2Naturkinder

2Naturkinder is run by Melanie Drese and Michael Völker in Kitzingen, Franconia (Franken), Bavaria. Michael's family winery dates to 1843 along the river Main. His father had already converted some parcels to organic in the 1990s. Melanie and Michael spent six years abroad - Heidelberg, Regensburg, London, New York - working in science publishing. They discovered natural wine by accident, came home, and took over the family operation around 2012-2013, initially making a few hundred bottles from two parcels.

Seven hectares now across sites in Kitzingen (Eselsberg), Volkach, Iphofen, Theilheim, and Rodelsee - on shell-limestone and Keuper soils, vine ages fifteen to forty-plus years. The grapes are Franconia's own: Silvaner (the identity grape), Müller-Thurgau, Bacchus, Regent, and Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir). Farmed organically and biodynamically. In the cellar: skin-contact fermentation (from hours to weeks), whole-bunch processing, foot-treading, aging in large oak or stainless steel, zero added sulphur across the entire range. They also make pét-nat and cider.

Michael has a distinctive side interest in bat conservation: he uses bat guano from a local nature conservancy as fertiliser and sponsors research on bats' role in the vineyard ecosystem. Several labels carry bat imagery ("Fledermaus"). The hand-drawn labels are a house signature - playful, colourful, immediately recognisable.

2Naturkinder is part of the German natural wine wave alongside Enderle & Moll and Wasenhaus - proving that Germany's natural-wine potential extends well beyond Baden and the Mosel into the underexplored Franconian heartland.