Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours took place from Monday, June 19, 2023 to Thursday, June 29, 2023.
In Württemberg, the last of the 4 regions we went to, we visited:
Vineyard and Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Fürst Hohenlohe-Öhringen (VDP) in Öhringen-Verrenberg, Württemberg, with the New Managing Director Carl-Julius Cromme - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Walk in the Vineyard and Tasting at Weingut Schlossgut Hohenbeilstein (VDP) in Beilstein, Württemberg - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Dinner at Restaurant Lamm Hebsack in Remshalden, Württemberg, with Owners Markus (Kitchen) und Sylvia Polinski (Service) - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineToursWeingut Beurer (VDP) in Kernen, Württemberg, with Jochen Beurer
Weingut Schnaitmann (VDP) in Fellbach, Württemberg, with Rainer Schnaitmann
Weingut Lassak in Hessigheim, Würrtemberg, with Stefanie and Fabian Lassak
Weingut Graf Neipperg (VDP) in Schwaigern, Württemberg
Weingut Dautel (VDP) in Bönnigheim, Württemberg, with Ernst and Christian Dautel
The visit of Weingut Beurer was a tasting-only visit. We have never been to Weingut Beurer in Württemberg, but we have seen each several times in New York at the Rieslingfeier and at other events in Germany.
Weingut Beurer is represented in the USA by Vom Boden.
See: Great Germany Map: Wine Country Germany According to "vom Boden", US Importer of German Premium Wine Focusing on Small Growers
Weingut Beurer (VDP) in Kernen, Württemberg
For
generations, the Beurer family has been growing vines just outside of
Stuttgart. They did not produce wine but sold the grapes to the local
cooperative. The father of Jochen Beurer, current owner of the winery,
was the head of the local cooperative.
Jochen Beurer grew up among the vines and he always knew he wanted to produce wines himself. He trained at wineries in Württemberg and Baden, studied enology at the Weinsberg viticultural school and worked in Alto Adige at Azienda Agricola Foradori.
Under the influence of Elizabetta Foradori, an icon of natural wine making, he started to become interested in non-conventional winemaking. In 1997 the Beurers, father and son, started their own winery.Soon after, they experimented with natural yeasts and step by step they converted to organic and biodynamic winemaking. Since 2012 the winery has been certified biodynamic by Demeter.
Today ecology is the top priority as well as producing top-notch wines. In 2013 the Beurer winery was invited to join the VDP.
Beurer - Vom Boden
Germany - Swabia
An ex-European BMX Champion gone natural wine guru, in Swabia. Some things don’t have to make sense ok?
Here’s the hypothesis we’ll set out to prove: Jochen Beurer may be one of the most important winemakers in Germany.
His
wines are pure energy; they have a universal vibration to them. They
seemingly do not follow the laws of physics that govern the rest of the
conventional wine world. They float.
Among winemakers in Germany, Beurer is revered and his whites and reds are nearly always considered among the greats. Few winemakers are able to achieve such thrust and such purity, from the simpler Trollinger and Portugieser up to Grauburgunder, Sauvignon Blanc and, yes, Riesling.
Yet Beurer’s influence flows not only through his wines, but through his actions. Jochen is one of the deepest thinkers about the environment beyond the vineyards. A tour with Beurer is as likely to include a discussion of his bees, the vegetation and animals surrounding the vineyards as it is to include a discussion of the soil and vines themselves.
I have met few winemakers who seem to see the “whole” as clearly and succinctly as Beurer does. Jochen farms both organic and biodynamic (he is Demeter certified), yet still he does not speak in easy truths; he seems to be seeking a viticulture that is beyond these simple rules, more integrated, more complete.
Jochen is also one of the kindest humans out there; a bear of a man who is profoundly nurturing. A whole generation of young German winemakers has passed through Beurer’s cellar. We’re getting to the heart of why Beurer is so important to German winemaking.
Nonetheless, it’s not shocking that Beurer is less well known in the U.S. First, he’s from Swabia, a southern region only recently created by the importer Selection Massale. Swabia is not part of the old-school, cannonical history of winemaking in Germany. It is a fertile place, with a diverse array of agriculture. Which brings us to the second reason that Beurer is not as famous as he should be: he does not focus solely on Riesling, but embraces the wild and complicated diversity of Teutonic grapes and wines.
Let’s start with Beurer’s reds. The Trollinger (Schiava) is a bright, raspy, complex yet crushable treatise in what we’ll call “Alto Swabia.” The “Rot” is gut (translation: good): a darker, earthier blend of Pinot Noir, Cabernet Dorio, Dornfelder and Portugieser, the latter two being among our favorite Teutonic red grapes, for their lightness and easy transparency. The Zweigelt gets, all of a sudden, much more serious. The Zweigelt flaunts a thrust, a glossy precision that recalls the Rieslings. It is has what we’d call elegance, though it remains stern and serious. An unbelievable wine, honestly – always sort of shocking.
Finally, and this is also what makes Jochen great, wines like a Lemberger (Blaufrankisch) Grand Cru GG. C’mon, how awesome is a Lemberger GG? This is a tour-de-force wine. You may not be expecting it, but then – whoosh. This wine has the force of a waterfall; it is a rush. Fermented in younger, smaller barrels, there is depth and polish and style. It seems impossible that something so lean and mineral and cool, could also be so rich and dark and textural. Jochen’s red wines are not to be underestimated.
For the whites, begin with the “Weiss” – a white field blend of Müller-Thurgau, Silvaner and Weissburgunder. It is buoyant and floral, incredibly fresh and perfumed; on the palate it shows more mineral and compact, with a silky finesse that is surprising given the simplicity of the genre here. Beurer always over-delivers.
The Riesling hierarchy is four-fold. The estate Riesling is sourced from various parcels; it is among the saltiest of all the basic Rieslings in our book. Mineral, dried herbs, flowers, fruit here is an after-thought. The wine is oceanic.
The “premier cru” vineyards are named after the soil types, and so we have “Schilfsandstein” and “Kieselsandstein.” Both soils are forms of sandstone (in German “sandstein”). The Schilfsandstein is formed from ancient sea beds; the Kieselsandstein is a denser stone, often with fine threads of limestone and other minerals. Both wines come from vines that are nearly 40 years old. Both are linear, angular and stylish. The Schilfsandstein is airier, bouncier and more playful. The Kieselsandstein is denser, with darker citrus, more herbal complexity and a finer texture.
From here we come to the Grand Crus: The “Junges Schwaben” is sourced from Jochen’s highest vineyard, a steep, terraced parcel that has to be farmed by hand and hoof (a horse is used in much of the farming). Here there is a wide diversity of sandstones, along with more clay and bits of limestone. It is among the more saturating and yellow-fruited of Beurer’s Riesling. Finally, the Grand Cru “GG” itself, made from Beurer’s oldest vines on Kieselsandstein, high up on the Pulvermächer hill. This is a brooding, gripping and structured wine, with a simply bonkers (the technical term) depth and concentration. These wines see a long elevage in barrel, and then longer aging in bottle. They are released when Jochen thinks the time is right, which can be many years post vintage.
With Jochen Beurer in New York City
We have never been to Weingut Beurer in Württemberg, but we have seen each several times in New York at the Rieslingfeier and at other events in Germany.
Arriving
Tasting
Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours (Released and Forthcoming Postings)
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ombiasy WineTours: Wine Tour Schedule 2023 - Austria, Germany/East, Burgundy/ Champagne, Germany/ North
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Summery: Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
City Tours: Berlin and Potsdam - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Steak Tartare at Restaurant Borchardt, Berlin-Mitte - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Born in Salzatal-Höhnstedt, Saale-Unstrut, with Elisabeth and Günter
Born - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen,
Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Tour and Tasting at Niche Wine Producer Weingut Herr & Frau Lüttmer, in Vitzenburg, Saale-Unstrut, with Klaus Lüttmer - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Landesweingut Kloster Pforta in Bad Kösen, Saale-Unstrut, with Paula Löber, 2022 Wine Princess of Bad Kösen - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineToursIn Naumburg, Saale-Unstrut: Concert and Tour of the Organ at St. Wenzel Church with the Organist and Tour of the Naumburg Cathedral - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Tour and Tasting at Weingut Pawis (VDP) in Freyburg, Saale-Unstrut, with Christian Pawis - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Wine Pairing Dinner at Restaurant Zufriedenheit in Naumburg, Saale Unstut, with the Wines of Weingut Hey (VDP) and Weingut Böhme und Töchter (VDP) - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineToursTasting at Weingut Gussek in Naumburg, Saale-Unstrut, with André Gussek - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Leipzig: City Tour and Concert at Gewandhaus Leipzig with the full Gewandhaus Orchestra - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Martin Schwarz (VDP) in Meissen, Sachsen, with Philipp Henke - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Lunch at Restaurant/ Weingut Vincenz Richter in Meissen, with Julian Herrlich - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Tour and Tasting at Weingut Schloss Proschwitz, Prinz zur Lippe (VDP) in Meissen, Sachsen, with Robert Kroos and Björn Probst - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Tour and Tasting at
Sächsisches Staatsweingut Schloss Wackerbarth in Radebeul, Sachsen -
Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen,
Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Dresden: Lunch at Coselpalais Grand Café and Tour of the “Historisches Grünes Gewölbe” (Historic Green Vault) in the Royal Palace - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi at Semperoper Dresden, Sachsen - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Visit of the Deutsch-Deutsches Museum in Mödlareuth, Töben, Thüringen, with Lunch at Turnhallen Gaststätte in Töpen, Bavaria - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Schiller’s Favorites: 2 Legendary Wine Taverns in Würzburg – Juliusspital and Bürgerspital
Schiller’s Favorite Wine Taverns in Würzburg
Tasting at Weingut Seufert in Iphofen, Franken, a Niche Producer of "Natural Wines", with Laura Seufert - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Tour and Tasting at Weingut Wirsching (VDP) in Iphofen, Franken, with Dr. Uwe Matheus - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy
Tasting at Weingut Weltner (VDP) in Rödelsee, Franken, with Paul Weltner - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy
Wine Dinner at Weinstuben Weingut Juliusspital in Würzburg, Franken - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy
Walk in the Vineyard, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Rudolf May (VDP) in Retzstadt, Franken, with Rudolf and Benedikt May - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy
Vineyard and Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Fürst Hohenlohe-Öhringen (VDP) in Öhringen-Verrenberg, Württemberg, with the New Managing Director Carl-Julius Cromme - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Walk in the Vineyard and Tasting at Weingut Schlossgut Hohenbeilstein (VDP) in Beilstein, Württemberg - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Dinner at Restaurant Lamm Hebsack in Remshalden, Württemberg, with Owners Markus (Kitchen) und Sylvia Polinski (Service) - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineToursTasting at Weingut Beurer (VDP) in Kernen, Württemberg, with Jochen Beurer - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting with Rainer Schnaitmann at Weingut Rainer Schnaitmann in Fellbach, Württemberg – Germany-East Wine and Art Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015), Germany
Cellar Tour and Tasting Weingut Schnaitmann (VDP) in Fellbach, Württemberg, with Rainer Schnaitmann
Light Lunch at Rotenberger Weingärtle in Stuttgart
Tasting at Up and Coming Weingut Lassak in Hessigheim, Würrtemberg, with Stefanie and Fabian Lassak
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Graf Neipperg in Schwaigern, Württemberg – Germany-East Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015)
Dinner at Restaurant Zum Alten Rentamt at Weingut Graf Neipperg (VDP) in Schwaigern, Württemberg, with Neipperg Wines from Württemberg and Bordeaux
Tasting at Weingut Dautel in Württemberg with Christian Dautel - Germany-East Wine and Art Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015)
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Dautel (VDP) in Bönnigheim, Württemberg, with Ernst and Christian Dautel