With 3/5 grapes in the Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland 2016, Christian L. Stahl, Winzerhof Stahl, belongs to the elite of winemakers in Germany.
Winzerhof Stahl is in Franken. Like so many other colleagues from this region, Christian L. Stahl’s Franken wines are virtually unknown outside of Germany.
Pictures: Christian L. Stahl at Cleveland Park Fine Wines and Liquor Store in Washington DC, with General Manager Anthony Quinn
Within Germany, however, Christian has shown a very strong performance. When Christian Stahl took over the winery of his parents about 10 years ago, the vineyard area totaled 2 hectares. Within a decade, he has gone to 20 hectares. When Christian Stahl took over, the winery was not even mentioned in Germany’s wine guides, like the Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland. Within a decade, he has gone from 0/5 to 3/5 grapes. Christian got the second grape in 2012 and the third grape in 2014.
In 2012, Christian Stahl was Falstaff Winemaker Newcomer of the Year 2012. See here: Best German Wines and Winemakers - Falstaff Deutschland Wine Trophies 2012
Christian decided to start exporting to the US and came on a tour to Washington DC, Chicago and New York in early 2016 to launch his wines into the American market.
I had met Christian some time ago in Germany at the top Restaurant SchauMahl in Frankfurt/Germany, were he came for a winemaker dinner. Here is my report about the fantastic evening:
The Bistronomics Cuisine of Chef Christoph Kubenz and the Wines of Winemaker Christian Stahl at Restaurant schauMahl in Frankfurt, Germany
Dry Wines
All of the wines of Winzerhof Stahl are bone-dry. He does not produce any sweet-style (fruity-sweet or noble-sweet) wines. Many wine drinkers, in particular outside of Europe, when they see a German wine in the shelves, have the association of a sweet-style wine. This is however misguided. German wines as a rule are dry wines. Let me quote Terry Theise: … What I myself see, from the growers I visit and the restaurants I go to, and the stories I am told, Germany is not only a dry-wine culture, it is militantly and obsessively so. How many letters have I gotten from travelers to Germany who were promptly dismayed to find the utter hegemony of the Trocken style? I did not set these people up. They saw what I see. … If you were dropped from the sky and landed in Germany you would conclude it is a dry wine culture.
Steffen Christmann, the President of the VDP, the German elite wine maker association, estimates that 95% of German wine beyond a price point of Euro 15 is dry. Christian Witte, Domain Administrator of Schloss Johannisberg, says that 85% of the wines he exports to the US are sweet-style. This was 95% 10 years ago. Thus, with his bone-dry wines, Christian L. Stahl is in a niche in the American market, but in a rapidly expanding niche as the world discovers German dry wine.
Wine Classification
Christian Stahl belongs to the group of German winemakers, who go their own way in terms of classifying and naming their wines. Also, he does not sell his wines in the traditional Bocksbeutel bottle, as most of his colleagues do in Franken, but in regular bottles, as in the rest of Germany. Right from the beginning when he took over, he has been using screw caps only.
With regard to classifying his wines, Christian disregards the German (standard) classification of 1971 and markets all his wines as Qualitätswein b.A. But he is not in the group of winemakers, who have instead adopted the VDP approach to classify their wines. He has developed his own, innovative classification system, playing with his name Stahl (= steel).
See also:
Approaches to Classifying German Wine: The Standard Approach (the Law of 1971), the VDP Approach and the Zero Classification Approach
Christian Stahl groups his wines into 3 categories:
Top: EDELSTAHL (= precious steel)
Middle: DAMASZENER STAHL
Entry: FEDER STAHL
Also, Christian rejects the terroir principle. You will never find a vineyard name on his bottles. Instead he gives his wines colorful names, such as Literweise (by the liter), Rauschgift (drugs) and Rosenrot (red like a rose).
Winzerhof Stahl
Winzerhof Stahl is located in Auernhofen in the Franken wine area. Winemaking is only a recent activity in the Stahl family. Until the mid-1980s, Winzerhof Stahl did not exist. The Stahl family was doing farming and did not make any wine. Christian’s father then decided to acquire vineyards and to shift to winemaking. Today, the vineyard area totals 20 hectares. Winzerhof Stahl also includes a wine restaurant with 200 seats; the food there is at the highest level, as are the Winzerhof Stahl wines.
Christian L. Stahl
Born in 1978, Christian has been in charge of Winzerhof Stahl since 2005. He started his education at Weingut Stein in Würzburg (apprenticeship) in 1999, then spent some time with the biodynamic winemaker Jakob-Peter Kühn in the Rheingau and finished his studies with a Diploma at the Geisenheim University.
My Favorite 3 Wines
2014 Winzerhof Stahl Spark! FEDER STAHL
50% Scheurebe and 50% Riesling. Brut. A lightly sparkling wine.
Not well known in the world, but Germany is the largest market for sparkling wine in the world. 1 out of 4 bottles of sparkling wine produced around the globe is consumed in Germany. The Germans love bubblies.
The 2014 Winzerhof Stahl Spark! FEDER STAHL is a lightly sparkling wine, i.e. the carbon dioxide pressure is much less than in a regular sparkling wine. It is almost a still wine which is a bit fizzy. Delicious. I bought 6 bottles (under US$ 20).
2014 Winzerhof Stahl Silvaner DAMASZENER STAHL
Silvaner (primarily grown in Alsace and Germany) is the signature grape of Franken. In Alsace, it is one of the four grape varieties that can be used to produce Alsace Grand Cru wine, although only in one vineyard, Zotzenberg.
The 2014 Winzerhof Stahl Silvaner DAMASZENER STAHL shows very well, what the Silkvaner grape is capable of. Subtle in aroma and mild in acidity. Well done Christian (under US$ 20).
2014 Winzerhof Stahl Scheurebe [WHITEOUT] DAMASZENER STAHL
Scheurebe is an indigenous German grape variety, bred in 1916 by Professor Georg Scheu. Its intense bouquet is reminiscent of black currant, peach or ripe pear. Scheurebe wines go very well with aromatic, spicy foods from appetizer to dessert.
You easily loose orientation, when you smell this wine, says Christian. Stop sniffing, drink it! (under US$ 20).
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