Oktober 2022 Wein Club
Singular wines from German estates
It’s October! Which means we’re back to one of our favorite wine regions:
Germany!!
Germany is home to the first natural wine organization of the modern era — the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter, or VDP. Founded in 1910, the VDP is a trade association of winemakers that certifies the production of their members’ wine. Members agree to make wine without additions, from specific site sources, with very specific harvest and fermentation parameters, and in return the VDP awards different bottlings different classifications according to their adherence to various strict standards. German wine law is already quite specific, which is why there are so many classifications, and the VDP represents arguably the top tier of certification. However! Certification isn’t everything — as we’ve seen with organic and biodynamic wine, it’s perfectly possible to make amazing wine without consulting anyone but the vineyard itself. One of your wines this month comes from a VDP member, and the other comes from a winemaker who is going his own way to be more true to his wine.
This month’s wine club blog comes from Erin, who is very excited to share these with you!
Last year we focused on the region around the Mosel river with a highlight on Riesling. This year we’re moving further east into Germany to the drier Pfalz and Nahe regions! The two winemakers we’ve selected are just an hour’s drive from one another. It’s tempting to think about flying over when we’ll be closed in January and driving through the beautiful German countryside, visiting various towns and favorite wineries…
But back to the moment! Let’s talk about this month’s wines!
Weingut Darting — Pinot Meunier Trocken 2019
We decided to go off the beaten path with this particular one. You may have heard of Pinot Meunier before — but where? It’s one of three varietal grapes that are allowed in an actual bottle of Champagne (the other two are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir).
We feel like this particular wine is fascinating for showing off how terroir and minimal, but careful, wine production can affect one varietal. For location, we find ourselves in Bad-Dürkheim in the Pfalz appellation of Germany.
Helmut Darting is the winemaker of Darting winery. Their property consists of 24 hectares of south facing slopes, and it’s been in the Darting family for generations since 1780.
If you’ve ever enjoyed a glass (or bottle!) of Champagne that is grown in a cool region and processed following very strict, high intervention methods, you might imagine Pinot Meunier as being light and effervescent. However, this gorgeous expression is quite the opposite of what you might expect! It’s bold, ripe, and earthy, reflecting slow fermentation on the skins in stainless steel with no introduction of oxygen, and neutral oak cask aging.
Dönnhoff — Riesling Estate 2021 VDP
We’re back to Riesling again! And we LOVE this beautiful bottle of dry Riesling! I’ve said before that Riesling doesn’t have to be sweet and overly cloying — in fact, Rieslings can often be high in natural acidity which balances out any remaining sugar, and creates a beautiful, laser focused expression of the varietal!
Dönnhoff is located in Oberhausen an der Nahe, with winemaker Helmut Dönnhoff producing wine that’s grown over 25 hectares (yes, both winemakers this month are named Helmut!). Over the last hundred years, his family’s modest farmlands were slowly converted to vineyards.
Though the climate here is dry, one important component of Helmut’s winemaking practices is dry farming, which means no irrigation of grape vines. This encourages them to grow deeper into the soil, gathering more nutrition and minerality from the land, and helps them become resilient and well adapted to their environment.
This beautiful, everyday drinking riesling is fermented in both neutral oak casks called ‘stuck’ and ‘doppelstuck,’ and in stainless steel containers as well. The grapes are all hand picked, and pressed within three hours of picking.
Enjoy this fresh and low abv expression of riesling on its own, or with curries or savory meals to brighten up your food!
Consider these wines a handshake introduction to the world of German wine. If you like what you’re tasting, take a look at the German wines on our bottle list, or ask us for a recommendation!
See you at the bar!
