Philipp Grob

Career Natural wine at Weinbau Grob Chlapf in St. Gallen, Switzerland, is shaped here by steep ground, hand work, and a sparse kit. Philipp Grob describes harvest as manual work, which puts the season on a slower register and keeps the cellar tied to the pace of the vineyard rather than the other way around. The terrain does much of the defining. Grob says the vineyards are often on steep slopes and that he has taken over various plots in different estates, many of them worked by older growers. In that setting, the job is not to impose a system but to read the land, move with it, and keep enough patience for the parcels to return the effort. The methods are equally stripped back. Grob says he was never taught how to use sulfites, came from other professional backgrounds, and has no specific tools or machines apart from a press. That places the work in a practical frame: observe, adapt, and make wine from what the site and the vintage will allow. The cellar is also a record of contact. Grob notes that each of these spaces brings new encounters, both human and animal, and that detail points to a working landscape where the vineyard is never sealed off from the people and life around it.

Signature

Philipp Grob's signature bottles include Chlapf Müller Thurgau, Chlapf Sauvignon Blanc, Chlapf Pinot Noir, and Hahnberg 2022. Together they trace the range of his cellar, with Chlapf Pinot Noir standing out as one of the clearest expressions of the house style.

In Their Words “I've never been taught how to use sulfites, I come from other professional backgrounds, and I don't have any specific tools or machines, apart from a press.” “Each of these spaces offers me new encounters, both human and animal.”