The Vinum Weinguide Germany 2023 was released a few weeks ago, presenting Vinum's choice of Germany’s best 1 000 wine producers and reviewing more than 10 700 wines on 1118 pages.
5 out of 5 stars („world class“) were awarded to 18 estates. In addition, there are 31 estates with 4.5 stars, and 66 estates with 4 stars.
See here: Germany's 18 Top Winemakers (With 5/5 Stars) - Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2023
This posting is the fourth in a series of postings that provide more details on individual wine regions.
Ahr: The Top Winemakers - Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland/ Germany 2023
Baden: The Top Winemakers - Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland/ Germany 2023
Franken: The Top Winemakers - Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland/ Germany 2023In Hessische Bergstrasse,
there is no producer with 5, 4.5 or 4 stars. There is 1 producer with a 3.5 star rating and there are 2 producers with a 3 star rating.
Annette Schiller, ombiasy WineTours, and I have visited 2 of the 3 producers with 3.5 and 3 stars over the past years during a Germany wine tour by ombiasy WineTours, which is owned and run by Annette Schiller and based in Washington DC, USA.
Hessische Bergstrasse
(Wine Searcher)
The Hessische Bergstrasse (Hessian Mountain Road) is the smallest of Germany's 13 wine regions, in terms of both vineyard area and volume produced. With just over 460 hectares (1,100 acres) under vine, it produces less than 0.5% of Germany's total wine output, the majority of which rarely leaves the country.
The region is located within the federal state of Hesse, along the eastern bank of the Rhine river between Darmstadt and Weinheim. Generally speaking, the region is a northern extension of the Baden vineyard area that runs along the Rhine from Switzerland to the city of Mannheim.
The northern part of Hessische Bergstrasse extends from the Rhine to the Hessen-Bayern border, near the river Main. The Otenwald hills and Bergstrasse-Odenwald natural park provide a broadly curving eastern boundary.
Although the Romans understood the suitability of this region for grape growing, and historic documents show winemaking has been well established for over 1,000 years, Hessische Bergstrasse was only officially defined and inaugurated in the 1971 Weingesetz (wine law).
The region is planted to roughly 80 percent white and 20 percent red varieties.
As production is minimal (about 0.5% of German wine), most wine produced here is consumed locally; it is highly unusual to see Bergstrasse wines outside of Germany.
The majority of the region's wine - well over half - is produced by the regional winemaking co-operative, Bergstrasser Winzer, based in the city of Heppenheim. Some 620 of the approximately 850 growers in the region are members of this organization.
The state government of Hesse is the biggest single vineyard owner, with 38 hectares (94 acres) in the control of the Hessische Staatsweinguter Kloster Eberbach winery.
Hessische Bergstrasse is known throughout Germany as a tourist destination and is particularly popular in springtime. The climate is mild, providing ideal conditions for viticulture. The soils are mainly decomposed granite, sandstone and quartz.
Visiting Hessische Bergstrasse`s Top Producers
Griesel/ 3.5
Pictures: Ultra-premium Sekt: Cellar Tour and Tasting at Griesel&Compagnie, Sekthaus Streit, Bensheim, with Winemaker Rachele Crosara - Germany-South and Alsace 2018 Tour by ombiasy WineTours: Baden, Alsace, Pfalz and Rheinhessen
Picture: Tasting at Weingut Simon-Bürkle, Zwingenberg, Hessische Bergstrasse– Germany-East Wine and Art Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015), Germany
schiller-wine: Related Postings
ombiasy WineTours: Wine Tour Schedule 2023 - Austria, Germany/East, Burgundy/ Champagne, Germany/ North
Dinner at a Historic (Second Empire) Café-Brasserie in Lyon: Grand Café des Négociants - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Maison Guigal in Ampuis, Côte Rôtie, Northern Rhône: Cellar Tour, Tasting and Vineyard Tour - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Visit and Tasting at Domaine de Boisseyt in Chavany, Northern Rhône - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Tour and Tasting at Château Haut-Bailly, Graves, Appellation Pessac-Léognan, Grand Cru Classé, with Cellar Master Jean Christoph - Bordeaux Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours, France
How Does the Negociant System in Bordeaux Work? Tour and Tasting at Millésima - Bordeaux Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours, France
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Clos Puy Arnaud with Owner Thierry Valette, Appellation Côtes de Castillon - Bordeaux Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours, France
Cellar Tour and Tasting with Daniel Wagner at Weingut Wagner-Stempel (VDP) in Siefersheim, Rheinhessen - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours
Tasting with Helmut Dönnhoff and Sascha Johannes Schömel at Weingut Dönnhoff (VDP) in Oberhausen, Nahe - 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
2022 Annual Riesling Party at the Schiller Residence in McLean, Virginia, USA
Christian Schiller`s SCHILLER-WINE Blog on Corking Wines` Top 101 Wine Writers of 2020 List
The Wines of Germany: Presentation by Annette Schiller at the German Embassy in Washington DC/ Consular Conference December 2021
All Sorts of Sparklers: How do the Bubbles get into that Bottle - Presentation by Annette Schiller, ombiasy WineTours, at the 2021 American Wine Society National Conference in Atlantic City