Few wine enthusiasts probably realize that with every sip of Riesling from Schloss Johannisberg, they are enjoying the legacy of nearly 1,200 years of history that involves a monastery and a palace - both of which have a great wine history. The rst documented wine harvest was in A.D. 817. Louis the Pious was delighted with the 6,000 liters of wine from the vines on the hill, then known as Bischofsberg (bishop's hill). Nearly three centuries later (circa 1100), the rst Benedictine monastery in the Rheingau was founded on the hilltop and the monks diligently tended the vines on the slopes below. In 1130, they consecrated their abbey church in honor of John the Baptist, after which the hill, the monastery and the village assumed the name Johannisberg (John's hill). In 1716, the Prince-Abbot of Fulda at that time had the monastery torn down and a Baroque palace built on the site. Parts of the nearly 900-year-old abbey cellar remained intact. After restoring the vineyards in just two years (1719/1720), 294,000 Riesling vines were planted. It is thanks to their efforts that Schloss Johannisberg is justiably the rst Riesling wine estate in the world.
