A Path to Wine: An Interview with Katharina Prüm

Introducing A Path to Wine, an interview series published in conjunction with JancisRobinson.com. Featuring some of the best-known women in wine, we discuss the impact of their lives and careers as they inherit the legacy of world-renowned wine estates.

Through these intimate conversations, we delve into their personal journeys, the challenges they face in a traditionally male-dominated industry, and their visions for the future of winemaking. Each story offers a unique perspective on the evolving landscape of the wine world, celebrating the passion of these remarkable women. For the first in our interview series, we spoke to Dr Katharina Prüm, the fourth generation of her family to manage the Joh. Jos. Prüm estate, producing some of the most sought-after sweet wines in the world.

With holdings in many of the Mittelmosel’s most famous and historic sites, Prüm is a founding member of the VDP. Established by Katharina’s great-grandfather Johann Josef Prüm, in the village of Wehlen in 1911, the winery rapidly built an unshakeable reputation for its exceptionally pure, mineral expressions of Riesling. Today, Katharina and her father Manfred are co-owners of Prüm, farming 22 hectares of Riesling vines, and Katharina now heads up the winemaking responsibilities.

Thank you for joining us, Katharina. Would you mind sharing a little bit about your upbringing in the Mosel valley?

I grew up in the village of Wehlen, right in the winery itself. Our family lived just above the tasting rooms and cellar. Wehlen is a small village in the middle of the Mosel, an hour from Luxembourg and the French border. Living in a winery was normal for me, surrounded by vineyards and in constant contact with the team. As a child, it felt more like a playground than something I actively reflected on.

It sounds like your upbringing was deeply intertwined with the world of wine. Do you recall a point when you started to become actively interested in wine?

There were different moments. My father would let us blind-taste wines when we were around 15, encouraging us to describe them and to guess their characteristics. It was more of a fun thing to do then, rather than anything that was professionally challenging. But the turning point was when my father broke his leg during harvest, which was not the best timing, and I had to step in and learn about winemaking processes. I was in the second year of my high school degree so would spend my evenings learning how to use the press and learning which buttons did what. I liked having the small amount of responsibility I was given at the time but it wasn’t something that I was actively considering for my future. It was a gradual process of becoming actively involved but I enjoyed it from the start.

After your high school studies, you took a different path, exploring various jobs in London and Spain. How did this period influence your perspective on wine?

It was crucial for me to experience different professions, people, and regions. I had too many ideas and needed to try some of them out. I worked in London at Fortnum and Masons in the wrapping department in the cellars and later in the wine department. I also worked at a wine merchant, and then an art gallery for a couple of months. I went to Spain to improve my Spanish. Subsequently, I decided to study law, following my father's recommendations as he is also a lawyer and felt he’d taken a lot from that experience. I went to Münster which is in the northern part of Germany where there are zero wine regions. Of course, it’s improving now but at the time there was very little good wine to be found. I also went there as it enabled me to do international law studies and American law. I wouldn’t end up being a barrister or lawyer in the US but it was a two year certification that gave me the chance to really understand the American law. It was so important to get to know a completely different profession to wine, as well as to meet different people.

As part of this qualification, we had to do an internship, so I chose to work in a small law firm in Oklahoma. There were options to work in larger firms in the bigger cities but I thought that I might feel quite lost as a little German girl and would end up getting tea for people or manning the mailbox, so decided to work somewhere smaller where I would gain a more tailored experience. The firm I ended up in had only 4 lawyers, so I had a very rounded experience, whilst also getting to know the American lifestyle outside of the big cities. Since the US has always been an essential market for us, and because my father didn’t like travelling, I also attended wine tastings during my time there. Meeting people passionate about our wines, hearing their stories, and experiencing their enthusiasm shifted my perspective on the wine industry. I found it really touching. It made me realise the joy and connection that wine brings to people globally. I finished studying in 2003 and after my exams I decided to go back to my family’s estate and begin working there, bring my contacts and experience from America with me.

It's so interesting that seeing your family estate and your wines from the outside brought you back in. It’s great to see how other people's perceptions of your wines and their passion resonated with you.

Seeing how other people viewed it, and also experiencing a different life during my time at law school, which I enjoyed, changed how I saw the company. It wasn't something I couldn't have imagined continuing professionally, but wine, in general, is a more colourful business. You work a lot with nature, starting from scratch, making decisions, and having a close connection with Mother Earth. Then, there's the finished product that you export to many countries, connecting with people globally. It's both the distance from the estate and understanding the impact and joy it brings to people that made me want to work here.

Do you think your father being hands-off helped you make your own decisions rather than being told what to do?

Absolutely. If he had pressured me into following a certain path, it wouldn't have worked for me. It allowed me to make my own decisions and discover what I really wanted to do. And that was, in the end, to work at the family estate.

You officially joined your father, Dr Manfred Prüm, at your family estate in 2003 and have been co-owner since 2005. What was your role, and how did it evolve?

Initially, it was a learning and assisting role. I grew up around the estate, but it was more like playing around than having a specific job. In 2003, which was an unusual vintage, I observed, assisted, and learned from discussions with my father and others. Over the years, my role evolved from passive assistance to more active involvement, step by step. No-one in my family has had a professional winemaking education so there has been a lot of learning on the job which has been fantastic.

How did you feel about working alongside your father in a family business?

It involved different aspects. Transitioning from being a child to having a more active role changed the dynamic. It was both challenging and rewarding, with moments of closeness and challenge. The most challenging parts came in the development phase as my role changed from passively learning and asking questions to having an opinion. Our general approach was the same: nature is the boss. We aimed to authentically reflect our piece of land in the bottles.

How would you say you and your father make agreements together and share the wine making responsibilities?

One aspect that is important to understand is that I’ve never wanted to do something differently, just for the sake of being different or to do something differently just to make my mark. I struggle with the term winemaker because I don’t see us as winemakers. Nature is the winemaker and it’s our job to understand nature each year to make the best wine out of it. We want to get the best of what she offers into the bottle. I'd describe my role as an observer and assistant, facilitating the vines to express the uniqueness of our piece of land, especially during our ever-changing climate. Perhaps, I’d call myself an observer. I’m there to assist nature in making wine. My father and I have the same approach in this way so I wouldn’t say we have any fundamental disagreements, but we had discussions about when we should pick which parcel for example. There can be lots of discussion into the smaller detail for example concerning the exact amount of residual sugar there should be and so on. It’s more questions we pose to one another, rather than any disagreements.

What challenges do you face in viticulture, and how do you adapt to changing conditions?

Every year is different, and challenges vary. For example, in a dry year, we may decide to do more green harvesting to ensure the vines' health and guarantee quality. There's no fixed formula; it's about observing, assisting, and adapting to the specific conditions each year. It's about understanding nature, observing closely, and facilitating the vines to produce the best possible fruit in a given year. We don't compare vintages directly, as each year is unique.

Working in wine, you cannot compare with other years because weather conditions are so different, and you cannot predict what will happen in the future. We always meet after harvest and brainstorm to talk about the vintage and what our impressions are and to share our experiences. This helps us to see what we might have done differently. But our aim every year is to get as close to optimal as possible. We accept that we cannot get everything 100% right given the changes in nature so you piece together all the experiences from previous years for each new vintage to get it as right as possible.

Thinking back to those early years when you joined the business and were learning, observing, and taking a more active role, can you remember the most challenging aspects of coming into the business. And equally, what went really well for you?

It’s difficult to pick out one or two challenges as there were quite a few! But one challenge that stands out was the way in which we had to redefine responsibilities following new people joining the company like myself, and the structure changing as a whole.

Your family estate has a history of over 100 years. Looking forward, what are your ambitions for Prüm in the next five, ten, and twenty years?

The key is to improve on all the little things. We also want to continue focusing on sustainability as it’s a crucial aspect to our business and industry. There's no recipe book for perfect sustainability (although I wish there was!); each wine estate must find its own system. Sustainability encompasses various aspects, from vineyard work to packaging and selling. For example, we're considering the weight of bottles and even the necessity of travel in terms of CO2 emissions. Sustainability is a broad topic, and there's no one-size-fits-all solution. The entire process, from vine production to packaging and selling, requires careful consideration of its environmental impact.

Another side of the business that we are always trying to work on is our wine’s presence within the market, both our specific product but also the style of wine. We are continuously adapting how we sell and where and who we sell to. We distribute to 50 markets, and we see each importer as a representative of our wine and so it’s important that each one holds or puts forward our brand and philosophy. We also want to make sure that people understand our product as best we can and challenge existing prejudice against the style of wine that we make; we do this by educating on what kind of food it should be paired with and how we make it. This way, our customers and future customers will appreciate our product the most.

How would you sum up Prüm and its ethos in a few sentences?

We stand for authenticity. And in terms of sustainability, we are not fully organic in the way that it is defined in Germany (although some parcels are grown organically). For us, sustainability and being organic are not the same thing. Sustainability is doing the best for nature whereas practising organic farming means using quite a lot of copper. This is something that we’re struggling with as we’re questioning whether it actually is better for nature than other treatments. If you’re organic you also have to spray the vines more regularly with this copper which is toxic for the soil and which leads to more CO2 emissions. Unfortunately, it is not as simple as you might think. But sustainability is the key thing at Prüm, rather than being organic. We work hard to do the best for and protect nature.

As you step into a more central role in the family estate, how has the transition been for you?

The transition has been gradual and step by step. It wasn't a sudden change, allowing for a more natural progression. Since it was a constant evolution, there wasn't a significant shift in feeling; it was more about growing into the role.

What are you most excited about for Prüm in the immediate future?

I'm most excited about the upcoming vintage and discovering how it develops. Tasting the must and fermenting juice is always thrilling. I feel more informed about this vintage, having learned from the challenges of the previous year. Additionally, applying the lessons learned to future vintages is an exciting prospect.

You emphasized the importance of the team in winemaking. Can you share more about the significance of the team and their role in the winemaking process?

The team is crucial in all aspects, from working in the vineyard to finalising the product in the cellar. It's a collective effort, and I often feel that the team aspect is generally not sufficiently acknowledged. Every member plays a vital role, and it's a collaborative process. The team's dedication contributes significantly to the success of the estate.

It seems there's a need to shift the focus from individual winemakers to the entire team involved in winemaking. How can the industry better celebrate and acknowledge the contributions of the broader team?

There is indeed a need to shift the focus from individual winemakers to the entire team. Celebrating the team's efforts should be emphasized more. The hard work of those in the vineyard, who meticulously care for the vines, should be recognized and appreciated. It's a collective effort that deserves more attention and acknowledgment within the industry.

Do you have a favourite region for Riesling outside of Germany?

That’s not an easy question as Germany is a country most known for Riesling. I do love to discover different Rieslings from other regions, both to taste new wines but also to understand the difference conditions in which they are grown. It has definitely made me even more grateful for the conditions we have here as nature provides a lot of the things we need to make good Riesling. But if I had to name one country, I’d choose Austria. There are several great regions there and it has Wachau which produces wines I like a lot. Alsace is in an interesting place of progress and there’s lots of discussion internally in the ways that Alsace is repositioning itself in the wine world in terms of the style and that’s very exciting to see the development.

I have also met Australian Riesling producers who I have huge respect for as it’s a difficult climate to make wines in. I’ve been to the Finger Lakes and it’s interesting to see what’s happening there and I’ve also been to the West Coast, to Washington State which is really exciting. You drive through the empty desert and then come across a Riesling field which needs 100% irrigation. You wouldn’t expect to be able to make anything drinkable out of it, but you can! It’s completely different of course. Here we have more “natural” conditions so the wine is down mostly to the earth’s conditions, however there, you have to be much more of a winemaker and creator which I find really interesting.

Finally, what wine is your fridge?

I have some leftovers from tastings, a little bit of Champagne which I’m loving more and more. I’m discovering Champagne still and have loved learning about the smaller growers which is a lot of fun. Ungrafted wines are important to us and I had a wine recently from the Loire valley, 2010 vintage, which was also ungrafted vines. It is far rarer to see there than here, and it was fantastic! I love to discover new wines and there are so many good ones around the globe which I’m so fortunate to be able to try.

To finish, it’s now 20 years since you joined the family business. What piece of advice would you give to your younger self.

I’d say, don't judge yourself. I think what helped really was to have that attitude. Don't overestimate your role and understand that nature is the boss really. Appreciate the team that you work with and what they do, that’s really important.

Thank you, Katharina. It was wonderful to dive into the world of Joh. Jos. Prüm and to understand your role in your historic family business and the way in which it has evolved.