The news reaches Armin Rupp at the wine market in Cologne. “His” winery will be leased out again at the beginning of 2026. For thirty years, the master winemaker and his family have been running the city of Frankfurt’s winery, which includes not only the vines on the Lohrberg in the city, but also 22 hectares in an excellent location in Hochheim am Main and in Mainz-Kostheim. But now the city’s winery is being put out to tender again and leased out – again for thirty years.
The city has announced a “concept procedure” and is dividing the winery into five lots, each of which is being offered for 30 years. The lease includes the “Weingut Stadt Frankfurt am Main” brand, 23.3 hectares of vineyards, the partially listed 18th century estate building in the old town of Hochheim with production hall, wine cellar and estate tavern, the wine shop on Limpurgergasse in Frankfurt and the wine bar in the Römer town hall. Interested parties can bid on all lots or just on individual ones. For example, the wine bar in the Römer, which was no longer run by the Rupp family, is being advertised in a separate lot. The vineyards are also being divided into different lots.
Many gold medals
So far, they are in one hand, the Rupp family business. Rupp’s daughter-in-law Bianca is responsible for selling wine in the wine shop, and his son Jürgen can be found in the vineyard in Hochheim. They are supported by four employees. Rupp wants to take a look at the tender documents when he returns from Cologne. The winemaker wants to sell his wines there too. He has to submit an offer by September 30th. He is certain that he wants to continue: “I will apply again.”
A little rusty: The listed estate in Hochheim is the heart of the municipal winery.Marcus Kaufhold
But why is the city looking for a new tenant? It’s not as if Rupp has had little success. His wines are regularly praised and decorated for their outstanding quality. This year’s state wine awards also saw many gold medals. But there are problems with marketing. “We have to work on that,” says the winemaker self-critically and is considering bringing in professional support. “I neglected advertising. I made the best wines in the Rheingau, but hardly anyone knew it. We have to improve that.”
The fact that the advertising for the city’s wines could be better is also evident from the press release, which explicitly mentions the desire for “fresh marketing”. The city is looking for tenants who will pay a market-based rent and run the winery in a financially sustainable manner. In addition, the focus in the future will be on organic farming: the vineyards will be managed in accordance with good professional practice, ecologically sustainably, glyphosate-free, in accordance with biodiversity criteria and the Water Framework Directive, and with a view to organic farming in the future. Rupp’s son Jürgen says that this is “in the pipeline” anyway.
City wants “fresh marketing”
In addition, the tenants are expected to contribute to the profile of the city of Frankfurt with their wines: In this way, the city is also following the development in German wine-growing, in which young, well-trained winemakers are establishing themselves with quality wines and fresh marketing. Jürgen Rupp is pleased that there is now finally clarity. His family had wanted to extend the lease for more than ten years and had postponed investments because it was unclear what would happen next.
Before the tender, the city says it sought advice from “renowned experts” from the wine industry and the Geisenheim University. “By re-leasing the municipal winery, we are aiming for more ecological management, modernization of the wine-growing operation and, last but not least, contemporary marketing for our city that also appeals to young people,” said Sylvia Weber (SPD), head of the building department, who is responsible for municipal properties.
The city also justifies the new award of the winery, which was founded in 1803, on licensing grounds. Until 1994, the city’s winery was run as a private enterprise. Since then, it has been leased to Rupp, who has another business in Framersheim in the Rhine-Hesse region. The city says the new award is in accordance with the concession award regulations. Terms must be limited. The new term of 30 years is based on the previous lease.
A jury will make a recommendation
The documents are on the Website The address is almost identical to the homepage that the Rupp family has set up for the winery. The award will also be advertised in national specialist media and through committees, clubs and associations in the winegrowing sector. This does not deter Jürgen Rupp. “My concept is already complete,” he says. The winemaker is expecting great competition. However, only a shell will be leased, as the entire inventory belongs to his family.
The city states in its tender that the majority of the vineyards will be cleared and replanted in the next few years. This does not shock Armin Rupp at all. When he took over the winery as a tenant in 1994, he replanted part of the vineyards and left another part as it was. It is “a mixed bag,” he says. “Vineyards have a certain lifespan and need to be replanted regularly.” Every twenty to fifty years, the time has come again.
Anyone interested in the winery and its components can see for themselves at the end of August: The wine bar in the Römer can be visited on August 27th from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. A tour of the rooms in Hochheim will take place on the same day from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The vineyards can be visited at any time. The city council will decide which tenant will ultimately be awarded the contract. A jury will make a recommendation beforehand.
