Although vineyards had belonged to the Weis family for centuries, Nicolaus Weis (vintage 1905, Nik Weis' grandfather) founded the winery in 1947. In the early years he built cellars and winery buildings on a hill on Leiwen's periphery. He named his estate for the patron saint of German winemakers, St. Urban, and “Hof” (the German word for 'estate'), St. Urban's Estate. In order to produce great wines one needs a wholesome philosophy of viti-vinification. At St. Urbans-Hof Nik Weis pursues the idea of wholesome winemaking. He's in constant contact with his two closest staff members, cellar master Rudolf Hoffmann and vineyard manager Hermann Jostock. Together, and individually, they've a clear vision of the wines' profiles. In order to reach these profiles, thoughtful care is taken through every single step in the vineyard and cellar because these steps are interdependent. That's how a plan develops for a complex procedure which Nik considers as the 'wine genesis' rather than 'winemaking'. This 'wine genesis' has man taking part only in the role of guide, not actively interfering. Great wine isn't manufactured, great wine is grown.