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Tasting

Bordeaux: 2022 a vintage of the century?

Great wines despite great drought

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

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.

Knowledge

Against viticulture and for the death of the Apollo butterfly

Absurd lawsuit against Rhineland-Palatinate

gegen-den-weinbau-und-fuer-die-vernichtung-des-apollofalters.jpg — 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.

Knowledge

From Abtsberg to Äbtissinsberg?

Gender equality in vineyard names

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.

Knowledge

Underground power lines instead of vineyards

Hochheim am Main defends itself

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

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

A vision lives on

From the Fuchs-Jacobus winery to Gut Steyerberg

As early as 1989, the Jacobus family cultivated their vineyards according to the guidelines of the Demeter Association, making them one of the pioneers of biodynamic viticulture in Germany. Wilfried and Marlene Jacobus have now largely retired. Because their children did not want to take over the business, it was actually supposed to be sold. But things turned out differently. Thorben Bosse took over, and the Fuchs-Jacobus winery has since become Gut Steyerberg. Werner Elflein tasted a great wine collection and spoke with the new owner.

Tasting

The Piwi Kollektiv

An integrated concept for organic viticulture

If the state government has its way, the proportion of organically farmed land in Baden-Württemberg should increase to up to 40 per cent by 2030. This also applies to viticulture. However, many small family businesses in Baden are traditionally organised in cooperatives and only cultivate their mostly small vineyards as a sideline. Martin Schmidt, owner of the Kiefer and Schmidt wineries in Eichstetten, and Philipp Rottmann thought about this and founded the Piwi Kollektiv.

Tasting

Virginia on the road

The development of a young wine region

Compared to the total area under vines in the United States, Virginia's viticulture may only play a minor role. In terms of quality, however, the wines of the state on the American east coast have become increasingly important in recent decades. Although Virginia's wines are still little known on the international stage, they are increasingly developing into important export goods. Virginia is still a young wine region. It was not until the late 18^th century that European immigrants planted the first vineyards here. Among them was Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers and third president of the United States.

Tasting

Innovation Grauburgunder

100 years of Bickensohl Weinvogtei

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

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.

Knowledge

Warning letters for wineries

Do vineyards violate personal rights?

Marcobrunn was the first Rheingau single vineyard to appear by name on a wine label. That was 1726. But now disaster is on the horizon. On behalf of a client from Munich, the Starnberg law firm Beuger & Winkel sent warning letters to several Rheingau wineries. The reason: 38-year-old low voltage electrician Marco Brunn believes his general personal rights have been violated.

Tasting

Stylistic device reduction

Playing with the fire

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.

Tasting

Better matured with screw cap

Studies prove the disadvantages of natural cork

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

Turning one into three

Kilian Schmitges' three-barrel experiment

Middle Mosel winemaker Kilian Schmitges from Erden embarked on an unusual experiment in autumn 2016, distributing the grapes from his best dry Riesling evenly across three different containers. What makes it special: In addition to a steel tank and an oak barrel, a granite barrel was also used. While the three wines (labelled Steel, Stone and Wood) were still very similar in the first year after bottling, they now reveal significant differences as they mature. Initially, the stainless steel version was ahead of the granite version, but with the appropriate time lag, we have a completely different ranking.

Tasting

Horn at the top

Michael Beck's best Riesling from seven vintages

The origin was and is always the same. However, the name of the wine has changed several times over the years. Marketed in 2008 as a dry Riesling Spätlese from the Stadeck Spitzberg with the additions Alte Reben and vom Pelosol, since 2015 the Im Horn vineyard has adorned the label instead of the single vineyard under wine law. Michael Beck, owner of the Beck – Hedesheimer-Hof winery in Stadecken-Elsheim in Rhine-Hesse, has been doing without the predicate and other additional information for a good ten years now. A change that is primarily due to the spirit of the times. However, this transformation has never had any influence on the wine itself, which we were able to taste from seven different vintages.

Knowledge

Pesticides or climate change?

Population of the Apollo butterfly on the Lower Moselle endangered

In the biological nomenclature, the Apollo butterfly is listed under the name Paranassius apollo. In the Lower Moselle valley, the subspecies Paranassius apollo vinningensis lives mainly in the steep vineyards between the municipality of Winningen and neighbouring Kobern. For a long time, the Apollo butterfly symbolised the successful coexistence of ecology and viticulture. But now the butterfly species is seriously endangered. New pesticides that have been used in viticulture for the past ten years are said to be to blame. On closer inspection, however, the connections are much more complex.

Tasting

Terra preta for the vineyard

Andreas Huppert and the black earth of the Indies

Researchers stumbled upon a mystery in the Amazon region at the end of the 19^th century. They discovered a deeply dark but extremely fertile soil that did not at all fit the natural conditions. The soils of the tropical rainforests are anything but rich in nutrients. The researchers found answers among the Indians. Already thousands of years ago, the indigenous people practised shifting cultivation with slash-and-burn methods. To improve the fertility of the soil, they mixed plant residues, composted waste, human faeces and plant charcoal. Through fermentation, this resulted in terra preta, the black earth.

Comment

Region Badstube?

Major vineyards in the new German wine law

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

From green to scarlet

The geologically unique vineyards of Prinz Salm

As Germany's oldest family-owned winery, Prinz Salm looks back on a history dating back to the year 1200. Until the beginning of the 21^st century, the winery concentrated on vineyards in and around Wallhausen. In 2008, Michael Prinz Salm-zu Salm took over the vineyards of the former winery Villa Sachsen in Bingen. This means that the current owner, Felix Prinz zu Salm-Salm, not only has top vineyards on the Nahe, but also in neighbouring Rhinehessen. The green slate in Wallhausen and the scarlet soil of the Bingen Scharlachberg are unique.

Tasting

Typicality trumps handwriting

Stefan Steinmetz: From insider tip to top producer

Stefan Steinmetz owes his rise to the top of Germany's best winemakers not least to his sure instinct for what the French call terroir, which in this country has unfortunately degenerated into an empty word bubble. There is hardly anyone else who works out differences between vineyard sites and vintages as transparent and comprehensible as he does.

Tasting

It does not always have to be Champagne!

German sparkling wine producers on the upswing

Germany is and remains the world champion. Not in soccer, but in sparkling wine consumption. Around 3.2 million hectolitres of sparkling wine flow down German throats every year. This corresponds to a per capita consumption of 3.8 litres. It's not as good as beer, but it's not bad. No wonder that more and more wineries in the country are increasingly focusing on sparkling wine production and producing better and better sparkling wines. It is also no wonder that German sparkling wines no longer have to fear comparison with French champagnes in terms of quality.

Knowledge

We like to say no to Diam

Wine merchant finds scientific proof for the lack of sensory neutrality of Diam press corks

Rolf Cordes is a wine merchant from Mühldorf am Inn. In numerous tastings, he repeatedly observed the negative influence of the pressed corks of the southern French manufacturer Diam Bouchage on the taste of the wine. Since then, he has repeatedly questioned the sensory neutrality promised by the manufacturer.

Tasting

On the trail of the Romans

The resurrection of the Vinum Hadrianum

It was his grandfather who once awakened Piero Pavone's fascination for Roman history. In Pavone's hometown, the small town of Atri at the foot of the Abruzzi, the ancient Hadria, this history is still omnipresent and alive today. As a young man, Piero Pavone was initially drawn away from Atri to the big city. But twenty years later he returned to his roots, with the idea of reviving the Vinum Hadrianum, the wine from Roman times.

Tasting

Harteneck reinvents himself

Natural wines from the Markgräflerland

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

Foam from the shore of Lake Garda

Four remarkable sparkling wines from Northern Italy

Lake Garda is the largest inland lake in Italy. While it is surrounded to the north, west and east by the foothills of the Alps, which reach up to 2000 metres, the southern shore already lies in the lowlands of the Po. Three wine-growing regions border the lake, and sparkling wine production has a long tradition in all of them. We present four sparkling wines for everyday domestic use. Three rosés and one single-varietal Chardonnay. From extra dry to extra brut.

Tasting

In Loreley's land

Sleeping Beauty Middle Rhine

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.

Comment

Naturals conquer the wine world

Formerly critically eyed, now established

Today, natural wines, also called naturals, form an independent and recognised wine category. Hardly anyone would have seriously expected that this would one day be the case ten or twenty years ago. And rightly so. For a long time, many of the wines were simply faulty. In the meantime, however, the picture has changed decisively. A comment by Werner Elflein.

Tasting

Finally ortsweine!

Paradigm shift at Dr. Heger

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

Germany's first “climate vintner”

Our discovery in the Kraichgau: David Klenert

David Klenert is Germany's first “climate vintner”. His winery in Kraichtal-Münzesheim, founded in 2015, is not only certified organic, the young winemaker even goes one step further. His approach to improving the quality of the soil and thus helping to reduce global CO₂ consumption initially led him to a farmer friend. From there he adopted ideas from regenerative agriculture, with the aim of gradually increasing the natural humus content of his vineyard soils from the current 1.5 to up to four percent. Depending on the soil type, this corresponds to a binding of an additional 70 to 130 tonnes of CO₂ per hectare.

Tasting

Pascal Oberhofer takes off

Generation change in the traditional Palatinate winery

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

Niederberg's Helden (Heroes)

Schloss Lieser and Thanisch in blind tasting

They live in the same village, cultivate their vines in the same vineyards and are even friends with each other. In the past decades, both have played a significant role in polishing up the reputation of the Lieser vineyards. We tasted a representative cross-section of this year's Riesling collection, the 2018 vintage, from both wineries. However, the question was less about which winery would end up on top of the winner's podium. Rather, it was about recognising individual strengths, stylistic differences and different concepts in dealing with a hot-climate year that in a few decades could be representative of viticulture in the second half of the 21^st century.

Tasting

Martin Gerlach's restart on the Lower Moselle

A first stocktaking after the merger of Gerlachs Mühle and von Schleinitz

Martin Gerlach was and is the owner of the Gerlachs Mühle winery on the Lower Moselle. When the possibility of a merger with the traditional von Schleinitz estate presented itself to him two years ago, he jumped at the chance. The “merger on trial” planned for the first few years, however, already promises to be a complete success. With the first vintage of the two united wineries, Martin Gerlach has already made a remarkable new start.

Tasting

The single vineyards' common thread

Geological diversity in the Tesch winery

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

25 vintages estate Riesling

Robert Weil impresses with a vertical of a special kind

In case of the Robert Weil estate, most wine journalists agree: it is one of the best Riesling producers in Germany. However, there was and is not only praise in the wine scene. Especially in the area of litre wines and estate Rieslings, there is always criticism of fillings that do not meet the high standards of the house. An on-site tasting in August 2018 at least answered the question of what excellence the winery is capable of.

Tasting

Aha, the Ahr!

Germany's northern red wine paradise

In German, the interjection Aha! stands for a sudden insight or realisation. But Aha is also a Celtic word from which the name of the river Ahr is derived. It means as much as water. Aha, the Ahr! therefore seemed to us to be a fitting title for our themed tasting in two respects, because the past year, which was for us dominated by the Pinot Noirs and Pinot Noirs Précoces (locally known as Frühburgunder) from Germany's small red wine paradise, gave us plenty of deep insights and findings. For Aha, the Ahr! we tasted over 150 wines. As a rule, we had two bottles of each wine which we subjected to a total of four individual tests. Two of these tests were carried out as part of a blind tasting.

Tasting

Mosella patria vini sicci

Moselle Rieslings with a dry flavour profile

A good 150 years ago, when Rieslings from the Moselle achieved higher international prices than red wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy, noble sweet top wines played only a secondary role. Auslesen, Beerenauslesen and Trockenbeerenauslesen were extremely rare. At the time, it were mainly Rieslings with a dry flavour that made the winegrowers of the Moselle, Saar and Ruwer successful. It was not until after the Second World War that the region gained great importance as a source of outstanding fruity and noble sweet wines. The production of great dry Rieslings largely came to a standstill. But after the end of the sweet wine wave, the focus is increasingly back on dry Rieslings. We look into the question of whether the Moselle region can resume its old tradition.

Tasting

Draught horse HE

Palatinate Pinot Noirs in Burgundian style

“Prago”, “Arthos”, “Melandor”. This is how winemaker Uli Metzger from Grünstadt-Asselheim calls his three best Pinot Noirs. Their first vintage, 2012, is now sold out at the winery. Not least because “Arthos” was one of the winning wines at the VINUM German Red Wine Award last year. The young 2013s are already tasting very promising and even indicate an increase compared to the previous year. However, there is not much room for improvement. Uli Metzger's advisor knows that, too. For Hans Erich Dausch, the three Pinot Noirs are in the same league as the best red wines of Burgundy. Dausch can judge that. He knows Burgundy like the back of his hand and is a welcome guest at Romanée-Conti. In his Palatinate homeland, he is better known by his abbreviation HE than by his civil name.

Tasting

The Wachau in motion

Stepping on the botrytis brake

For a long time, anyone looking for the best dry Rieslings in the world could hardly avoid the Wachau. Names like F. X. Pichler, Franz Hirtzberger or Emmerich Knoll filled the glossy pages of wine magazines for decades. Their Smaragd wines, grown on the slopes and steep slopes of the Danube valley between Melk and Krems, fetched top prices. They still do, but more than a few wineries in the region have recently complained about dwindling interest in their wines. The trend towards leaner, lower-alcohol wines proved incompatible with the opulent, high-alcohol and often botrytised Rieslings and Grüne Veltliners produced here. So the Wachau is a hopeless case? Not at all. For our tasting, we specifically searched for winemakers whose wines meet the contemporary desire of wine drinkers for fine, elegant white wines with a moderate alcohol content.

Tasting

It cannot be more Rotliegend!

The renaissance of the Rhine front

The vineyards of the Roter Hang have probably the greatest potential within Rhinehessen to produce great and individual wines. From Nackenheim to the Nierstein district of Schwabsburg, a formation of Rotliegend runs through the vineyards of the Rhine front, giving the wines, especially the Rieslings, their distinctive and sometimes highly individual character. In the 19^th century, the wines from the Roter Hang enjoyed worldwide renown and fetched top prices at international auctions. Afterwards, however, viticulture on the Rhine front fell more and more into a largely home-made crisis. For some years now, however, the winegrowers of the Roter Hang have been increasingly pushing their way back into the limelight.

Tasting

Cool Styria

White wines from Austria's southeast

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.

Tasting

Between Vienne and Valence

White and red wines from the Northern Rhône

Geologically and climatically, the northern part of the Côtes du Rhône differs significantly from the southern. Between Vienne in the north and Valence in the south, the river flows through a valley bordered by the foothills of the Massif Central in the west and the Alps in the east. On the sometimes very steep, often terraced slopes, Syrah is mainly grown as the only red wine variety permitted in the various appellations. The share of white wines has increased in recent years and is now almost 20 percent. The main grape variety here is Viognier. However, Marsanne Blanche and Roussanne are also gaining some importance.

Tasting

Germany turns red

Pinot Noir on the rise

As recently as 2002, American wine critic Robert M. Parker claimed, “German Pinot Noir is a grotesque and ghastly wine that tastes like a flawed, sweet, faded, watered-down red Burgundy from an incompetent producer.” This statement was already absurd and wrong at the time. Today, more than ten years later, it is even more so. More and more producers can score with their Pinot Noirs in this country. We introduce you to some new stars in the German Pinot Noir sky.

Tasting

Blaufränkisch – The next generation

Austrian's red wine slims down

Austrian red wines have a hard time in this country. Almost ineradicable in the minds of consumers is the idea that they are always ponderous wines disfigured by new wood to the point of being unrecognisable as a grape variety, as was still common in the nineties. We still have the impression that many producers give priority to concentration over elegance. But in the meantime, a counter-current to the mainstream is forming. Blaufränkisch, an autochthonous Austrian grape variety, benefits not least from this, as it needs neither abundant alcohol nor exaggerated wood make-up to produce convincing, tannin-rich red wines with fine acidity.

Tasting

Der klitzekleine Ring hits the VDP

Steep slope rescue on behalf of Riesling

The Bernkasteler Ring, also known as the Kleiner Ring, was founded in 1899 as an association of winery owners from the Middle Moselle. Since 1901, it has organized wine auctions for its members. It is thus the oldest society in the region to hold wine auctions. Today, the Bernkasteler Ring also includes estates on the Saar and Ruwer rivers. A few years later, in 1908, the Großer Ring formed as a second large winegrowers' association, which first auctioned wines in 1910. The Großer Ring later gave rise to the regional Verband Deutscher Naturweinversteigerer, now the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP). A completely different approach is taken by Der klitzekleine Ring, founded in 2005. As the name suggests, the group, which currently comprises ten wineries, does not take itself too seriously.

Tasting

… at the end, the Germans always win

The Pinot Noir country competition

Although the Pinot Noir is better suited than any other red wine variety to produce unique and incomparable, elegant, finesse-rich and multi-layered wines in a comparatively cool climate, after the Second World War German winegrowers mainly produced pale-coloured, thin drinks smelling of raspberry syrup. It was not until the 1980s that a few ambitious German winegrowers began to think about cultivating and developing Pinot Noir. They drastically reduced yields, separated from inferior high-yielding clones and perfected barrique ageing. Only gradually did this work bear fruit. Today, as our blind tasting shows, German Pinot Noirs are quite capable of not only catching up with their Burgundian competitors, but in some cases even surpassing them in quality.

Tasting

Refugium Würzgarten

Ungrafted and unique

As one of only a few vineyards in Germany and on the Middle Moselle, the Ürzig Würzgarten is still home to a significant proportion of ungrafted Riesling vines that often have an age of 100 years or more. Even in weaker or more difficult years, these vines, which are perfectly adapted to their environment, produce top quality. Characteristic of the Würzgarten Rieslings is a complex, strikingly spicy minerality and a very fine, sometimes juicy fruit, often reminiscent of ripe peach, apricot and nectarine. We have tasted a number of dry, delicate, fruity and sweet Rieslings from the Ürziger spice garden. In addition to matured crus from the 1990s, the focus was also on the current vintages from 2007 to 2010.The Würzgarten Rieslings showed how excellently they can mature and still shine with youthful brilliance even after 20 years.

Tasting

90 percent Riesling

The Ruwer trumps

The vineyards in the Ruwer valley belong to the Moselle wine-growing region, which was still called Mosel-Saar-Ruwer until the law was changed in 2006. Riesling dominates the steep slopes. A proud 90 percent of the area is planted with the noble white wine grape. Nowhere else is the proportion of Riesling in the grape variety list higher. Although the filigree and subtle Rieslings from the Ruwer are very similar to those from the Moselle and Saar, they have their own distinctive character. As a result of a longer growing season and lower average temperatures compared to the Moselle Valley, the Ruwer Rieslings are much more acidic and have a pronounced green herbaceous aroma, especially in cooler years.

Tasting

Pinot Noir speaks German

Four countries – one variety

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.