Blankenhorn winery stands for premium wines from the Markgräflerland region in southwest Germany, characterised by chalk-rich soils, sustainable cultivation and a clear focus on terroir and origin.
Blankenhorn winery
Grand vision paired with courage
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Taking over a traditional, well established winery with more than 250 years of history requires a great deal of courage and passion. Lawyer-turned-visionary winemaker Martin Männer has both.
From career changer to visionary
‘He's crazy.’ Martin Männer has heard this phrase plenty of times since he took over Blankenhorn winery in Markgräflerland in Germany’s Baden region in 2014. The Kaiserstuhl native doesn’t come from a long-established winemaking family and isn’t a trained winemaker. Instead, he is a career changer par excellence. Wine was both a passion and a hobby for many years until his manifest enthusiasm, grand visions and a small dose of irrationality saw him take this big step.
The dawn of a new era
In recent years, he has awakened the Blankenhorn winery from its slumber, extensively renovated the historic buildings, consistently streamlined the portfolio of wines and precisely identified the potential of special sites. With a keen sense for the long history of the 250-year-old traditional VDP winery, Männer has left no stone unturned – implementing viti-forest projects, dense plantings and the use of French Pinot Noir clones.
Return to the Gutedel variety
Today, Blankenhorn focuses once again on the traditional Gutedel grape variety (or Chasselas as it is known in France), cultivated in different styles and classification levels. Specifically, it was a bottle of aged Chasselas from Switzerland that inspired Martin Männer's original enthusiasm for this ancient white grape, which has stayed with him ever since. In addition, he and his team cultivate Burgundy wines based on the French model, with a keen sense of the influences of the neighbouring countries of France and Switzerland. The vineyards are cultivated biodynamically and from the 2026 vintage will be certified organic. The winery also bears the Fair'n Green sustainability seal.
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‘He's crazy.’ Martin Männer has heard this phrase more than a few times since he took over the Blankenhorn winery in Markgräflerland in Germany's Baden in 2014. The Kaiserstuhl native does not come from a long-established winemaking family and he is not a trained winemaker. Instead, he is a career changer par excellence. Wine was his passion and hobby for many years until his manifest enthusiasm, grand vision saw him throw caution to the wind and take this big step.
