Shaping the future together: respekt-BIODYN celebrates St John’s Day in Germany
Leading biodynamic wineries place great emphasis on collaboration, innovation and friendly exchange. The Weingut am Stein in Würzburg in Franconias provided the ideal setting for this.
Vienna, 29 June 2026
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St John’s Day has been one of the most important agricultural festivals for centuries. For the members of the European winegrowers’ group respekt-BIODYN, it is also the annual occasion to come together to exchange experiences, discuss future issues, further develop biodynamic viticulture as a collective, and celebrate in style. This year’s St John’s Day celebrations were hosted by Sandra and Ludwig Knoll from the Weingut am Stein winery in Würzburg, in the Franconian wine region, which has been a member of respekt-BIODYN since 2022. Together with their son Vinzenz Knoll, daughter Antonia Knoll-Rau, her husband Marius Rau and the respekt winegrowers, they welcomed their international guests from the catering, retail and media sectors to a day dedicated to biodynamic wine and the summer solstice. Together, they made respekt-JOHANNI a vibrant industry gathering full of inspiring encounters and stimulating conversations.
The focus was on biodynamic practices in action and current issues for the future: preparation work and biodiversity with biodynamic consultant Dr Georg Meißner, the use of modern drone technology on the steep slopes of Stettener Stein, and in-depth discussions – including on the topic of ‘irrigation in times of climate change’ – held directly in the vineyard. As part of a carefully curated table tasting, the respekt wineries demonstrated the great diversity and expressiveness of their top wines. The clear architecture of the Weingut am Stein and the cellar tour with Ludwig Knoll provided the perfect setting for discussions on provenance, quality and the future. respekt chairman Fritz Wieninger: “Sandra, Antonia, Ludwig, Marius and Vinz were outstanding hosts. They have once again demonstrated that respekt-BIODYN is far more than just an association. This is where people come together to share their knowledge, learn from one another and shape the future of viticulture together. Thank you very much!”
Three masterclasses were devoted to the central theme of ‘The Future of Viticulture’. Prof. Dr Christian Kellermann, a researcher at the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) and the University of Labour Frankfurt, took the audience on a journey through the myths and realities of artificial intelligence in viticulture, offering a reality check. Harald Scholl, editor-in-chief of VINUM Weinmagazin Deutschland, explored in his tasting session how biodynamic viticulture can reveal a wine’s origin, texture and profile in the glass. Hermann Mengler, former viticulture adviser to the government of Lower Franconia, added a cultural and socio-political perspective to the programme with his deliberately interdisciplinary lecture ‘Enjoyment is Life’. Glasses from Spiegelau and mineral water from Gerolsteiner rounded off the Johanni Festival organised by respekt-BIODYN.
The evening culminated in regional haute cuisine prepared by Imperial Nürnberg, Jamei Laibspeis, Zeit am Stein, Schmackofatz, Backöfele, the Düll bakery and Pasta e Olio, the traditional St John’s Bonfire, and a summer evening filled with music, large bottles of wine and good conversation. When six winegrowers finally began dancing around the St John’s bonfire, it created one of those unplanned yet long-remembered moments.
The Knoll family, the hosts, thanked all their partners and guests for attending: “It was a great pleasure to see the openness, curiosity and appreciation with which our guests approached biodynamic viticulture.”
respekt-BIODYN was founded in 2007 and now comprises 31 members with 33 wineries in Austria, Germany, Italy and Slovenia. The association’s aim is to combine the highest wine quality with the greatest possible individuality, based on biodynamic viticulture. The chairman is the Viennese winemaker Fritz Wieninger, and his deputy is Rainer Schnaitmann from Württemberg. In total, the members cultivate around 1,050 hectares of vineyards. respekt-biodyn.bio
respekt-BIODYN
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Stammersdorfer Strasse 31, 1210 Vienna, Austria
Email: info@respekt-biodyn.bio
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