Like father, like son? Oh well. Jürgen Dahms had already come to terms with being the last winemaker in his family. Now his eldest is selling wine – albeit non-alcoholic.
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Luca (left) and his father Jürgen Dahms tasting this year’s wines. © Marian Lenhard for DIE ZEIT
In the beginning there was wine. And one question: Can’t you bring something non-alcoholic with you?
Luca Dahms, 31, grew up on a vineyard, literally. His parents’ house in Lower Franconia is surrounded on two sides by vines that are now bare and cut short in winter. His father and his cousin run the winery in the third generation, named after the family: Dahms. Even though there are several wineries in the region, theirs is the only one in Schweinfurt, they say proudly. They sell 150,000 bottles a year – Silvaner, Scheurebe, Pinot Blanc. When they celebrate a wine festival, the guests sit in the courtyard. The stage is diagonally opposite the kitchen window. The family and the wine belong together for the Dahms.