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Kobern and Winning UhlenImage: Deutsches Weininstitut
Kobern and Winning Uhlen. The imposing and extremely steep Uhlen, whose name derives from owls nesting in rocks and walls at the edge of the forest, is probably the most renowned vineyard of the Terrassenmosel. Most of it belongs to Kobern-Gondorf, the smaller part is on the territory of the neighbouring municipality of Winningen. Since 2018, there have been three under European wine law protected designations of origin within the Uhlen, which reflect the geological differences: Roth Lay, Blaufüßer Lay and Laubach. As Joachim Krieger explains in his book Terrassenkultur an der Untermosel (Terrace Culture on the Lower Moselle), the Uhlen, a construct of the German wine law of 1971, did not originally exist in its current dimensions. Rather, in its place there were the cadastral sites Uhlen, Untere Uhlen, Obere Uhlen, Im Rabenberg, An der Blaufüßerlay, Unter der Blaufüßerlay, Oberer Hamm and Pfaffenchöre.

Our Latest Ratings

Sparkling winewhitebrutRoter Traminer

2024 Gewürztraminer Sekt brut

St. Laurentius Sekt, Leiwen

Germany

Mosel • Geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung (g. U.)

Amtliche Prüfungsnummer 2529314 3 26 • 12.5 % vol alcohol

17.5🯅🕓

Tasted on 7 March 2026 by Werner Elflein

WinereddryZweigelt

2024 Zweigelt Qualitätswein trocken

Tischler, Halbturn

Austria

Weinland ↳ Burgenland ↳ Neusiedlersee • Districtus Austriae Controllatus (DAC)

Staatliche Prüfnummer E 2373 25 • 13 % vol alcohol

15🯅🕓

Tasted on 7 March 2026 by Werner Elflein

Natural winewhitedryWeißer Burgunder

2021 Dorneck Weißer Burgunder Landwein trocken

Gut Steyerberg, Schweppenhausen

Germany

Nahegauer Landwein • Geschützte geografische Angabe (g. g. A.)

Lot number 2221 • 12.5 % vol alcohol

17🯅🕓

Tasted on 7 March 2026 by Werner Elflein

Sparkling winewhitedryWeißer Riesling

2024 Trittenheim Apotheke Devon-Terrassen Riesling Qualitätswein

Großes Gewächs DER RING Mosel 1899 e. V.

Loersch, Leiwen

Germany

Mosel • Geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung (g. U.)

Amtliche Prüfungsnummer 3594509 15 25 • 12.5 % vol alcohol

18🯅🕓

Tasted on 7 March 2026 by Werner Elflein

Sparkling winewhitebrutElbling

2022 “Cuvée Catharine” Elbling Crémant brut

St. Laurentius Sekt, Leiwen

Germany

Mosel • Geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung (g. U.)

Amtliche Prüfungsnummer 2529314 4 25 • 12.5 % vol alcohol

16.5🯅🕓

Tasted on 7 March 2026 by Werner Elflein

Symbols
🯅The rating of the wine is based on a single taster. The taster is named in the context of the rating. The tasting was either open or blind. In case of a blind tasting, it is explicitly labelled as such.
🯅🯅The rating of the wine is based on two tasters. The tasters are named in the context of the rating. The tasting was carried out according to the four-eyes principle, in which both tasters agree on a joint rating.
🯅🯅🯅The rating is based on a tasting by our jury and indicates the Mean value calculated by us from the individual ratings of the tasters. Our mean value is based on the median.
⚖The wine was evaluated in a blind tasting. We have strict rules for blind tastings. The tasters do not receive any information that would allow them to identify the wines. The tasters are only given access to further information that goes beyond the subject matter if it is absolutely necessary for understanding the wines.
🕓We only had limited time to taste the wine  - typically during an open tasting event, such as a wine fair. It was therefore not possible to observe the development of the wine in the glass over a longer period of time. The informative value of our rating may therefore be limited under certain circumstances.
⛬The wine was tasted as a barrel sample or before an official test number (Amtliche Prüfungsnummer or Staatliche Prüfnummer) was issued. We only accept samples of unfilled wines in exceptional cases, and then only if we can assume sufficient stability in the bottle for a period of at least three months.
▲During our tasting, the wine showed conspicuous sensory characteristics. This does not necessarily have to be a wine fault. We categorise the quality and quantity of the abnormality and include it in the rating. Wine faults such as cork taint or an atypical ageing generally lead to a complete rejection.
Tastings that refer to the same bottle of a wine are visually summarised by a dotted line.

Our Latest Posts

Facts

The Rescue of Moselle Apollo and Steep-Slope Viticulture

Melanargia and Deutsche Umwelthilfe Have Lost at the Court, Rescue Measures for the Moselle Apollo are Effective
Image: Detlef Mader
At the end of 2023, we reported for the first time on the serious threat to the Moselle Apollo butterfly. In April 2025, a report was published on the feared imminent extinction of the unique knight butterfly and the absurd lawsuit brought by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Melanargia – Rheinisch-Westfälischer Lepidopterologen (AGL) and the Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) for a ban on helicopter spraying in steep-slope viticulture on the Moselle, which has since been rejected by the administrative courts in four rulings. Therefore, there are now renewed hope.
Facts

When Wine Disappears

On the Erosion of a Culture of Enjoyment
Image: Pixabay
Wine is more than just a matter of taste or fashion. It is a structural element of everyday life and has long been embedded in social rituals and cultural habits. In the post-war period, especially from the 1950s onwards, wine became a symbol of stability, routine and prosperity. The integration of wine into everyday life was not a luxury phenomenon, but rather an expression of the social and economic conditions of the time, which were characterised by predictable career paths, stable incomes and clear social milieus.
Comment

Dry January

Moral Imperative or Cultureless Dogmatism?
Image: Pixabay
At the beginning of each year, the collective abstinence parade known as Dry January begins anew. A whole month without alcohol, marketed as an act of self-control, as a contribution to physical regeneration, as a signal of a “sensible lifestyle”. Those who opt out of this ritual quickly find themselves under pressure to justify their decision. What appears to be a voluntary health initiative, however, on closer inspection turns out to be a media-driven standardisation project that suppresses enjoyment, culture and differentiation in favour of simple messages.
Obituary

Remembering Hans-Günter Schwarz

On the Death of the Legendary Winemaker
Image: Wikipedia
Germany's wine world is in mourning. Hans-Günter Schwarz passed away on 21 November 2025 at the age of 84. For decades, Schwarz was arguably the most prominent figure in the German wine scene. He established the international reputation of the Müller-Catoir winery and trained many young winemakers to become top producers. His achievements remain unrivalled to this day.
Comment

Terroir and Misunderstanding

Why the Grape Variety Matters
Image: weinfreaks.de
“A spectre is haunting the world of wine. Its name is terroir.” [translated] With these words, Reinhard Löwenstein once opened his famous essay “Vom Öchsle zum Terroir” (From Oechsle to Terroir), published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in October 2003. The article was preceded by years of discussion that had shaped the German wine scene since at least the late 1990s. Löwenstein's essay was of enormous importance to the discourse at the time. In many respects, it is still highly topical. Nevertheless, the headline itself contains a serious misunderstanding.
Tasting

Bordeaux: 2022 a Vintage of the Century?

Great Wines despite Great Drought
Image: weinfreaks.de
Apostrophising a vintage as the vintage of the century even before a centenary has passed may seem premature. However, with regard to the 2022s from the Bordeaux region, the assessment that exceptional wines were produced in that year is undoubtedly anything but bold. Of course, not all châteaux were able to triumph. Moreover, the 2022 was anything but a sure-fire success. The course of the vintage presented the winemakers with major challenges. However, in many cases, the result in the bottle can be downright inspiring. We tasted a cross-section of the vintage on the occasion of the presentation of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux at this year's ProWein.
Comment

ProWein in Decline

Large Drop in Exhibitors and Visitors at the International Wine Fair in Düsseldorf
Image: Messe Düsseldorf
In its press release, Messe Düsseldorf celebrates ProWein 2025 (16–18 March) as a success. However, the facts speak a different language. Only 4200 exhibitors, 20 per cent fewer than last year, were spread across the eleven exhibition halls. The number of visitors also fell, by a good ten per cent to 42000 compared to 2024. While the trade fair continues to emphasise the outstanding importance of ProWein for the international wine industry, the exodus of German wine producers in particular has reached a new dimension. Only around 900 exhibitors came from Germany in 2025.
Facts

Against Viticulture and for the Death of the Apollo Butterfly

Absurd Lawsuit against Rhineland-Palatinate
Image: Pixabay
Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) is a non-profit organisation under German association law, but above all it is a group of lobbyists who receive state support for their activities. According to the online platform auto.de, this amounted to almost five million Euros in 2018. The DUH received further 2.5 million Euros from the lucrative business of issuing warning letters. DUH is now suing the state of Rhineland-Palatinate together with the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Rheinisch-Westfälischer Lepidopterologen (AGL). Since 2011, the state's Ministry of Viticulture has repeatedly granted winegrowers in the Lower Moselle region exemptions for helicopter spraying, which is prohibited by law in the state.

A selection of our previous posts

Satire

From Abtsberg to Äbtissinsberg?

Gender Equality in Vineyard Names
Image: weinfreaks.de
There are over 2600 individual vineyards in Germany, and many of them can look back on a history of several hundred years. Until recently, the proper names of the vineyards were never scrutinised. At the end of last year, however, a newly formed working group met for the first time at the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, which is responsible for viticulture, to examine the catalogue of German vineyard sites from the point of view of gender equality. The working group is chaired by linguist Angelika Balgthöter-Hasenfratz from the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.
Facts

Underground Power Lines instead of Vineyards

Hochheim am Main Defends Itself
Image: Pixabay
Germany is facing an energy transition. Fossil fuels, whose share of electricity generation continues to decline but still currently accounts for around 35 per cent, are not available indefinitely. In 100 years at the latest, the remaining raw materials would be exhausted if the production volume remained the same. Because politicians have been asleep for decades, things need to move quickly now. Forward-looking and far-sighted planning has fallen by the wayside. Construction measures are being driven forward with a crowbar that are likely to destroy the economic performance of an entire region and, not least, a wine culture that is thousands of years old.
Tasting

“A New Chapter”

Christoph Eifel Continues the Family Tradition
Image: Christoph Eifel
The history of the Trittenheim family business can be traced back to 1635. The next generation took over in 2021. The Ernst Eifel winery became the Christoph Eifel winery. The question of what exactly has changed as a result of the generational change is not easy to answer. It would undoubtedly be a miracle if Christoph Eifel, who learnt the winemaking trade from Nik Weis in Leiwen and Thomas Haag in Lieser before studying viticulture in Geisenheim, did not introduce his own ideas and carefully develop the style of the wines. But this does not necessarily mean a break.
Tasting

Stylistic Device Reduction

Playing with the Fire
Image: Pixabay
Reduction occurs during fermentation as a result of a stress situation for the yeasts, primarily due to a lack of oxygen or nitrogen. It manifests itself in the wine as a sulfurous odour reminiscent of burnt matches, flint or flintstone. Reduction must be differentiated from the related mercaptan sulfurous off-flavour, which can produce unpleasant odours of rotten eggs, among other things, and is a serious wine defect. Because some reduction notes are perceived as quite pleasant, many winemakers try to bring them out in the wine.
Comment

Region Badstube?

Major Vineyards in the New German Wine Law
Image: Pixabay
The major vineyards (in German: Großlagen) were and are a nuisance. They disguise themselves as single vineyards and thus pretend to be something they are not. In fact, Großlagen usually extend over several villages. For example, the grapes for a Piesport Michelsberg do not only have to come from Piesport, but can also come from Rivenich, Neumagen-Dhron or Trittenheim. Quite rightly, the Großlagen are labelled as deceiving consumers.
Tasting

Pascal Oberhofer Takes Off

Generation Change in the Traditional Palatinate Winery
Image: Deutsches Weininstitut
At the time of the French Revolution, they were almost 200 years old. The vines in the Rhodt Rosengarten, mainly Gewürztraminer, are still standing today. The phylloxera and two world wars could not harm them. The Oberhofer family, whose ancestors once came to the Palatinate from South Tyrol, owns what is probably the world's oldest vineyard still in production. The Oberhofers have been cultivating their vineyards organically since 2008. This is not to change in the course of the current generation change – step by step, the 25-year-old junior Pascal is taking over the business.
Tasting

The Single Vineyards' Common Thread

Geological Diversity in the Tesch Winery
Image: Deutsches Weininstitut
The Tesch winery in Langenlonsheim can look back on a good three hundred years of history. The winery is a prime example of the successful synthesis of tradition and modernity. The microbiologist, who holds a doctorate, consistently cut off old habits. He banned the obsolete natural cork in favour of a screw cap and left the regional association of the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter on the Nahe because his marketing concept did not fit the ideology of the elitist association. However, Tesch is by no means an avant-gardist. Rather, he knows how to present his dry Rieslings in a contemporary style. These, in turn, show no stylistic ingratiation with the zeitgeist. On the contrary. Soils, exposure of the vineyards, microclimate and vintage are reflected unadulterated in the six single vineyard wines.
Tasting

Cool Styria

White Wines from Austria's Southeast
Image: Pixabay
In Styria, south of Graz, the majority of white grape varieties grow on 4200 hectares of vineyards. The cool hilly sites produce elegant and highly mineral wines that do not appear fat and correspond to what many wine lovers appreciate. Sauvignon Blanc in particular sets international standards. Mind you, we do not mean the representatives of the Steirische Klassik, which often look like overseas Sauvignons in terms of style, but rather selected terroir and site single vineyard wines that are more reminiscent of the French Loire than of New Zealand, without sacrificing their distinctive flavour. In addition, great wines are also produced from the Chardonnay called Morillon here.