Germany is one of the largest sparkling wine markets in the world. One out of four bottles of sparkling wine produced in the world is consumed in Germany. Sparkling wine produced in Germany is called Sekt. Sekt can range from inexpensive (charmat method) to premium and ultra-premium sparkling wine made in the méthode traditionnelle.
Deutscher Sekt Preis 2017/ German Sekt Competition 2017
For the third time, Meininger Verlag organized a Sekt Competition in July 2017 in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse. A total of 501 Sekts were tasted. Only premium and ultra-premium Sekts (made in the méthode traditionnelle) could be submitted.
The shootingstar of this year's competition was the Griesel-Sekt of Sekthaus Streit in Bensheim. In three out of six categories, the Sekt producer from the Hessische Bergstrasse Region was among the winners. Sekthaus Streit took the first place in the category Riesling Sekt, took third place in the category Burgundy Sekts and second place in the category Rosé Sekts.
In terms of the best overall result, Sekthaus Raumland from Flörsheim-Dalsheim was #1. With two times 93 points, two times 92 points and two times 91 points, no other producer achieved such high ratings in this year's competition. Despite stiff competition, Volker Raumland brought the "Collection of the Year" award back to Flörsheim-Dalsheim for the third time in a row.
Last year (but not this year) Annette Schiller was one of the tasters.
Sekt Basics
Sekt is made in all German wine regions, both in the méthode traditionnelle and charmat method. There are three groups of Sekt makers: (i) large and (ii) smaller Sekt houses, who only make Sekt and (iii) winemakers, who make predominantly wine, but complement their wine selection by a few Sekts. The Sekts produced by large Sekt estates tend to be in the demy-sweet and sweet range, while the Sekts of smaller estates and the wine makers are mostly in the brut and extra brut range. In addition to Sekt, Germany produces semi-sparkling wine, which is called Perlwein. But the production of Perlwein is small.
Large Sekt Houses
There is a dozen or so large Sekt houses. They produce more than 2.000.000 bottles each annually. Most of these large Sekt houses were established in the 1800s. At that time, there was only one method known to produce Sekt, the méthode traditionnelle. But in contrast to the champagne houses, the large Sekt houses have all moved to the charmat method as main method of the second fermentation after World War II. Like the champagne houses, Sekt houses do not own vineyards, but purchase the base wine from winemakers. More than three quarters of the base wine used to make Sekt is imported from other EU countries, essentially Italy, France and Spain. Sekt can only be labeled as Deutscher Sekt if it is made exclusively from German grapes, which is rare in the case of the large and the smaller Sekt houses. Most of the Sekt houses have beautiful chateau-type facilities with old underground cellars for the second fermentation and storage. Overall, these Sekts are reasonably priced, are of good quality, but with the introduction of the charmat method are no longer in the same class as their counterparts in the champagne region.
The Rotkäppchen-Mumm conglomerate is now the largest Sekt producer. Rotkäppchen was founded in Freiburg (Saale-Unstrut) in 1856, in the eastern part of Germany, and has experienced a phenomenal expansion since reunification of the two Germanys in 1989. It introduced the charmat method in 1956. Mumm was founded in 1827, initially as a champagne house, by the German banker and wine merchant P. A. Mumm. His sons J. and H.G. Mumm created the famous “Mumm Cordon Rouge” at their estate in France and also branched out to Germany. A few years ago, the French branch was bought by Pernod Ricard and the German branch by Rotkäppchen, and the Mumm estates separated. Henkell-Söhnlein, also a conglomerate, is the second largest Sekt house. Henkell was founded in 1832 in Mainz (Rheinhessen). Its most famous “Henkell Trocken”, made of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Chenin Blanc, is available in the US with (supposedly) the same taste as in 1894, when this cuvee was created by Adam Henkell, although then, the charmat methode had not yet been discovered.
Smaller Sekt Houses
The smaller Sekt houses, like the large Sekt houses, do not own vineyards, but also buy the base wine from winemakers. They also tend to have a long history and often links to the champagne region, beautiful facilities and old cellars for the second fermentation and storage. The big difference is that they typically have not gone the route of tank fermentation but continue to ferment in the méthode traditionnelle.
Geldermann in Breisach makes its Sekt exclusively from French wines imported from the Loire valley. The two Germans Deutz and Geldermann founded a champagne house in 1838 in the champagne, and the Breisach (Baden) outlet became their German branch in 1904 for tax reasons. Another one is Kessler, in Esslingen (Baden-Wuerttemberg), the first German Sekt house, founded in 1826 by Georg Kessler, who had worked for Veuve Clicqot. Fürst von Metternich Sekts are produced in a beautiful castle overlooking the Rhein river in the Rheingau. Von Metternich received the castle from the Austrian Emperor Franz I in 1816 as a gift for his skillful negotiations as his Minister of Foreign Affairs during the Vienna congress (1814 -15). The von Metternich Sekts are all Rieslings from von Metternich vineyards.
Small Sekt and Wine Producers
Finally, increasingly, there is a number of top quality winemakers, who, in addition, to their still wines, have started to include Sekts in their portfolio. These Sekts are typically vintage Sekts, from a specified vineyard, made of specific grapes, often Riesling, in the méthode champenoise and with little or not dosage (brut or extra but). While the first fermentation typically takes place at the winery, the second fermentation is often not in the cellar of the winemaker but in the cellar of a Sekt house that bottle-ferments for other wineries. One of those is award-winning Volker Raumland in Rheinhessen. He bottle-ferments for himself and for others. He keeps the bottle sur lie up to 12 years before corking and labeling the bottle for sale. There is a large and growing number of winemakers who have started to produce world class Sekts. Unfortunately, their production is very limited and they are difficult to find in the US.
Deutscher Sekt Preis 2017/ German Sekt Competition 2017: 6 Categories
The Sekts were grouped in 6 different categories:
Riesling brut
Burgundy Grapes brut
Burgundy Grapes brut premium (on the lees for at least 36 months)
Rosé
Other Grapes brut
Sekt trocken
Kategorie I - Riesling Sekt Brut/ Riesling Sekt Brut
1. Platz 2014 Riesling Brut
Griesel Sekt - Sekthaus Streit, Bensheim
2. Platz 2014 Prestige Riesling brut
Wein- und Sektgut F. B. Schönleber, Oestrich-Winkel
3. Platz 2015 Riesling brut
Sekthaus Krack, Deidesheim
Kategorie II - Burgunder Sekt Brut/ Burgundy Grapes Sekt Brut
1. Platz Blanc de blancs Réserve
Weingut Eymann, Gönnheim
2. Platz Reserve Sekt b.A. Brut
Weingut Reichsrat von Buhl GmbH, Deidesheim
3. Platz 2014 Blanc de Blancs Brut
Griesel Sekt - Sekthaus Streit, Bensheim
Kategorie III – Prestige-Burgunder Sekt Brut (mind. 36 Monate Hefelager)/ Premium Burgundy Grapes Brut (minimum 36 months on the lees)
1. Platz 2010 Aldinger Brut Nature
Weingut Aldinger, Fellbach
2. Platz 2008 "Pi" No "Gold" extra brut aus Pinot Noir und Chardonnay
Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz, Siebeldingen
3. Platz 2007 Vintage Chardonnay Brut Natur
Sekthaus Raumland, Flörsheim-Dalsheim
Kategorie IV – Rosé Sekt Brut/ Rosé Sekt Brut
1. Platz 2013 Margrit Rosé Brut
Weingut Geheimer Rat Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan GmbH, Deidesheim
2. Platz 2014 Rosé Brut
Griesel Sekt - Sekthaus Streit, Bensheim
3. Platz Rosé brut BIO
Strauch Sektmanufaktur, Osthofen
Kategorie V –Sortenvielfalt Sekt Brut/ Other Grapes Sekt Brut
1. Platz 2014 Grüner Veltliner brut
Sektmanufaktur Schloss VAUX AG, Eltville
2. Platz 2008 "Mariage" Gewürztraminer und Riesling brut
Weingut Josef Biffar, Deidesheim
3. Platz 2015 Gelber Muskateller Brut Nature
Weingut Nicole Graeber, Edenkoben
Kategorie VI – Sekt Trocken/ Sekt Off-dry
1. Platz 2015 Oberrotweiler Muskateller extra trocken
Kaiserstühler Winzerverein Oberrotweil eG, Vogtsburg-Oberrotweil
2. Platz 2014 Cuvée Wilker Sekt trocken
Weingut Wilker, Pleisweiler-Oberhofen
3. Platz Scheurebe Sekt Halbtrocken
Weinhaus Ludwig Wagner & Sohn, Maikammer
Sonderauszeichnungen/ Special Awards
Kollektion des Jahres/ Collection of the Year
Sekthaus Raumland, Flörsheim-Dalsheim
Bester Rosé Sekt Brut Nature (Sekt ohne Dosage)/ Bester Rosé Sekt Brut Nature
Winzersekt Korell Bru Nature, Weingut Korrell Johanneshof, Bad Kreuznach
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