Picture: Christian Schiller with Armin and Caroline Diel at Schlossgut Diel Recently, I posted about Germany’s 20 top winemakers, according to Der Feinschmecker, the leading Gourmet Journal in Germany. These were the 20 winemakers, who had received 5 out of 5 points in the 2005 ranking of Der Feinschmecker. See: Germany’s Top 20 Winemakers - Der Feinschmecker WeinGuide 2015
Right behind them are another 20 winemakers, who got 4.5 out of 5 points: The runners-up. Here is a listing, with a short introduction of each of them.
Geheimer Rat Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan
The Geheimer Rat Dr. von Bassermann Jordan Estate was established in the 1700s by Andreas Jordan, who had immigrated to the Pfalz from the Savoy region. When he died in 1848, his bequest was split three ways – an event known as the Jordansche Teilung (Teilung means “division” or “sharing” in German) – giving rise to Deidesheim’s three biggest wineries, which thenceforth developed independently of each other and still exist today. Today, they bear the names Geheimer Rat Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan, Reichsrat von Buhl and von Winningen (Dr. Deinhard). They are now all owned by wife of the late Achim Niederberger. 49 hectares.
See also:
Cellar Tour and Wine Tasting at Weingut Geheimer Rat Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan in Deidesheim with General Manager Gunther Hauck – Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
Battenfeld-Spanier
Weingut Battenfeld-Spanier is in Hohen-Sülzen (Wonnegau area) close to the city of Worms in Southern Rheinhessen. The Spanier family has been making wine for generations. The vineyard area totals 18 hectares, with holdings in: Kirchenstück, Rosengarten und Sonnenberg (Hohen-Sülzen), as well as Frauenberg (Flörsheim). More than 50% of the area is planted with Riesling, as well as with Pinot Noir (20%), Pinot Blanc (8%), Silvaner, Chardonnay and other varieties. Weingut Battenfeld-Spanier is fully biodynamic.
See also:
Wine Tasting at Weingut Kühling-Gillot in Bodenheim: Kühling-Gillot and Battenfeld-Spanier Wines– Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
Friedrich Becker
Weingut Becker is in Schweigen in the Pfalz, right at the French/German border. The vineyards totals 18 hectares. Unusually, about 2/3 of the vineyards are located in what is now France. Weingut Friedrich Becker is one of the best producers in the Pfalz and one of the best Pinot Noir producers in Germany. The best Becker Pinot Noirs compare favorably with the best Burgundy has to offer.
See also:
Wine Tasting at Weingut Friedrich Becker – Germany-South Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
Christmann
Dry-only producer from the Pfalz, headed by VDP President Steffen Christmann. The vineyard area totals 20 hectares, with Riesling accounting for 2/3 of the production.
See also:
Winery Tour and Wine Tasting at Weingut A. Christmann, with Steffen Christmann– Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
Schlossgut Diel
In the Nahe Valley with 22 hectares. Grape Varieties: 65% Riesling, 20% Grauburgunder, 10% Spätburgunder, 5% Weissburgunder. Bottle-fermented (and hand-riddled) sparkling wines are also produced.
Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller and Caroline Diel at Schlossgut DielSee also:
Tasting with Sylvain Taurisson Diel at Schlossgut Diel, Nahe – Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
Glaser-Himmelstoss
A typical producer in the Franken area, with Silvaner and Müller-Thurgau accounting for more than half of the production. 15 hectares.
Gunderloch
A respected producer from the Rheinhessen area, which is well established in the American market. It all started in 1890, when the banker Carl Gunderloch purchased the Gunderloch manor house in Nackenheim. Today, the Estate is still in the hands of the Gunderloch family, with Johannes Hasselbach in charge. 18 hectares.
See also:
Weingut Gunderloch– The New Generation: Owner Johannes Hasselbach in Washington DC, US
Reinhold Haart
The Haart estate includes four vineyard sites on the left bank of the Mosel and one on the right. Most prominent are its 4 hectares in the heart of the Piesporter Goldtröpfchen vineyard. 7 hectares.
Dr. Heger
Weingut Dr. Heger in Baden was established in 1935 by the rural doctor, Dr. Max Heger. Today, the 21 hectares of vineyards are predominantly planted with the Pinots Gris, Blanc and Noir. In addition, there is also the Weinhaus Heger, a negiciant, which the current owner Joachim Heger founded.
See also:
Visit: Weingut Dr. Heger in Baden – Germany-South Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
Heymann-Löwenstein
With his only dry and terroir-driven wines, Reinhard Löwenstein is sometimes called the rebel from the Mosel. 14 hectares.
Bernhard Huber
Weingut Bernhard Huber in Baden is one of the winemakers leading the German red wine revolution. 26.5 hectares. Bernhard Huber, only 53 years old, died in June 2014. His son Julian Huber has taken over, with the help of his mother Barbara.
See also:
Wine Tasting at Weingut Bernhard Huber– Germany-South Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
Toni Jost – Hahnenhof
This family estate is run by Peter Jost, who took over from his father Toni in 1975. Peter was joined by his daughter Cecilia in 2009. It is based in Bacharach, in the south of the MittelRhein region. 15 hectares. All dry wines.
August Kesseler
Situated in Assmannshausen in the Rheingau region, the wine estate of August Kesseler consists of vineyard sites in Lorch (for Riesling and Silvaner wines), on the slopes of the hills around Rüdesheim and Assmanshausen (Pinot Noir). August Kesseler took over the estate from his parents in 1977 as a young man, and has qualitatively expanded the best area under vines to 18 hectares.
Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller with August Kesseler and his Wife in BerlinSee also:
A Pinot Noir Star: Visiting August Kesseler and his Weingut August Kesseler in Assmannshausen, Germany
Philipp Kuhn
A dry wines only producer from the Pfalz. Half of the vineyard area totaling 40 hectares is accounted for by red wines, with the focus on Pinot Noir and half accounted for by white wines, with the focus on Riesling and Pinot Blanc.
Andreas Laible
Weingut Andreas Laible is in Durbach in the Baden region. The vineyard area totals 7 hectares, with Riesling accounting for more than half of it. All wines are dry.
Ökonomierat Rebholz
Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz in the Pfalz was founded by Hansjörg Rebholz’s grandfather. In the tradition of his grandfather, who was aiming at producing "natural wines" and these "with the precision of a Swiss watchmaker", Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz is now fully biodynamic.
See also:
Wine Tasting at Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz in Siebeldingen, Pfalz – Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
Salwey
Weingut Salwey in Oberrotweil in Baden specializes in Spätburgunder, Grauburgunder and Weissburgunder. Konrad Salwey is at the helm of the winery since 2011, when his father Wolf-Diedrich Salwey died in a car accident. 40 hectares.
Joseph Spreitzer
The vineyards in Oestrich, Winkel and Hattenheim in the Rheingau are planted with 97% Riesling and just 3% Spätburgunder grapes. Brothers Bernd and Andreas Spreitzer are the fourth generation of the Spreitzer family to run this historic estate where wine has been produced since 1641. 15 hectares.
Jean Stodden
The Stodden family has been dedicated to producing wine since 1578 in the Ahr Valley. The 6.5 hectares of vineyards are almost exclusively planted with red grape varieties: Pinot Noir (88%), Frühburgunder (6%)) and Dornfelder (1%). The most spectacular wines Alexander Stodden, the current owner and winemaker, produces are terroir-driven Pinot-Noirs from top vineyard sites such as the Recher Herrenberg.
Florian Weingart
Florian Weingarts 6.5 hectares are divided between 3 sites on the Bopparder Hamm in the Mittelrhein Region, a south facing stretch with an incline of 50-70% along the Rhein where a kink forces the river to flow west to east. Here slate is layered with various sedimentations and volcanic ash spattered during eruptions of Eifel Mountain over 10,000 years ago.
schiller-wine: Related Postings
Bourgogne Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015), France
4 Wine Tours by ombiasy coming up in 2015: Germany-East, Germany-South. Germany-Nord and Bordeaux
Germany’s Top 20 Winemakers - Der Feinschmecker WeinGuide 2015
Cellar Tour and Wine Tasting at Weingut Geheimer Rat Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan in Deidesheim with General Manager Gunther Hauck – Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
Wine Tasting at Weingut Kühling-Gillot in Bodenheim: Kühling-Gillot and Battenfeld-Spanier Wines– Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
Wine Tasting at Weingut Friedrich Becker – Germany-South Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
Winery Tour and Wine Tasting at Weingut A. Christmann, with Steffen Christmann– Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
Tasting with Sylvain Taurisson Diel at Schlossgut Diel, Nahe – Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
Weingut Gunderloch– The New Generation: Owner Johannes Hasselbach in Washington DC, US
Visit: Weingut Dr. Heger in Baden – Germany-South Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
Wine Tasting at Weingut Bernhard Huber– Germany-South Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
A Pinot Noir Star: Visiting August Kesseler and his Weingut August Kesseler in Assmannshausen, Germany
Wine Tasting at Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz in Siebeldingen, Pfalz – Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)