I reach Matthias Keth on the drive back home from Dresden. The Keth winery from Rheinhessen has a wine stand at the Dresden Spring Market, in the heart of the city on the Altmarkt. As early as December 1989, immediately after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the winery was already present at the Striezelmarkt in Dresden – and its connection to Saxony has continued to grow stronger to this day. In 2014, the family even opened "Keth am Wasaplatz," a wine shop, wine bar, and ice cream parlor in Dresden.

There are several large wineries in Rheinhessen, but Keth plays a special role in this concert. Matthias and Silke Keth cultivate 80 hectares of vineyards – all using organic farming methods and producing very appealing quality. Immediately after completing his winemaker training in the late 1990s, Matthias started with 5 hectares of vineyards belonging to his parents. With his quality standards, he soon realized that wine quality is best achieved through organic cultivation. Since 2006, the Rheinhessen winemaker has been producing his wines organically – now in accordance with Bioland requirements.

Keth wines are also available in organic specialty stores. Matthias Keth has noticed a trend: "Since the pandemic, customers have been placing more value on quality and sustainability – which benefits us." The fifth generation at the winery is really stepping on the gas: since his parents retired, Matthias has taken over all the land and expanded it to 80 hectares. The business, which grew up in the old town center of Offstein, had become too small.

Matthias and Silke planned a major undertaking: in 2023, they moved into the impressive new building six hundred meters from the village, in the middle of the vineyard. Functionality and sustainability are the watchwords here. To keep the building cool, for example, there are no windows on the south side. Underfloor heating ensures the right temperature at all times by heating and cooling. Solar panels are mounted on the entire flat roof, making the winery almost self-sufficient in terms of energy production.

The quality of the wine is impressive: all major wine guides praise the Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris, as well as the Sauvignon Blancs and Chardonnays. With vineyards stretching from Oppenheim down to the south, 200 meters from the Palatinate, the vines grow on a wide variety of soils. Top Rieslings come from the Rhine-Hessian top vineyard Morstein, an elevated location with limestone. The Muskateller and the St. Laurent, which has won the Red Wine Award, are also recommended. Lufthansa also offers Keth wines on board its Business and First Class flights.

The Keths call the 5,000-square-meter winery building the "Wine Arcades." Its clear design and impressive entrance are striking. In the entrance area, trained graphic designer Silke Keth has created a fascinating wine lounge with a keen sense for trends and colors. The eye-catcher is the back wall of the wine shop with its oversized wine figures: "We wanted visitors to be really impressed!" says Matthias, describing the intention behind it. The exterior planting with trees complements the building with its columns. Matthias and Silke Keth have created a unique wine location.