Since 1520.
One hand.

Rooted in the slate of the Middle Mosel.

Chronicle

Five hundred years,
twenty-two generations.

What is written here are not slogans, but milestones. Compiled from files, walls, awards, and family names.

First mention of the name

The family name Milz is first mentioned in documents in the Moselle region. Latin "miles" (soldier) and Middle High German "milte" (generous, kind) converge in the name. The first name Josef becomes a tradition for all male descendants.

Coat of arms of the Milz family, rooted in Trittenheim since 1520

Milestone · Founding

Deep roots in Trittenheim

The Milz family puts down roots in Trittenheim and makes viticulture their family mission. The winery's unbroken lineage dates back to this year.

Wartime and challenges in Mosel viticulture

War and Continuity

Thirty Years' War. Joseph Milz (1580–1635) guides the business through devastated vineyards, passing troops, and failed harvests. What remains is the soil, the craft, the name.

Construction of the historical wine cellar in 1680

The quarry stone cellar

Christian Joseph Milz (1662–1728) built the historic wine cellar. Massive quarry-stone walls, deep in the ground, cool and quiet. Still in operation today.

Expansion of the farm

Johann Joseph Milz (1687–1760) expanded the estate buildings. New operational and storage areas allowed for more efficient organization and more precisely managed stocks.

Franz Josef Milz, founder of the wholesale wine merchant 1891

Wine wholesaler in Neumagen

Franz Josef Milz (1868–1951) founded a wine wholesale business in Neumagen, where a post station allowed for shipping across the empire. His influence on the Moselle winemakers shaped an entire generation.

Milestone · VDP

Founding member of the VDP

Josef Milz (1890–1976) made the winery a founding member of the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates. The focus is on steep slopes, slate soils, and Riesling.

Self-employment

After 22 years in the Trier Wine Auction Ring, the estate is breaking away and marketing its wines itself. The famous 1929 Neumagener Sonnenuhr as an estate-bottled cellar selection dates back to this time.

Takeover of the winery by Karl Josef Milz, 1948

Post-war reconstruction

Karl Josef Milz (1927–2016) took over the business as a young man. Gradual reconstruction of viticulture after the war, shift towards direct marketing instead of commission auctions.

Three generations of the Milz family with DLG awards, 1970

Awards and recognition

Golden Chamber Prize coins, Grand Prizes of the DLG Federal Wine Awards in several years. In 1976 alone, eleven Chamber Prize coins, four of them in gold. Trittenheimer Leiterchen, Felsenkopf, and Altärchen are nationally recognized.

22nd generation taking over

Markus Milz, son of Karl Josef, takes over the winery. The focus shifts to vineyard care and site authenticity, careful further development instead of a clean break.

Wine bar in Trittenheim

Opening of a new wine bar in the immediate vicinity of our main establishment. Tradition meets modern presentation, a meeting place for guests and wine lovers.

500 years of viticulture, anniversary 2020

Milestone · Five hundred years

Five hundred years of viticulture

The winery is celebrating an extraordinary anniversary: five hundred years of continuous viticulture in Trittenheim. One of the oldest wineries in Germany.

Today

Five centuries of Josef Milz. Fair to nature. Great in the glass.

Riesling from the steep slate slopes of the Middle Mosel. Five steep vineyard sites, one of which is a monopole, Felsenkopf. Careful hand-harvesting, sustainable cultivation, quality-oriented vinification.

Cellar & Treasury

Deep in the slate.
Cool and quiet.

The single-vineyard wines mature in the quarry stone cellar dating back to 1680. The vintages of the last generations slumber in the treasure chamber: magnums and half-bottles, cool, untouched, documented.