Germany is one of the largest sparkling wine markets in the world. One out of four bottles of sparkling wine is consumed in Germany. Sparkling wine produced in Germany is called Sekt.
For the second time, Meininger Verlag organized a Sekt Competition in July 2016 in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse. 50 judges – Annette Schiller one of them – tasted and rated 451 Sekts.
The Sekts were grouped in 6 different categories:
Riesling brut
Burgundy Grapes brut
Burgundy Grapes brut premium (on the lees for at least 36 months)
Rosé
Other Grapes brut
Sekt trocken
Sekt Basics
Sekt is made in all German wine regions, both in the méthode traditionnelle and charmat method. There are three groups of Sekt makers: (i) large and (ii) smaller Sekt houses, who only make Sekt and (iii) winemakers, who make predominantly wine, but complement their wine selection by a few Sekts. The Sekts produced by large Sekt estates tend to be in the demy-sweet and sweet range, while the Sekts of smaller estates and the wine makers are mostly in the brut and extra brut range. In addition to Sekt, Germany produces semi-sparkling wine, which is called Perlwein. But the production of Perlwein is small.
Large Sekt Houses
There is a dozen or so large Sekt houses. They produce more than 2.000.000 bottles each annually. Most of these large Sekt houses were established in the 1800s. At that time, there was only one method known to produce Sekt, the méthode traditionnelle. But in contrast to the champagne houses, the large Sekt houses have all moved to the charmat method as main method of the second fermentation after World War II. Like the champagne houses, Sekt houses do not own vineyards, but purchase the base wine from winemakers. More than three quarters of the base wine used to make Sekt is imported from other EU countries, essentially Italy, France and Spain. Sekt can only be labeled as Deutscher Sekt if it is made exclusively from German grapes, which is rare in the case of the large and the smaller Sekt houses. Most of the Sekt houses have beautiful chateau-type facilities with old underground cellars for the second fermentation and storage. Overall, these Sekts are reasonably priced, are of good quality, but with the introduction of the charmat method are no longer in the same class as their counterparts in the champagne region.
The Rotkäppchen-Mumm conglomerate is now the largest Sekt producer. Rotkäppchen was founded in Freiburg (Saale-Unstrut) in 1856, in the eastern part of Germany, and has experienced a phenomenal expansion since reunification of the two Germanys in 1989. It introduced the charmat method in 1956. Mumm was founded in 1827, initially as a champagne house, by the German banker and wine merchant P. A. Mumm. His sons J. and H.G. Mumm created the famous “Mumm Cordon Rouge” at their estate in France and also branched out to Germany. A few years ago, the French branch was bought by Pernod Ricard and the German branch by Rotkäppchen, and the Mumm estates separated. Henkell-Söhnlein, also a conglomerate, is the second largest Sekt house. Henkell was founded in 1832 in Mainz (Rheinhessen). Its most famous “Henkell Trocken”, made of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Chenin Blanc, is available in the US with (supposedly) the same taste as in 1894, when this cuvee was created by Adam Henkell, although then, the charmat methode had not yet been discovered.
Smaller Sekt Houses
The smaller Sekt houses, like the large Sekt houses, do not own vineyards, but also buy the base wine from winemakers. They also tend to have a long history and often links to the champagne region, beautiful facilities and old cellars for the second fermentation and storage. The big difference is that they typically have not gone the route of tank fermentation but continue to ferment in the méthode traditionnelle.
Geldermann in Breisach makes its Sekt exclusively from French wines imported from the Loire valley. The two Germans Deutz and Geldermann founded a champagne house in 1838 in the champagne, and the Breisach (Baden) outlet became their German branch in 1904 for tax reasons. Another one is Kessler, in Esslingen (Baden-Wuerttemberg), the first German Sekt house, founded in 1826 by Georg Kessler, who had worked for Veuve Clicqot. Fürst von Metternich Sekts are produced in a beautiful castle overlooking the Rhein river in the Rheingau. Von Metternich received the castle from the Austrian Emperor Franz I in 1816 as a gift for his skillful negotiations as his Minister of Foreign Affairs during the Vienna congress (1814 -15). The von Metternich Sekts are all Rieslings from von Metternich vineyards.
Small Sekt and Wine Producers
Finally, increasingly, there is a number of top quality winemakers, who, in addition, to their still wines, have started to include Sekts in their portfolio. These Sekts are typically vintage Sekts, from a specified vineyard, made of specific grapes, often Riesling, in the méthode champenoise and with little or not dosage (brut or extra but). While the first fermentation typically takes place at the winery, the second fermentation is often not in the cellar of the winemaker but in the cellar of a Sekt house that bottle-ferments for other wineries. One of those is award-winning Volker Raumland in Rheinhessen. He bottle-ferments for himself and for others. He keeps the bottle sur lie up to 12 years before corking and labeling the bottle for sale. There is a large and growing number of winemakers who have started to produce world class Sekts. Unfortunately, their production is very limited and they are difficult to find in the US.
Meiningers 2016 Sekt Awards
Kategorie I - Riesling Sekt brut
1. Platz: 2013 Riesling extra brut, Wein- und Sektgut F. B. Schönleber, Oestrich-Winkel
2. Platz: 2014 Riesling brut, Weingut Reichsrat von Buhl, Deidesheim
3. Platz: 2012 Riesling Brut, Sekthaus Raumland, Flörsheim-Dalsheim
Kategorie II - Burgunder Sekt brut (Pinot and Chardonnay)
1. Platz: Reserve brut, Weingut Reichsrat von Buhl, Deidesheim
2. Platz: 2013 Weissburgunder Extra Brut, Weingut Bergdolt Klostergut St. Lamprecht, Neustadt-Duttweiler
3. Platz: 2014 Pinot brut nature, Weingut Stefan Reinhardt, Niederkirchen
Kategorie III - Prestige-Burgunder Sekt brut (mind. 36 Monate Hefelager) (Burgundy Grapes at least 36
Months on the Lees)
1. Platz: 2008 Cuvée MO Brut Nature, Schlossgut Diel, Burg Layen
2. Platz: 2008 Pinot & Chardonnay brut, Weingut Riffel, Bingen
3. Platz: 2009 IX. Triumvirat - Grande Cuvée Prestige Brut, Sekthaus Raumland, Flörsheim-Dalsheim
Kategorie IV - Rosé Sekt brut
1. Platz: 2013 Rosé extra Brut, Griesel Sekt - Sekthaus Streit, Bensheim
2. Platz: 2011 Spätburgunder Rosé Extra Brut Cuvée Special, Weingut Bergdolt Klostergut St. Lamprecht, Neustadt-Duttweiler
3. Platz: 2014 Pinot Rosé Brut, Weingut Gerhard Aenis, Binzen
Kategorie V -Sortenvielfalt Sekt brut (Non-Riesling Non-Burgundy Grapes)
1. Platz: Kleinberger Nenniger Schloßberg Crémant Brut, Sektgut Martin Klein, Kreuzweiler
2. Platz: 2013 HOMMAGE 1816 Sylvaner brut, Weingut Braunewell, Essenheim
3. Platz: Johanniter brut, Öko-Hof Ruesch, Buggingen
Kategorie VI - Sekt trocken
1. Platz: 2014 Riesling extra trocken, Weingut Erich Stachel, Maikammer
2. Platz: 2014 Crémant Riesling Saarkristall extra trocken, Bernard-Massard Sektkellerei, Trier
3. Platz: 2014 Kirrweiler Mandelhöhe Pinot blanc de Noir Sekt extra trocken, Weinhaus Ralph Anton, Kirrweiler
schiller-wine: Related Postings
Cellar Tour, Tasting and Dinner at Wein- und Sektgut F.B. Schönleber in Östrich-Winkel, Rheingau, with Ralph and Bernd Schönleber - Germany-North Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
Winemaker Dinner at Weingut Reichsrat von Buhl in Deidesheim, Pfalz, Germany
Tasting with Sylvain Taurisson Diel at Schlossgut Diel, Nahe– Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
Best German Wines and Winemakers: Gault Millau Awards – Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland 2014
Sekt and Food Pairing with Janet Cam in Washington DC, USA
Visiting Rotkaeppchen-Mumm - the Second Largest Producer of Sparkling Wine in the World - in Freyburg
(Saale-Unstrut), Germany
German Wine Basics: Sekt
French Champagne Houses and German Roots