Our first winery visit on the Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours (July 1 to 10, 2022) took us to Siefersheim, in the far northwestern corner of the Rheinhessen wine region.
We visited Weingut Wagner-Stempel. We were received by Daniel (Owner and Winemaker) and Catherine Wagner (Owner).
Daniel Wagner showed us his old and new cellars before tasting 11 wines with Daniel in his modern tasting room.
See also: Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Wagner-Stempel in Siefersheim, Rheinhessen, with Winemaker Oliver Müller and Owner Cathrin Wagner - Germany-South and Alsace 2018 Tour by ombiasy WineTours: Baden, Alsace, Pfalz and Rheinhessen
Weingut Wagner-Stempel
Owner and winemaker Daniel Wagner is the 9 th generation of this estate in Siefersheim, in the far northwestern corner of the Rheinhessen wine region. When Daniel took over he decided to build on the tradition of classic wine production and to pay special attention to the once famous vineyard sites Höllberg and Heerkretz that were somewhat under the radar for the past fifty years. The Siefersheim sites are carved out of volcanic hills and the weathered volcanic soil brings out phenomenal, well-structured wines. Daniel’s thrive for precision and quality regularly gets awarded with 4 grapes in the Gault-Millau wine guide for Germany.
Weingut Wagner-Stempel
The German Wine Collection (US Importer): Siefersheim is a sleepy village, located in the vast region known as Rheinhessen, just a few kilometres south of the town of Bad Kreuznach. In the undulating and lovely landscape Daniel Wagner, the silent star of the German wine scene has his winery. His family has owned the winery since 1845 but the vineyards were part of a mixed farm. His father produced just bulk-wines, a classical business model for Rheinhessen wineries some decades ago. It was during a school exchange in France where teenager Daniel was bitten by the wine bug. While being fascinated about the wine-culture in “la Douce France” he decided to become a vintner and started his apprenticeship.
He was young when he vinified his first vintage in the year 1992 and full of youthful diligence. After an internship in California he planted in 1995 some Merlot and he was a big fan of all the new cellar techniques that university textbooks offered. Still today he calls himself a “grapevariety hoarder”, loving to play around with Silvaner, Pinot Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc. He was one of the press-admired “young and wild” who made upfront fruity and crowd-pleasing wines, which mirrors the preoccupation of that time around the millennium. But very soon he became aware about the hidden gems located around the village of Siefersheim. The elevations of Heerkretz or Höllberg, which are visible from afar. Having originated around 250 million years ago, where the magmatic rock formed the mountains like balconies of an antique amphitheatre. Those great but at this time totally unknown terroirs made him curious. He enlarged his ownership in the best and steepest parcels with their stone-rich soils and he took the challenge to define meticulously the taste-profile of those terroirs via the grape variety Riesling. It was Daniel who turned an unknown mixed farm into a widely renowned wine estate, and leading the Höllberg and Heerkretz vineyard sites to supra-regional importance.
Rheinhessen is the biggest wine-region in Germany and a vast area with a plethora of soil types, climates and grape varieties. Some decades ago the region was known for the production of Liebfraumilch. Famous vineyards around he villages Westhofen, Flörsheim-Dalsheim or Siefersheim were brought just two decades ago onto stage by such pioneers. It was the exploratory spirit of the “young and wild” that made Rheinhessen into one of the most dynamic regions of Germany. The youngsters grew up and today the wind of change and success blows through those hyped wine-villages. Despite all his achievements, Daniel Wagner is a quiet and pleasant modest man. In the loud noise of a fast moving world, his wines spread peace and joyful serenity, taste sovereign and are in a beneficial way emotional. The taste profile only makes you realize why he is one of the great in the German wine industry.
Owners
Daniel & Catherine Wagner
Wine Makers
Daniel Wagner & Oliver Müller
History
Founded in 1845
Growing Area
20 hectares
Bottle Production
10,000 bottles
Vineyards
Heerkretz (6ha)
Höllberg (3ha)
Soils
Höllberg – Sandy, stony with clay in the top soil and weathered porphyry rock
Heerkretz – Red clay containing carbonate, sandy gravel,
and shell limestone sediments
Varietals
50% Riesling
20% Pinot Blanc
14% Pinot Noir and St. Laurent.
12% Silvaner
4% Scheurebe
Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: All Postings (already posted and forthcoming)
The Sun-Kissed South: Germany’s Pinot Noir, the Other Whites, the Culinary Regions - Germany-South and Alsace 2018 Tour by ombiasy WineTours: Baden, Alsace, Pfalz and Rheinhessen
Cellar Tour and Tasting with Daniel Wagner at Weingut Wagner-Stempel (VDP) in Siefersheim, Rheinhessen - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Wagner-Stempel in Siefersheim, Rheinhessen, with Winemaker Oliver Müller and Owner Cathrin Wagner - Germany-South and Alsace 2018 Tour by ombiasy WineTours: Baden, Alsace, Pfalz and Rheinhessen
Tasting with Helmut Dönnhoff and Sascha Johannes Schömel at Weingut H. Dönnhoff (VDP) in Oberhausen, Nahe - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
An Afternoon with Riesling Star Winemaker Helmut Doennhoff at Weingut Doennhoff in Oberhausen in the Nahe Valley, Germany
Dinner in a Typical Old Town Mainz Wine Tavern: At Weinhaus Bluhm and at Weinhaus Schreiner - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Schiller’s Favorite Wine Taverns in Mainz, Germany
Cellar Tour and Tasting in the Courtyard with Owner/ Winemaker Gesine Roll at Weingut Weedenborn Weedenborn in Monzenheim, Rheinhessen - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Weingut Jülg (VDP): Lunch in the Wine Tavern with Karin and Werner Jülg and Tasting in the Vineyard with Johannes Jülg - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Wine Lunch at Weingut Jülg with Johannes Jülg– Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015)
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting with Sven Nieger at Weingut Sven Nieger in Baden-Baden-Varnholt, Ortenau - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour and Tasting with Owner/ Winemaker Robert Schätzle at Weingut Schloss Neuweier (VDP) in Baden-Baden-Neuweier, Baden - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour (and Lunch) with Robert Schätzle, Owner/ Winemaker, Weingut Schloss Neuweier in Baden - Germany-South and Alsace 2017 Tour by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar Tour and Tasting with Martin Bercher at Weingut Bercher (VDP) in Burkheim, Kaiserstuhl, Baden - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting with Matthias Höfflin and Kaylie Magestro at Weingut Höfflin in Bötzingen, Kaiserstuhl, Baden - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar Tour and Tasting in the Courtyard with Joachim Heger and Winemaker Markus Mleinek at Weingut Dr. Heger (VDP) in Ihringen, Kaiserstuhl, Baden - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Dr. Heger in Ihringen, Kaiserstuhl, Baden – Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015)
The World Class Wines of Alsace
In the world class white wine region Alsace
Cellar Tour with Pierre Gassmann and Tasting at Domaine Rolly-Gassmann in Rorschwihr, Alsace - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar Tour and Massive Tasting at Domaine Rolly-Gassmann in Rorschwihr, Alsace, with Pierre Gassmann - Germany-South and Alsace 2018 Tour by ombiasy WineTours
Tasting at Domaine Zind-Humbrecht in Turckheim, Alsace - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Dinner with Chef Laurine Gutleben and Restaurant Manager/ Husband Antoine Bauer, both Owners, at Michelin-rated Restaurant La Veille Forge in Kaysersberg, Alsace - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour and Tasting with Jean Pierre Dirler at Domaine Dirler-Cadé in Bergholtz, Alsace - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Tasting at Domaine Dirler-Cadé with Jean Pierre Dirler and Ludevine Dirler-Cadé - Germany-South and Alsace 2017 Tour by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar Tour and Tasting with Frédéric Hugel at Domaine Hugel & Fils in Riquewhir, Alsace - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Tour and Tasting at Hugel in Riquewhir, Alsace, with Jean Frédéric Hugel - Germany-South and Alsace 2017 Tour by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting with Owners Catherine Faller and Eddy Leiber-Faller at Domaine Weinbach in Kaysersberg, Alsace - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Visiting Colette Faller at Domaine Weinbach in Kaysersberg in Alsace
Dinner with Chef de Cuisine Jean-Michel Eblin at 1-star Michelin Restaurant Le Maximilien in Zellenberg, Alsace - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar Tour and Tasting with Adrien Schoenheitz at Vins Schoenheitz in Wihr-au-Val, Alsace - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Lunch at Restaurant 1-star Michelin Restaurant La Nouvelle Auberge in Wihr-au-Val, Alsace - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Tasting with Rémy Gresser at Domaine Rémy Gresser in Andlau, Alsace - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Tasting at Domaine Rémy Gresser in Andlau, with Rémy Gresser - Alsace Tour 2019 with the Weinfreundeskreis Hochheim, France
Vineyard Tour and Tasting with Hans Rebholz, Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz (VDP), Pfalz - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Tasting at Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz in Siebeldingen, Pfalz – Germany-South by ombiasy WineTours (2015)
Lunch at Restaurant 1832 at the Hambacher Schloss - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Tasting in the Courtyard and Cellar Tour with Frank John at Weingut Frank John in Neustadt an der Weinstraße - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar Tour and Tasting with Andreas Rings at Weingut Rings (VDP) in Freinsheim, Pfalz - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Tasting and Cellar Tour at Weingut Rings in Freinsheim, Pfalz, with Andreas Rings - Germany-South and Alsace 2017 Tour by ombiasy WineTours
Tasting with Bettina Bürklin-von Guradze and Riccardo Korner at Weingut Dr. Bürklin-Wolf (VDP) in Wachenheim, Pfalz - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Impromptu Tasting at Weinbar & Vinothek Weingut Dr. Bürklin-Wolf in Deidsheim, with Managing Director Steffen Brahner - Germany-South and Alsace 2018 Tour by ombiasy WineTours: Baden, Alsace, Pfalz and Rheinhessen
Tasting with Anne and Matthias Gaul at Weingut Matthias Gaul in Grünstadt-Asselheim, Pfalz - - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours