Weingut Hainbusch

Weingut Hainbusch
Luisa Hodbod and Elias Hippert
Kaub, Mittelrhein, Germany

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Elias Hippert and Luisa Hodbod met in 2021 at Geisenheim, Germany’s university for viticulture and enology. It was friendship at first sight and in 2023 they began to make wine together, relying on experience, intuition, and a strong sense of responsibility to the natural world. 

Luisa’s love of wine began shortly after she finished school, whilst working in the catering industry. Keen to learn more, she worked at wineries in Spain, France and Canada and, at 25, decided to study winemaking. Elias’ wine journey began at 16 with an internship at Weingut Peter Jakob Kühn that developed into an apprenticeship. It was here Elias made his first cider; a project that continues alongside winemaking. To read more about this exciting project, visit our profile on Elias Hippert.

In 2023 Weingut Hainbusch began to take shape with two small plots, 3000m² total, in Kaub on the Rhine river. At the time, Elias was working with Sven Leiner in Palatinate and Luisa looked after the vineyards, with Elias returning as much as he could. As the grapes ripened, Luisa spent a few months in Burgenland with Lichtenberger González, while Elias brought the first bunches safely to the barrel. 

Word spread quickly that these young winemakers were looking for vineyards. A century ago, around three quarters of Mittelrhein was under vine. Now, about 460 hectares remain, largely due to the intense physical labour required by these steep vineyards, which have increasingly become considered as economically unviable. Over the years these vineyards have been gradually abandoned. With the addition of 0.8 ha of vines like these, left unpruned for several years, Weingut Hainbusch has reached a total of 2 hectares. In winter 23–24 Elias and Luisa worked to recultivate this plot, removing shrubbery, repairing and retraining vines. 

For Elias and Luisa, regenerative land management and sustainability is hugely important. They seek to keep their ecological footprint light and work with used bottles which vary in both shape and colour, and which occasionally have a slight flaw. Washed and finished with wet glue, easily removable ‘Apfelpapier’ labels (a paper made with the pulp residue from apple pressing), the wines are sealed with pure, natural corks which have been TCA contamination tested.

The winemaking is done with the desire to preserve a centuries-old tradition that is inherently tied to the landscape and its biodiversity.