Appears in
Oxford Companion to Wine

By Jancis Robinson

Published 2006

  • About

Keller is German for a cellar, even a small domestic cellar, while Kellerei is used in much the same way as the word cave in French, for any sort of wine-producing premises whether above or below ground. A German wine specifying a Keller rather than a weingut on the label is usually the produce of a merchant rather than an estate. In alto adige, the Italian Tyrol, Kellereigenossenschaft is a common name for one of the many wine co-operatives. Kellermeister is German for cellarmaster, a position very similar to maître de chai in France.