VDP winemaker Armin Störrlein from Winery J. Störrlein & Krenig*** in Randersacker (Franconia) has passed away at the age of 79. With his death, Franconian viticulture loses a formative personality. For decades, he led the business with great consistency, artisanal care, and trust in origin and soil.

Together with his wife, he laid the foundation for the winery in the 1960s and built it up step by step. Störrlein was clear in his convictions, consistent, often demanding, and always honest. This attitude was reflected in his wines: straightforward, precise, and tension-filled. They bore a distinctive signature and gained recognition beyond Franconia.

Born into a winemaker family, Armin Störrlein was initially interested in technology and engines at a young age. Only at the urging of his father did he decide on viticulture – but on the condition of a solid education, which he completed at the Winery Schmitt’s Kinder ****. After his apprenticeship and technical school, he was drawn to Burgundy. Shortly thereafter, the early death of his father fundamentally changed his life: at just 19 years old, he took over the small family business in Randersacker. The beginning was difficult and not free from mistakes, as he later openly admitted.

In the mid-1980s, Störrlein underwent a change in thinking. The high yields, new cultivars, and intensive fertilization and plant protection common at the time led, in his view, to overburdened vines and interchangeable wines. Together with companions like Hans Ruck, Paul Fürst, and Karl Schmitt, he charted a new course: away from mass production, towards origin, structure, and depth. This attitude sustainably shaped Franconian quality viticulture.

In economically difficult times, when Bocksbeutel wines were offered in supermarkets for a few marks, Störrlein remained committed to this path. He invested in vineyards and cellar technology, expanded the vineyard area, and was a co-founder of the Trias association, whose terroir philosophy became pioneering for Franconia. From modest beginnings, Winery J. Störrlein & Krenig developed into a solid establishment with around 12.5 hectares of vineyard area today. As one of 16 wine-producing families in Randersacker, he contributed to making the Randersackerer Sonnenstuhl a renowned site.

Armin Störrlein consciously and early shaped the generational change. With the handover of the winery to his daughter Christiane and her husband Martin Krenig, he relinquished responsibility. Until the end, he remained a companion and advisor in the business.

(ru – Image: Winery J. Störrlein & Krenig)