We are born and bred Rhenish-Hessians, or as we locals say, Rhoihesse. It’s the largest winegrowing region in Germany, but just as importantly: it is geologically diverse, with each sub-region featuring a range of soils and micro-climates. Rheinhessen is shaped like a triangle, with the cities of Bingen, Mainz and Worms at its extremes. Our estate sits near the northwest corner. The Westerberg hills rise near Bingen, and it is their topography that shapes the Welzbach Valley and our home town of Appenheim.

An Estate by the Sea. In Rheinhessen? Of Course! 40 million years ago, anyways. During that epoch, the northern section of Rheinhessen known today as the Mainz Basin was actually part of the Tertiary sea. It was an age in which continents shifted, mountains rose from the ground and a large coral reef took shape in the place where we now live and our grapes grow. The reef has long since disappeared, of course, but its legacy remains — especially in the high limestone content of the soil it left behind.

For us it is a true gift, with those limestone remnants serving as the distinctive foundation for our wines. Tasting their almost unbelievable life and energy, one is reminded that the greatest of Burgundian wines thrive on limestone as well. Each and every grape variety we grow at our estate flourishes in these ancient coral reefs. 

An excellent example of the new German chardonnays that you could easily mistake for village wines from St. Aubin in Burgundy. Very flinty, with bright candied lemon peel and wild herb aromas. Medium-bodied with a compact, chalky tannin structure and a long finish. A cuvee of mature and young vines from organically grown grapes. Matured in 25% new oak and 75% used oak barrique casks. - James Suckling 93 pts 

Organic Farming