7 editor-picked estates growing Grauburgunder in Franken.
Where to taste Grauburgunder in Franken: the estates that grow it, how the region expresses the grape, and how to book a visit.
The Steigerwald's founding Silvaner estate on gypsum keuper, site of the earliest documented Franconian Silvaner planting on 6 April 1659, farming 73.4 hectares today.
Tasting: Vinothek tastings and cellar tours at the Schlossplatz estate office.
Tip: The estate's own records cite 25 vines planted in 1659, ask staff to point out the historical planting documentation.
Iphofen family estate farming 108.5 hectares of Steigerwald gypsum keuper since 1630, with Silvaner and Riesling from the Julius-Echter-Berg Grosse Lage.
Tasting: Vinothek tastings on Ludwigstrasse in Iphofen's old town; group visits by appointment.
Tip: Silvaner and Riesling are described by the estate as its calling cards; start a tasting there before the Scheurebe.
Naturland-certified organic estate in the Retzstadt side valley, farming 17 hectares at 78 percent Silvaner, a VDP member since 2014 under the May family.
Tasting: Cellar-door sales in Retzstadt by appointment.
Tip: The estate's tagline is Nichts fuer Anfaenger, nothing for beginners, a fair warning about how dry and structured the Silvaner runs.
Multi-generation family estate spanning Nordheim and Dettelbach, farming 14.3 hectares with Silvaner and Mueller-Thurgau leading, a VDP member since 1974.
Tasting: Cellar door in Nordheim plus a wine bar and guest house, Himmelstoss, in Dettelbach.
Tip: The Dettelbach Himmelstoss location combines a wine bar with the tasting room, useful for an evening stop.
Organic pioneer at the Steigerwald's western edge, Naturland certified since the 1970s and farming the Wiesenbronner Geissberg and the two-hectare Heller Berg parcel.
Tasting: Vinothek tastings in Wiesenbronn, adjoining the family-run RotHweinHotel.
Tip: The two-hectare Heller Berg site is farmed exclusively by the estate, ask if a bottling from it is currently available.
Organic-certified fourth-generation estate at Franken's western edge near Alzenau, farming 11 hectares with Riesling leading over Mueller-Thurgau, Silvaner and Domina.
Tasting: Tastings for groups up to 18, cellar tours, and the annual Hofweinfest on the second weekend of July.
Tip: Domina, a Franken-bred red crossing, is a distinctive pour here alongside the more common Riesling and Silvaner.
Tasting room of the Graf von Schoenborn family's Bioland-certified Schloss Hallburg estate, set in a former Celtic refuge fortress above the Main loop, farming 35 hectares since the family took over in 1806.