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Vinification in amphoraeImage: Makalu via Pixabay
Vinification in amphorae. Over 6000 years ago, winemakers in the Caucasus region – particularly in Georgia – began fermenting and aging their wines in large, clay amphorae buried underground, known as Qvevri. This archaic technique, in which must together with skins, stems, and seeds rests for months in unglazed vessels, was not merely a necessity, but a profound expression of the connection between nature, craftsmanship, and culture. With the industrialization of winemaking, amphorae fell largely into obscurity in the Western world. Stainless steel tanks, temperature-controlled fermentation, and barrique barrels set new standards. Yet today, in a deliberate move away from these methods, more and more winemakers are rediscovering the Qvevri – in search of authenticity, sensory depth, and microbiological diversity. Thanks to their porous surface, Qvevri allow micro-oxidation und provide ideal conditions for unfined, vibrant natural wines. The return of the amphora is therefore not merely a passing trend, but a reflection of a fundamental philosophy of artisanal winemaking: a return to the origins, with a thoughtful eye toward the future.

Our Latest Ratings

WinereddryCabernet DorsaMerlot

2021 “Cuvée Maximus” Qualitätswein trocken

Dr. Heyden, Oppenheim

Germany

Rheinhessen • Geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung (g. U.)

Amtliche Prüfungsnummer 4387434 4 25 • 13.5 % vol alcohol

15.5🯅

Tasted on 3 March 2026 by Werner Elflein

Opaque dark cherry red. Subtle woody notes on the nose, with wild berries, especially blackberries, chocolate and dried herbs. Exciting and fruity. In addition to Merlot, the influence of Cabernet Dorsa (according to the latest genetic analyses, Blaufränkisch x Dornfelder) is clearly noticeable here. Fine-grained, velvety and still somewhat robust tannins. Excellent length.

16🯅

Tasted on 3 March 2026 by Julia Elflein

WinewhitedryWeißer Burgunder

2023 Berghaupten Weißburgunder Gneis Qualitätswein trocken

VDP.ORTSWEIN ®

Freiherr von und zu Franckenstein, Offenburg

Germany

Baden • Geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung (g. U.)

Amtliche Prüfungsnummer 506 19 24 • 12 % vol alcohol

15.5🯅

Tasted on 1 March 2026 by Werner Elflein

Bright lemon yellow. Complex bouquet with aromas of honeydew melon, green apple, yellow stone fruit and citrus fruits with hints of grapefruit and hazelnut. On the palate, it is characterised by a delicately creamy juiciness and freshness. Some pressure on the palate. Invigorating acidity, very good length. Perhaps not yet fully developed.

15.5🯅

Tasted on 1 March 2026 by Julia Elflein

WinewhitesweetWeißer Riesling

2012 Erden Treppchen Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule

Dr. Hermann, Erden

Germany

Mosel • Geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung (g. U.)

Amtliche Prüfungsnummer 2602145 13 13 • 7 % vol alcohol

17🯅

Tasted on 28 February 2026 by Werner Elflein

Amber yellow. Botrytis-influenced aroma of dried stone fruit and chanterelles on wet forest soil. Explosive sweetness, but not at the expense of substance. Impressive concentration with minimal alcohol. Fine, elegant acidity. Outstanding balance. Excellent length.

WinewhitedryWeißer Gutedel

2022 Gutedel Lädde Landwein

Brenneisen, Efringen-Kirchen

Germany

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

Lot number 125 • 11.5 % vol alcohol

16.5🯅

Tasted on 27 February 2026 by Werner Elflein

16.5🯅

Tasted on 27 February 2026 by Julia Elflein

16.5🯅

Tasted on 3 October 2025 by Werner Elflein

Full straw yellow. One year of fine lees ageing characterise the nose and ensure a distinct sur lie character. Opulent bouquet with yellow fruit aromas, hints of citrus and a touch of liquorice. Enormous density and, despite only 11.5 % alcohol, impressive multidimensional fullness on the palate, which can even stand up to slightly stronger dishes. Excellent length.

WinewhitedryWeißer Riesling

2017 Trittenheim Altärchen Riesling Kabinett trocken

Loersch, Leiwen

Germany

Mosel • Geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung (g. U.)

Amtliche Prüfungsnummer 3594509 8 18 • 11 % vol alcohol

17🯅

Tasted on 26 February 2026 by Werner Elflein

Full lemon yellow. Distinct spontaneous fermentation aromas. Mineral slate scent of peach, green herbs and strawberry. Slim, elegant Kabinett style. Delicate structure, ripe acidity, very good length. A classic.

17🯅

Tasted on 26 February 2026 by Julia 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

Tasting

Innovation Grauburgunder

100 Years of Bickensohl Weinvogtei
Image: weinfreaks.de
Until the 1980s, Pinot Gris was still known exclusively as Ruländer in Germany. The grapes produce mostly sweet, opulent white wines. When the demand for dry wines increased, many German winegrowers changed their harvesting strategy. They now harvested the Ruländer grapes earlier and in a healthy, botrytis-free state. In order to leave the image of the chubby Ruländer behind them, they named the grape variety Grauburgunder on their bottle labels from then on. The first Ruländer to be marketed as Grauburgunder was bottled by the Bickensohl winegrowers' cooperative.
Tasting

Valley of Many Cellars

Valpolicella with Potential
Image: weinfreaks.de
The Valpolicella area lies east of Lake Garda and north of Verona in the Italian region of Veneto. Only red wines are produced, which are often rather light-bodied and are drunk young. However, the top wines have much more potential and can mature gracefully. A selection of wines presented by the Consorzio tutela dei vini della Valpolicella in the run-up to this year's ProWein international wine fair during a lunch at the Rossini restaurant in Düsseldorf emphasised the fact that they also make excellent accompaniments to food.
Tasting

Better Matured with Screw Cap

Studies Prove the Disadvantages of Natural Cork
Image: weinfreaks.de
Numerous studies by renowned research institutes from all over the world have been proving for years and decades that wines benefit just as much from a screw cap as they do from a natural cork, provided the latter is of good quality. Cork taint, tannin ingress, oxidation, runners, crumbling material, limited shelf life – the list of shortcomings of natural corks is long. Nevertheless, thanks to a deep emotional bond between winemakers and wine drinkers that cannot be explained rationally, the traditional stopper is still usually the first choice, especially for high-quality wines.
Tasting

Harteneck Reinvents Himself

Natural Wines from the Markgräflerland
Image: Pixabay
As in other regions of Baden, viticulture in the Markgräflerland is primarily carried out by the winegrowers' cooperatives. Unfortunately, the cooperatives still have a hard time with the topic of ecology. Anyone who drives along the vineyards through the region during the growing season can hardly miss the consequences of blanket herbicide application. Thomas Harteneck takes a different approach. Born in the Palatinate, he settled in Schliengen in 1997 and is one of the pioneers of biodynamic viticulture in Baden.
Tasting

In Loreley's Land

Sleeping Beauty Middle Rhine
Image: Deutsches Weininstitut
The Rhine covers 130 river kilometres between Bingen and Bonn. Along this stretch, in the Middle Rhine and its side valleys, there are currently only around 470 hectares of vineyards still in production. Because the steep slopes were difficult to cultivate and land consolidation was hardly possible, a good two-thirds of the original vineyard area disappeared by the end of the 1970s. For some years now, however, the situation seems to have stabilised. At the same time, there is hope that a young generation of winegrowers will breathe new life into the Middle Rhine again. Here and there, the recultivation of old, abandoned terraced sites on the steep slopes has already begun and is counteracting the loss of further acreage.
Tasting

Finally Ortsweine!

Paradigm Shift at Dr. Heger
Image: Deutsches Weininstitut
Unlike some others in the industry, Joachim Heger from Ihringen has always strictly and consistently separated his wine lines. While the Dr. Heger winery almost exclusively offers wines from the single vineyards of the Kaiserstuhl, which are characterised by volcanic rock, the Weinhaus Joachim Heger primarily processes the grapes grown on loess soil from a producer association. Recently, however, the winery put four bottlings on sale for the first time as Ihringer ortsweine without indicating the single vineyard. We have tasted them.
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

Pinot Noir Speaks German

Four Countries – One Variety
Image: Deutsches Weininstitut
The fact that world-class Pinot Noirs are now occasionally produced in Germany, the land of white wines, is nothing new to many connoisseurs of the subject, even if wine drinkers, especially those with a Francophile bent, often elevate the supposed original from Burgundy to the dubious measure of all things. They tend to ignore the fact that, in addition to the chalky soils of Burgundy, the slate slopes of the Ahr and the red sandstone soils of Franconia, for example, also produce impressive and very distinctive Pinot Noirs that have no need to hide on the international stage. The Pinot Noirs from Switzerland, which also have a say in the race among the best “German-speaking” representatives of the grape variety, are mostly completely unknown in this country and were virtually unavailable in Germany until recently. But not only in Germany and Switzerland, also in parts of Austria and South Tyrol excellent Pinot Noirs are produced.