fusion of old and new here.

Upstairs, the walls are made of gabions filled with limestone from the Heins' vineyards. "This is our terroir," says Thilo, making the soil tangible for visitors. The roof terrace offers a spectacular view over Wachenheim and far into the vineyards—including the old castle next door.

But it is the interior and the basement that earned the Hein family the Best of Wine Tourism Award 2018 for sustainability: the solar panels on the roof of the barn and a heating system fueled by old vines from the vineyards. A narrow staircase leads down to a concrete cellar. This is where the barrique barrels for the fine red wines are stored, and from here, corridors connect the new cellar with the old vaults beneath the winery's courtyard. A lapidarium, a stone museum made up of ancient rock fragments from the winery, is currently being created in one room.

"There are ancient walls down here," says mother Ortrud Hein, with no small amount of pride. Knights, barons, Romans – they all settled here in Wachenheim. During the construction of the new wine shop tower, the Heins found the old walls of the castle's former ice cellar. "My great-great-great-grandfather bought the old castle ruins in 1887," says Ortrud. The estate belonged to a Baroness von Kinkel and her husband, and an old ship's anchor on the wall still tells the story today, a sign of the baron's naval affiliation.

To this day, the family owns 45 hectares of land planted with grain and sugar beets, but the younger generation is setting its sights on viticulture: the Heins own 20 hectares of vineyards, where Thilo and Jochen create modern, mineral, and fruity white wines. One of these is Mansoni Bianco, a cross between Riesling and Pinot Blanc, grown in "experimental cultivation," as it is called. "I don't think it grows anywhere else in Germany," says Thilo.

Freedom, change, strength, and vitality, "that's what the west wind brings us," says Thilo. So the Heins named their wine lines after the gifts of the west wind. Freedom stands for the light entry-level wines, cuvées in white, red, and rosé. "It's the freedom to try what you like," says Thilo, laughing, "when you're new to wine and don't yet know where the journey will take you."

Change, on the other hand, refers to varietal wines such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, or Gelber Muskateller, while Kraft is the highest quality level with single-vineyard wines such as Riesling and Pinot Noir. Finally, liveliness refers to sparkling wines and seccos, and all the other products that round out a winery. "Our visitors are fascinated by the names," says Thilo.

Wine making and wine selling have changed significantly in Germany in 2018, with the old regular customers dying out. "People want experiences," says Thilo, "if there's nothing to see, no one will come." It must truly be the west wind that brings all the new ideas and the courage to break new ground. "We need the west wind," says Thilo, "in our vineyards alone."