von Winning

von Winning

 

This Article Contains People Focus Country Region Village Climate Vineyards Grape Varieties Farming Cellar Work About the winery What do the wines taste like?

People |

Stephan Attmann - General Manager, Andreas Hütwohl - Deputy General Manager, Export Manager, Kurt Rathgeber - Head Winemaker

 

Focus |

Rieslings made through a historical lens, in wood, with long aging on the lees, from the greatest collection of Pfalz vineyards. The range is expansive from everyday quaffers, to wines you can forget in your cellar for decades.

Country |

Germany

Region |

Pfalz

 

Village |

Deidesheim

Climate |

Cool to Moderate Continental 

• Cold winters, hot, medium length, fairly rainy summers, with long, cool, dry autumns.
• This is the warmest region in Germany with more Mediterranean-like temperatures. You can even find fig and olive trees growing among the vines.
• Winters are usually not as cold as they were historically. Summers are much hotter, drought is a serious problem, and autumns start later and are often much wetter than they used to be.
• Moderate climate wines are relatively high in acid, with lower than average alcohols, medium to light in body, and often show a lot of mineral flavors along with ripe fruit notes. 
• White grapes are the majority but there are some great light reds, like Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier that can also ripen well.
• Warmer vintages: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2015 produce wines with lower acidity, higher alcohols, and richer fruit flavors.
• Cooler vintages: 2021, 2013, 2010, 2008 produce what are now considered “classic” cool-climate wines
• 2022 is an enigma. It was hot and very dry for most of the growing season, but rain and long cold fall ended up giving us wines that taste more like “classic” cool-climate wines than rich, ripe wines.

Vineyards |

40 ha across most of the major villages of the Pfalz -- Haart, Konigsbach, Ruppertsberg, Deidesheim, and Forst.

• Bürgergarten: Haardt, Erste Lage. At the southern end of the Pfalz on a low south-east slope up to the forest line. Sandy loam over sandstone with lots of clay. The lighter, more floral and delicate side of the warmer Haardt.
• Herrenletten: Haardt, Erste Lage. Southern end of Haardt, just north of Bürgergarten. South, south-east exposition with sandy loam over red sandstone, with lots of clay and a high limestone content. An intensely aromatic and flavorful wine. There is plenty of water from natural springs under the vineyard ensuring healthy grapes and boisterous wines in even the driest vintages. 
• Haardter Herzog: Haardt, Erste Lage. The southernmost site for von Winning. Steep (for the Pfalz) and southeast facing with sparse top soil of gravel, sandy loam over sandstone. Wines tend to be very complex from white and green fruit to ripe yellow and orange, lots of acidity and elegance and demands a long decant.
• Idig: Königsbach/Neustadt, Erste Gewächs. North of Haardt and one of the newest acquisitions for von Winning and a top site facing due south up to the edge of the forest for a cooling influence. Lots of limestone and clay with sandstone subsoil. Very mineral, high intensity wines, with intense, exotic aromatics, salty, spicy, nutty palate. Christmann’s top wine is from here. V
• Ölberg: Königsbach/Neusadt, Erste Lage. The southernmost site in Konigsbach, between it and Ruppertsberg. East, southeast facing and very hot with lots of limestone, marl and sandstone. Big wines, opulent, complex, spicy.
• Nussbien: Ruppertsberg, Erste Lage. Right below the Reiterpfad with a southeast-east facing slope up that goes right up to the cooling influence of the forest. Loamy sand over red sandstone. Often lighter, salty, green, long, spicy and fresh.
• Reiterpfad: Ruppertsberg, Erste Lage. A very large 86 ha low slope with a southeast exposition. A very warm site due to a sandstone wall surrounding the vineyard. Diverse soils with sand and sandy loam over red sandstone, limestone and loess throughout. Wines tend to be very dense and long lived for an Erste Lage site.
• An Den Achtmorgen: Ruppertsberg Erste Gewächs. Inside the Reiterpfad, this 1 ha site is mostly south facing with high density planting of 6,000 vines/ha and sandstone over limestone. It's a warm site for lots of concentration with excellent structure thanks to the limestone.
• Paradiesgarten: Deidesheim, Erste Lage. Sloping site west of the village, right up against the cooling influences of the forest with an east, south-east exposition. Named in the 50’s by the then owner of von Winning (Weingut Dr. Deinhard) for its perfect location. Soil is very deep loam, sand and loess over sandstone. One of my favorite 1er Crus every year for its lithe, tensile structure and delicate minerality. Always salty and happy.
• Langenmorgen: Deidesheim, Erste Gewächs. A semicircle of a vineyard surrounded by the Paradiesgarten, next to the cooling forest, with a southeastern slope. The site was first mentioned in 1491 and the name refers to the amount of land a man can work with a horse in a day. Top soil is loam with high limestone content over deep loess, red and white sandstone. A lighter, brighter GG.
• Leinhöhle: Deidesheim, Erste Lage. Long felt to be the best GL in the village because of its southern exposition, which meant it was warm enough to ripen grapes nearly every year. Even now with the warmer temperatures it's still favorable, with structure helped along by the plentiful limestone in the soil, along with sandstone. Often juicy and dense with stone fruit and herbs.
• Kieselberg. Deidesheim Erste Gewächs. A plateau right above the village with full sun exposure, with a mix of gravelly, sandy, clay and loam soils with sandstone and weathered limestone. Mentioned first in 1234, the wines are always fully ripe, but tense, with concentration and complexity.
• Grainhübel: Deidesheim, Erste Lage. A strip of a vineyard right behind the von Winning winery, facing south-southeast, with lots of humus topsoil and clay and loam with limestone subsoil. Opulent and juicy wines.
• Kalkofen: Deidesheim, Erste Gewächs. Once a lime kiln and source of limestone bricks, now a warm south facing site with plenty of limestone and marl soils. Wines are super mineral with a Burgundian structure. This is one of my favorite sites in the Pfalz. VW vines are 65 years old and the level of intensity is really turned up a notch.
• Mäushöhle: Deidesheim, Erste Lage. Northwest of the village, and cooled by the forest to the west. One side has lots of loam and sand and the other loess and sand with weathered limestone and sandstone beneath. A source of brighter, lighter wines, notes of green apple and herbs.
• Herrgottsacker: Deidesheim, Erste Lage. A huge vineyard between the village of Deidesheim and Forst, with the forest to the west and Ungehueuer to the east. The most north-facing vineyard in the Pfalz. Once owned by the church this site has a mix of basalt and sandstone under loamy sand. It imbues a perfect mix of the elegance of Deidesheim and the juicy citrus of Forst.
• Ungeheuer: Forst, Erste Gewächs. A basalt laden vineyard, but with complex soil structure including limestone, rubble, sandstone and with dense clay meaning access to water for more nutrition and excellent mineral underpinning to the wines. The south-east slope gives ample sun and being at the foot of the Haardt Mountains, gives cooler airflow and brighter acidity. 

• Kirchenstück: Forst, Erste Gewächs. “The Montrachet of the Pfalz”, surrounded by the other GC vineyards. The only site rated with the top score of 65 by the Bavarian vineyard classification of 1828. This is a southeast slope with basalt rock, limestone scree, red sandstone, dense clay and sand giving it minerality and access to enough water even in the hottest of years. A vineyard known for complexity, elegance, brilliance, unmatched power and expression like nowhere else. Wines need decades in the cellar to unfurl.

• Jesuitengarten: Forst, Erste Gewächs. The second best vineyard after Kirchenstück. Eastern facing slope with Basalt and limestone mixed, the best of both worlds!

• Pechstein: Forst, Erste Gewächs. Southeast facing slope with high proportions of black basalt for a flinty intense minerality mixed with limestone from an ancient coral reef for structure and sandstone for good measure.

Grape Varieties |

Riesling

• The King of White Grapes. 
• High acid, semi aromatic
• A huge variation in style potential from very light and dry, sparkling to the most unctuously sweet wines on the planet. 
• Divisive for its high acidity and sugar retaining capabilities
• Perfect in its dynamic nature, ability to transmit the slightest nuance of terroir and being capable of aging for hundreds of years. 

Pinot Noir / Spätburgunder

• German Pinot Noir wines are vinified as dry red wines with complex cherry aroma with subtle hints of smoke and almond, slight tannins, and high acidity, with a long finish.
• Had a poor reputation thanks to high yielding, work-horse, clonal material.
• Now Burgundy clones dominate vineyards for the best producers showcasing this incredible variety's true potential.

Sauvignon Blanc:

• High acid
• Semi aromatic
• Light to medium in body depending on location and oak application
• Originally from France
• Does extremely well in the Pfalz climate on limestone soils.
• Varies in style from Sancerre knock-off or Pavillon Blanc stand-in.

Farming |

Organic / Biodynamic

• Many old vine plots
• Lots of high density planting

Cellar Work |

Old traditional

• Spontaneous fermentation
• Turbid must during fermentation, for lots of phenolics, helps with longevity
• No temperature control
• Aged in 500L and up wooden barrels, mix of new and used
• Some stainless steel for the village, Erste Lage and sweet wines, but usually a mix of vessels
• Erste Lage age a minimum of 1 year on the lees
• GGs for at least 1.5 years
• Top “special bottled” wines at least 2-3 years.
• Only wracked off the full lees before bottling for very reductive wines.
• Very minimal intervention, some sulfur at bottling

About the winery |

The estate of von Winning is old — about 160 years old. And the name von Winning is oldish — Leopold von Winning was a leader in Pfalz’s quality wine movement of the early 1900s. But the estate has only been named for von Winning since 2007, when Achim Niderberger purchased the property (then known as Dr. Deinhard) and hired Stephan Attman to run the show.

A revolution at Deidesheim ensued. Attman transformed farming, adopting organics and many biodynamic techniques. In the winery, out went the shiny steel tanks and in came old-fashioned wooden casks (fuder). Winemaking became intensely pre-modern and minimalist. After a few years of tinkering, von Winning began to produce truly brilliant wines.

Von Winning is now, simply put, an estate that all wine lovers must get to know. 

What do the wines taste like?

A huge range is available, really a something-for-everyone type of winery. From the best deal in super dry sekt, to a slurpable off-dry summer Riesling, to a vast exploration of terroir from every major vineyard in the Pfalz.

The intention at the estate is to make wine as it was 100 years ago, with the use of oak, so expect some toasty notes in the GG’s, if you open them young. But even with a bit of spice they are some of the most elegant, intense wines, opulent but always balanced.

The Erte Lage set offers some of the best values in the region, showcasing the wildly diverse possibilities of terroir without the heavy price tag. But whether EL or GG you can really taste the differences: Closer to the forest? It's gonna be lighter and fresher wine. On a plateau; hot and dense. Sandstone soil; get ready for yellow and red peaches with a lot of sunny characteristics. Limestone; Here comes the salt and structure. Let us not forget Basalt; an inimitable flinty character for some of the most delicious and intense Rieslings out there.

And lest we forget to mention them. The Sauvignon Blanc, while not native, have found a worthy home.