|
|
One of the oldest and largest German wineries, the Staatlicher Hofkeller Würzburg ***, has made a loss of 4.28 million euros in the years 2017 to 2021, as the Bavarian Ministry of Agriculture told the Würzburg daily newspaper "Mainpost" in response to an enquiry. In addition to losses due to the Corona pandemic, restructuring and necessary investments for modernisation and construction work were responsible for the negative result. The winery has been owned by the respective rulers since the 12th century. Today it is a company of the Free State of Bavaria, to which it has been directly subordinate since 2005.
According to the ministry, the investments are intended to enable the Hofkeller to operate economically again in the future. Among other things, the event area has been redesigned. From 2009 to 2016, the winery still made a profit of 2.2 million euros. The area under cultivation of the winery, which is housed in the Würzburg Residenz, is around 120 ha. The rent alone for the prominent address, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is up to 70,000 euros a year. According to the ministry, however, a sale is not up for discussion, as this would harm Franconia as a wine location. The extensive and labyrinthine cellar with wine treasure chamber under the residence built by Baroque master builder Balthasar Neumann is one of Würzburg's most important tourist destinations.
(al / Source: Main-Post)