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.
Tip: The estate's tagline is Nichts fuer Anfaenger, nothing for beginners, a fair warning about how dry and structured the Silvaner runs.
Address: Im Eberstal 1, 97282 Retzstadt, Germany, Franken
Small Escherndorf estate on the Lump vineyard farming 8.5 hectares, a VDP member since 1997, with Mueller-Thurgau and Silvaner leading production.
Tasting: Cellar-door and online shop sales, weekday and Saturday hours.
Tip: A smaller, less-visited Lump producer than its Escherndorf neighbours, worth seeking out for value bottlings.
Mainviereck aristocratic estate at Kleinheubach farming 13.2 hectares, known for the steep Homburger Kallmuth site and dry Silvaner and Riesling styles.
Tasting: Estate sales at Schlosspark, Kleinheubach; the family also farms sites in Rheingau and Baden.
Tip: Ask specifically for Kallmuth bottlings, the estate's steepest and most distinctive site on the Main loop near Homburg.
Small family estate on the Escherndorfer Lump, farming 5.8 hectares under Peter and Sophie Schaeffer since 2022, with Silvaner leading a dry Franconian range.
Tasting: Cellar-door sales in Volkach-Escherndorf, Monday to Saturday.
Tip: Recently planted Chardonnay is a new departure for the estate, worth asking about alongside the core Silvaner.
Randersacker family estate farming 9 hectares of Sonnenstuhl and neighbouring Muschelkalk sites, with Silvaner leading a low-intervention, naturally styled range.
Tasting: Weekday and Saturday cellar-door sales in Randersacker; Sunday by arrangement.
Tip: The estate's stated philosophy is that a wine's beauty should develop naturally, not be manufactured, reflected in a minimal-intervention cellar approach.
Roedelsee estate on the Steigerwald's gypsum-keuper edge, farming 9.4 hectares at 60 percent Silvaner from the Hoheleite and Kuechenmeister sites, VDP member since 1993.
Tasting: Weekday and Saturday cellar-door sales in Roedelsee.
Tip: Ask for the Hoheleite Silvaner Grosses Gewaechs, a single-site bottling from the estate's home vineyard.
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.
