Posted
by Adam Morganstern
on Mar 18, 2008
in Nahe
The Hahnmühle estate lies in the Alsenz valley, not far from Bad Kreuznach. The Linxweiler family has been making wine here for over 100 years. Peter and Martina Linxweiler have turned 7 hectares over to the production of organically grown grapes. This vineyard stretches over steep, sunny slopes where the soil – made up of broken schist and sandstone – is ideal for making wines of great character that are marked by their terroir.The principal white grape variety here is riesling, followed by pinot blanc, silvaner, traminer and chardonnay. As for red varieties, they grow pinot noir and portugieser. Peter and Martina Linxweiler are not influenced by fashionable trends and their wines tend to be a faithful reflection of the soil and climate prevailing in the Alsenz valley. They thus produce wines of quality, capable of satisfying even the most demanding of wine lovers.The estate has a number of specialities, including a riesling alisencia with its mineral notes, a late harvest traminer reminiscent of roses, and a riesling ice wine packed full of sweet fruit flavours.
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Posted
by Adam Morganstern
on Mar 18, 2008
in Rheinhessen
Since 1663 the Wittmans and their ancestors have been wine farmers in the town of Westhofen, in the southern part of the Rheinhessen appellation. Over centuries this tradition was kept and led to the estate in its current form. Guenter and Elisabeth Wittmann and their son Phillipp divide the tasks running the 25 hectare estate.Riesling is the dominant grape of choice but also the Pinot varietals (Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris) and Silvaner have a long tradition in the Westhofen. For over one decade the vineyards have been farmed organically according to ecological guidelines.Aside from the goal to maintain a healthy soil for following generations, we are convinced that this commitment to organic farming plays a significant role in the expression of the regional character, the terroir, and the finished wines.Intensive vineyard care during the whole year, low yields and rigorous hand-selection of the grapes are the basis for a high wine quality. Careful processing of the grapes and the must is the next step.Dry wines are marketed as quality wine without attributes and are classified as:- ESTATE Wines: often a blend from several vineyards of the estate, fruitfocused, elegant wines of the different varietals, ideal food companions.- “S” Wines: the grapes for these wines are specially selected from the best vineyards, wines from very ripe fruit, concentrated and significant mineral in the character, the best wines of the Silvaner and the Pinot varietals are in this category.- GREAT GROWTH*: harvested from the “Grand Cru” vineyards of Westhofen, these are Riesling wines with very individual character, mineral focused and distinguished by the limestone soil characteristics. Very concentrated, full bodied and with significant longevity.The fruity and noble-sweet wines of the estate are offered with the traditional attributes such as Spätlese, Auslese, Berrenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese.
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Posted
by Adam Morganstern
on Mar 18, 2008
in Rheinhessen
The Sander winery was the first who started organic viticulture in the 1950’s in Germany. In those days, the family’s grandfather thought of treating the vines differently because of the erosion of soil on the slopes; chlorosis of the wines caused by insufficient soil management as well as the illness of his wife. Since then, the winery only produces wines from organic grapes. The winery, with its 50 acres of vines, is located in the Rhone valley, 70 km southwest of Frankfurt. The winery produces premium wines of local, as well as international, grape varieties. The most important grapes are Riesling, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir. The white wines are fermented, stored and matured in stainless steel vessels under temperature-controlled conditions. This gives us fruit driven, well-balanced wines that show the best characters of the grapes. We do not use oak on the white wines because it often dominates the fruit. We produce the red wines with a long maturation and skin contact to extract as much of the skins as we can. The grapes are treated extremely gently to not extract dry, astringent tannins. The malo fermentation and storage of the wines is in either small barrique barrels or big oak vessels so that the wines have time to gain balance and structure prior to bottling.
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Posted
by Adam Morganstern
on Mar 18, 2008
in Rhein
The ability to create top world-class wines is based firstly on three elements: the grape, the soil type and the vineyard location. The ecological grapes, resulting from these favorable components, are shaped through an elaborate and skillful vinification process into the elegant wines that characterize Heyl zu Herrnsheim’s international first-rate reputation. The wines are authentic and intensive, expressing richness in aroma and an extraordinary silky elegance.Heyl zu Herrnsheim is the only producer within the exclusive Rheinfront Appellation having ownership in all the classified yard sites. Heyl zu Herrnsheim’s outstanding potential to create top wines is due, among other aspects, to the ability to draw from many internationally renowned top sites such as Neirstein Pettental, Brudersberg (winery’s sole ownership) and Nackenheim Rothenberg. These top sites are located along the superb microclimate at the banks of the Rhein, which are defined by steep slopes and unique red soil, crucial preconditions for Heyl zu Herrrnsheim’s extraordinary quality wines.The natural excellent conditions and ecological-controlled viticulture are the cornerstones for the quality and the personality of the wines. For 20 years, Heyl zu Herrnsheim has practiced ecological viticulture in an endeavor to bring out genuine natural aromas and trades imparted by the soil in the varietal vineyard designated wines. According to “Harper’s” 2002 ecological ranking, Heyl zu Herrnsheim’s wines were rated as the top two wines in the world.
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