Enrique Vollmer winery

Bodega Enrique Vollmer is an Argentine vineyard in the Valle de Uco valley, located to the Southwest of Mendoza/Argentina. Since 1987, the vineyard is in the possession of the German winemaker Heinrich Vollmer, who also owns and runs a vineyard in Ellerstadt/Palatinate (region) since 1972.

History

By the end of the 1980s, Heinrich Vollmer found his second home Southwest from Mendoza, in the Valle de Uco valley. He acquired 300 hectares of land. Today, the region alongside the river Tunuyán belongs to the top wine regions of Argentina. Since 1987, Enrique (Heinrich) Vollmer has built up a modern wine-growing estate. The earnings of the vineyard have been continuously reinvested in the Bodega. All year, ten indigenous families are employed on site. About 190 children, partially also from the environs, visit the school on the premises and receive a lunch. Besides wine-growing, extreme mountaineering is Heinrich "Enrique" Vollmer`s passion and hobby. During a hiking tour at Nevado Huascarán in 1983, he had a severe accident. For about five days he laid on the ice, until two Peruvians rescued him. At home in Germany he was considered as missing and soon pronounced dead. Upon his returning home, and out of gratitude for his life rescue, Heinrich Vollmer decided to do something for the indigenous people, who are confronted with discrimination within their own country. The rescue of an Argentine soldier at mountain Aconcagua in 1986 unexpectedly offered him the opportunity to acquire land in Argentina and thus to create jobs. The winegrower spends about four to six months in the year on his Bodega, and looks after vineyards and wines. The wines of Bodega Enrique Vollmer can be recognized by a star on every label, symbol for the Venus, which shows up every evening above the Andes.

Region

The Valle de Uco valley in the Southwest of Argentina offers a good climate, mineral-containing grounds and little precipitation. The heights of the Andes chain transform the humid west winds into dry and hot aerial currents, and therefore ensure a continental semi-desert climate. Strong differences in the seasons with hot summers and cool winters provide for a high content of sugar of the grapes and healthy vines. Chilly summer nights provide for the development of the aromatic substances in the grapes. There are more than 300 days of sun in the year. These small amounts of precipitation of 100 - 300 mm per year require an irrigation of the vineyards. On Bodega Enrique Vollmer, the vines are irrigated through a waterworks, which is fed with the water of the Andes rivers.

Wines/Grapes

The grapes of Bodega Enrique Vollmer mature at a height of up to 1,100 metres at the foot of the Andes. The fertile volcanic soils in which the vines grow, are rich in minerals and hence require no artificial fertilization. Besides, the low air humidity decreases the infestation by pests or illnesses. The wine-making takes place on site in stainless steel tanks. The distribution of the wines is organized through the German vineyard in Ellerstadt.

The following wines are produced at Bodega Enrique Vollmer:

  • Red wines: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Syrah
  • White wines / rosy wine: Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay

The property currently disposes of around 190 hectares of crops and produces 100,000 litres of white wines and 900,000 litres of red wines every year.