Bernd Klingenbrunn’s and Armin Busch's K&M Gutsweine is a leading wine retailer (with 2 shops and an online business) in Frankfurt, Germany, my base, when I am in Europe. Once a year, Bernd and Armin present their outstanding German wine portfolio to their customers, with many of the wine producers present. This year, I was lucky to be in Frankfurt at the time of show. Here are my impressions.
Participating Winemakers
Pfalz
Weingut Klundt
Lyle Fass, New York: Sven is a brilliant winemaker, very smart and incredibly nice and polite. It was evident from the first taste of his basic wines that he is an incredible young talent. But then we moved to the 2013 Kastanienbusch which was in barrel and very early in its life. Sven did not want to taste me on it as it needed tons of coaxing in the glass and was not clarified so it was cloudy. I sat there with a small glass of the 2013 Kastanienbusch and sniffed and swirled and tasted until it finally got to the place I wanted it to go. I was thrilled - we finally have our Kastanienbusch and at a price 40% less than I thought I would have to charge. It's about 1/3rd the price of Hansjorg Rebholz's you get a wine from a young up and coming grower from one of the greatest terroirs in Germany.
Reichsrat von Buhl
One of the great producers in the Pfalz with a long history that recently has taken a new direction with a new owner, new management team and a new winemaker, Matthieu Kaufmann, who was the Chef de Cave of Bollinger before joining Weingut Reichsrat von Buhl. We will visit Weingut Reichsrat von Buhl on this year's Germany-South tour by ombiasy WineTours, see: Announcement: 5 Exciting ombiasy WineTours in 2016 - BURGUNDY BORDEAUX GERMANY
Weingut Mehling
Weingut Pfirmann
Weingut Jülg
Annette and I discovered Weingut Jülg at an earlier K&M Gutswein Hausmesse. Since then, we have visited Weingut Jülg several times on an ombiasy wine tour, see: Wine Lunch at Weingut Jülg with Johannes Jülg – Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015)
Weingut Jülg is based in Schweigen. Unusually, their vineyards are in Germany as well as in France. Karin Jülg runs the wine tavern which is known for outstanding traditional Pfälzer cuisine. In the mid 1980s Werner Jülg converted the family winery from a low-end mass producing winery -so typical for the Pfalz in those days- into a wine estate that produces outstanding wines of the highest quality. He is also known for his excellent Sekt making: the Blanc de Noir produced in the Method Champenoise with traditional Champagne grapes is absolutely delicious. Weingut Jülg produces only dry wines mostly with traditional Burgundy grapes. After finishing his studies in oenology son Johannes is now also working in the winery to continue with the family tradition.
Weingut Jülg wines are available in the US and Annette Schiller already organized a winemaker dinner with Weingut Jülg in Washington DC. By chance, Armin Busch and his wife were in the region and able to join us for the dinner. See: Winemaker Dinner with Friedrich Jülg, Weingut Jülg, Pfalz, Germany, at Evo Bistro in McLean, Washington DC, USA
We will visit Weingut Jülg on this year's Germany-South tour by ombiasy WineTours, see: Announcement: 5 Exciting ombiasy WineTours in 2016 - BURGUNDY BORDEAUX GERMANY
Baden
Weingut Köbelin
An up-and-coming producer in Baden with 15 hectares. 70% is accounted for by Pinot Noir, Blanc and Gris. See: Wine Maker Arndt Koebelin at K+M Gutsweine in Frankfurt am Main, Germany
We will visit Weingut Köbelin on this year's Germany-South tour by ombiasy WineTours, see: Announcement: 5 Exciting ombiasy WineTours in 2016 - BURGUNDY BORDEAUX GERMANY
Weingut Ziereisen
Weingut Sven Nieger
Runner-up in the Falstaff Newcomer of the Year 2015 Competition. See: Best German Winemakers - Falstaff Deutschland Wine Trophies 2015
Weingut Alexander Laible
Franken
Weingut Bickel-Stumpf
A leading producer of fine dry Franken wines. I like in particular the super-delicious Silvaner wines of Matthias Stumpf, who recently has taken over with his sister Melanie Kröger-Stumpf, see: Weingut Bickel-Stumpf in Franken: Vineyard Walk and Wine Tasting with Reimund Stumpf, Matthias Stumpf and Melanie Stumpf-Kröger - Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
Weingut Stadt Klingenberg
Weingut der Stadt Klingenberg was taken over by the talented Benedikt Baltes a few years ago and has seen since then a phenomal upswing. Clearly somebod to watch. Benedikt's wine are now available in the US, see: German Wine at Cleveland Park Wines in Washington DC, with Chris Bartha from Ultra Fine Wines and Annette and Christian Schiller from ombiasy WineTours
Weingut Max Müller I
Ahr
Weingut Julia Bertram
Julia Bertram is a former German Wine Queen and partner in business and life of Benedikt Baltes (Weingut der Stadt Klingenberg). She just started her own little wine production with the grapes of her families' vineyard. Both Julia and Benedikt come from the Ahr region. See: The 31-Days-of-German-Riesling Concert Cruise Around New York Harbor with the German Wine Queen Julia Bertram and the 3 Wine Amazones Tina Huff, Eva Vollmer and Mirjam Schneider from Mainz, Germany
Rheingau
Weingut Balthasar Ress
Founded in 1870 by Balthasar Ress in Hattenheim in the Rheingau, Weingut Balthasar Ress developed into one of the leading wine estates of the Rheingau region and became a global player in the wine trade. Stefan Ress – now senior boss - owned and run Weingut Balthasar Ress for many years. In 2010, his son Christian Ress took over and Dirk Würtz became Winemaker and then Technical Director.
With Christian Ress and Dirk Würtz having taken over, Weingut Balthasar Ress has launched a series of new initiatives. Dirk Würtz is the brain behind the initiates in terms of vine growing in the vineyard and wine making in the cellar. I joined Dirk Würtz during the 2015 harvest for an afternoon and had a chance to talk with him about a variety of issues, including his push towards organic/natural/biodynamic winemaking, his “orange” wine, his ultra-premium red wine, to name a view. Overall, it was an exciting afternoon with a fascinating winemaker, who is also a star in the social media wine scene in Germany. See: At Weingut Balthasar Ress in Hattenheim, Rheingau, during the 2015 Harvest with Winemaker Dirk Würtz, Germany
Weingut Achim von Oetinger
When Achim von Oetinger's wines bcame available in the US a few weeks ago, and I wrote on my blog that I was very pleased, for several reasons:
First, Achim von Oetinger is one of the new stars of the Rheingau. It is not without reason that he was Stuart Pigott’s Discovery of the Year 2015. See: Best German Wines and Winemakers – Stuart Pigott’s Favorites (December 2014)
Second, on the forthcoming Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2016), Weingut von Oetinger is the first stop of the tour. See below and here: Announcement: 5 Exciting ombiasy WineTours in 2016 - BURGUNDY BORDEAUX GERMANY and Coming-up: 2016 Spring Tours by ombiasy WineTours to Germany and the Bourgogne, Germany/ France
Third, Achim’s wines are super! See below what Doug Rosen has to say. I fully concur with Doug. See: Achim von Oetinger, Weingut von Oetinger, Rheingau, Germany: Welcome to the USA and See You Soon in Germany
Rheinhessen
Weingut Gunderloch
Another world class producer that is changing direction under the new leadership of Johannes Hasselbach, who was drafted to take over the winery after his sister fell in love with Alwin Jurtschitsch while they both studied in Geisenheim and decided to move back with him to Austria. Johannes learnt quickly and gets a lot good press, nationally and internationally. See: "Wurzelwerk" Goes America: 3 Vineyards, 3 Winemakers and 9 Wines
Weingut Eva Vollmer
Discovery of the Year (Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland 2010), Dr. Eva Vollmer is another up-and-coming winemaker in the portfolio of K&M Gutsweine. While Eva was in Dortmund at and event with Stuart Pigott, her husband Robert Wagner was pouring in Frankfurt. She is a brilliant winemaker who has achieved quite a bit in a short period of time. The group was very impressed with the wines, with Eva and Robert and with the new hospitality area at the winery, when we visited Weingut Eva Vollmer last year, see: Tour and Wine Pairing Lunch at Weingut Eva Vollmer in Mainz-Ebersheim, Rheinhessen - Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015)
Weingut Weedenborn
Bernd Klingenbrunn: Deutschlands beste Sauvignon Blanc Kollektion - Germany's best Sauvignon Blanc Collection
Mosel
Weingut Weber-Margarethenhof (Saar)
schiller-wine: Related Postings
Announcement: 5 Exciting ombiasy WineTours in 2016 - BURGUNDY BORDEAUX GERMANY
Wine Lunch at Weingut Jülg with Johannes Jülg – Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015)
Winemaker Dinner with Friedrich Jülg, Weingut Jülg, Pfalz, Germany, at Evo Bistro in McLean, Washington DC, USA
Wine Maker Arndt Koebelin at K+M Gutsweine in Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Best German Winemakers - Falstaff Deutschland Wine Trophies 2015
Weingut Bickel-Stumpf in Franken: Vineyard Walk and Wine Tasting with Reimund Stumpf, Matthias Stumpf and Melanie Stumpf-Kröger - Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
German Wine at Cleveland Park Wines in Washington DC, with Chris Bartha from Ultra Fine Wines and Annette and Christian Schiller from ombiasy WineTours
The 31-Days-of-German-Riesling Concert Cruise Around New York Harbor with the German Wine Queen Julia Bertram and the 3 Wine Amazones Tina Huff, Eva Vollmer and Mirjam Schneider from Mainz, Germany
At Weingut Balthasar Ress in Hattenheim, Rheingau, during the 2015 Harvest with Winemaker Dirk Würtz, Germany
Best German Wines and Winemakers – Stuart Pigott’s Favorites (December 2014)
Achim von Oetinger, Weingut von Oetinger, Rheingau, Germany: Welcome to the USA and See You Soon in Germany
"Wurzelwerk" Goes America: 3 Vineyards, 3 Winemakers and 9 Wines
Tour and Wine Pairing Lunch at Weingut Eva Vollmer in Mainz-Ebersheim, Rheinhessen - Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015)