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Buy Wine from region Pfalz
Welcome to German Paradise!
Pfalz, also known as Palatinate (or German Tuscany) is the second largest wine producing region in Germany after its geographical extension: Rheinhessen. Located in the southwest, close to the French region of Alsace, it enjoys an average annual temperature of 10º C with almost a month and a half of summer and temperatures of 25º C. Rainfall, well distributed throughout the year, averages 600 mm. The Haardt mountains, located to the east, protect the fortunate corner of the Upper Rhine Graben from wind and rain.
Even with its large size, the Pfalzis easy to understand (like almost everything German!):
- Unterhaardt: this is the northern part comprising from southwest Worms to Bad Dürkheim.
- Mittelhaardt: it is the best known and historically reputed part, between Bad Dürkheim and Neustadt.
- Oberhaardt (or Südliche Weinstrasse): undoubtedly the most extensive part and located between Kalrsruhe and the small village of Schweigen (bordering France).
Nowadays, the classification into two districts is more commonly used: Mittelhaardt for the northern half and Südliche Weinstrassefor the southern half.
This entire stretch between the northernmost and southernmost part (about 80 kilometers), which combines tourism and viticulture, is also known as the Deutsche Weinstrasse ( German wine street).
Historically only the Mittelhaardt has been recognized as an area of quality winemaking, leaving the other two areas, especially the Südliche Weinstrasse as areas of mass production of wines, often semi-sweet, with high yields and little qualitative interest. However, this panorama has changed since a few decades ago and although the Mittelhaardt is the reference for the production of quality wines from the Diva (Riesling), in the southern part we can find beautiful examples of the production of Spätburgunder of elegant workmanship.
As extensive as it is rich in soil diversity, in Pfalz we can find basalt (in the exclusive Grosse Lage of Pechstein, in the municipality of Forst), limestone (in the famous Grosse Lage of Saumagen in Kallstadt), loess, sand, variegated sandstone (together with basalt in the largest of all the Grosse Lage for dry wines: Kirchenstück located in Forst), gravels (in the Grosse Lage Idig in Königsbach), loams and even clayey slate (in the distinctive Grosse Lage Kastanienbusch in Birkweiler). The Pfalz landscape is usually dominated by large flat expanses and small, gentle mounds with the occasional exception such as the aforementioned Kastanienbusch pay in Birkweiler resulting from one of the last seismic movements in the area from the Tertiary epoch.
The white varieties, with Riesling as the protagonist, dominate the wine production in Pfalz with more than 60% of the total planted, other common varieties are Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Müller Thurgau, Muskateller, Gewürztraminer, Kerner and Sylvaner. The remaining 40% is accounted for by red varieties, with Spätburgunder as the leading quality varietal, followed by grapes for the production of volume wines such as Dornfelder, Blauer Portugieser, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This percentage balance between whites and reds has not historically been the case and, as shown in 1979, only 10% of the planted vines were red grapes.
As far as wineries are concerned, the profile of Pfalz is dominated by small wineries or cooperatives, being less common, as it is in Rheingau for example, the properties of the State or the Church.
Interestingly, although the number of wineries has been decreasing from the 16th century to the present day (from 250,000 to 20,000), in Pfalz there has been an increase in the number of hectares under cultivation from 16,000 at the beginning of the 20th century to more than 24,000 today. The evolution in consumer tastes is also striking, given that at the beginning of the 20th century there was a clear admiration for wines produced with Silvaner, Traminer or Gutedel, being nowadays very residual varietals. Riesling is not recorded as a preferred varietal in the area until the end of the 18th century, a merit attributed to Andreas Jordan. After the vicissitudes and calamities of both world wars, it was not until 1980 when the producers reflected, with their cellars full of bottles that could not even be sold at low prices due to the lack of quality; unfortunately, the 1971 law also had its effects and from those muds these muds: the suppression of estates historically recognized for their quality and the extension of others with areas where vines had never been planted allowed mediocrity to take possession of a large part of the wines. The only way out of this situation was to look for the path to quality: leaving the cooperatives, bottling on the estate, owning or buying vineyards in the best locations, carrying out meticulous work in the vineyard and investing in technical means in the winery and marketing.
And as in every crisis there is always a character who leads the revolution, in this case it was Hans-Günther Schwarz who for a long time was winemaker at Müller-Catoir, a winery that without having historically recognized as great wineries, managed through low yields and a philosophy of non-intervention in winemaking to create a school of disciples such as Hansjörg Rebholz or Frank John who went to work at Müller-Catoir under his orders to later apply the same model in their family farms.
Later, a group of five winegrowers who called themselves "Fünf Freunde" ( Five Friends ) joined forces with the aim of producing wines of the highest quality. Becker, Kesseler, Rebholz, Siegrist and Wehrheim organized themselves to present their wines together and make purchases in the same way.
It would be unfair to overlook the work done by perhaps the greatest winery in the Pfalz: Bürklin Wolf. In the first decade of the 1990s it decided to establish a four-level internal wine classification system very similar to the Burgundian one; at the TOP we would find the GC wines (equivalent to the Grand Cru), followed by the PC (equivalent to the Premier Cru), the village wines and the regional wines. It was the beginning of the recognition, by the VDP, of the historically Grand Cru vineyards in Pfalz.
Currently and focusing on the classification scheme of the WTP, specifically in its 2012 update, Pfalz adheres to the system of the recent 4 levels of the pyramid: Grosse Lage for payments classified Grand Cru from where dry wines will have the classification of Grosse Gewächs; Erste Lage for payments classified Premier Cru; Ortswein for wines coming from a particular municipality; and Gutswein for regional wines. The varietals authorized to make wines from Grosse Lage pagos will be only Riesling, Weissburgunder (or Pinot Blanc) and Spätburgunder (or Pinot Noir); in the Erste Lage segment they will additionally be the following: Grauburgunder (or Pinot Gris), Chardonnay and for sweet wines only at this level: Scheurebe, Gewürztraminer and Muskateller.
Buy Wine from region Pfalz
Welcome to German Paradise!
Pfalz, also known as Palatinate (or German Tuscany) is the second largest wine producing region in Germany after its geographical extension: Rheinhessen. Located in the southwest, close to the French region of Alsace, it enjoys an average annual temperature of 10º C with almost a month and a half of summer and temperatures of 25º C. Rainfall, well distributed throughout the year, averages 600 mm. The Haardt mountains, located to the east, protect the fortunate corner of the Upper Rhine Graben from wind and rain.
Even with its large size, the Pfalzis easy to understand (like almost everything German!):
- Unterhaardt: this is the northern part comprising from southwest Worms to Bad Dürkheim.
- Mittelhaardt: it is the best known and historically reputed part, between Bad Dürkheim and Neustadt.
- Oberhaardt (or Südliche Weinstrasse): undoubtedly the most extensive part and located between Kalrsruhe and the small village of Schweigen (bordering France).
Nowadays, the classification into two districts is more commonly used: Mittelhaardt for the northern half and Südliche Weinstrassefor the southern half.
This entire stretch between the northernmost and southernmost part (about 80 kilometers), which combines tourism and viticulture, is also known as the Deutsche Weinstrasse ( German wine street).
Historically only the Mittelhaardt has been recognized as an area of quality winemaking, leaving the other two areas, especially the Südliche Weinstrasse as areas of mass production of wines, often semi-sweet, with high yields and little qualitative interest. However, this panorama has changed since a few decades ago and although the Mittelhaardt is the reference for the production of quality wines from the Diva (Riesling), in the southern part we can find beautiful examples of the production of Spätburgunder of elegant workmanship.
As extensive as it is rich in soil diversity, in Pfalz we can find basalt (in the exclusive Grosse Lage of Pechstein, in the municipality of Forst), limestone (in the famous Grosse Lage of Saumagen in Kallstadt), loess, sand, variegated sandstone (together with basalt in the largest of all the Grosse Lage for dry wines: Kirchenstück located in Forst), gravels (in the Grosse Lage Idig in Königsbach), loams and even clayey slate (in the distinctive Grosse Lage Kastanienbusch in Birkweiler). The Pfalz landscape is usually dominated by large flat expanses and small, gentle mounds with the occasional exception such as the aforementioned Kastanienbusch pay in Birkweiler resulting from one of the last seismic movements in the area from the Tertiary epoch.
The white varieties, with Riesling as the protagonist, dominate the wine production in Pfalz with more than 60% of the total planted, other common varieties are Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Müller Thurgau, Muskateller, Gewürztraminer, Kerner and Sylvaner. The remaining 40% is accounted for by red varieties, with Spätburgunder as the leading quality varietal, followed by grapes for the production of volume wines such as Dornfelder, Blauer Portugieser, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This percentage balance between whites and reds has not historically been the case and, as shown in 1979, only 10% of the planted vines were red grapes.
As far as wineries are concerned, the profile of Pfalz is dominated by small wineries or cooperatives, being less common, as it is in Rheingau for example, the properties of the State or the Church.
Interestingly, although the number of wineries has been decreasing from the 16th century to the present day (from 250,000 to 20,000), in Pfalz there has been an increase in the number of hectares under cultivation from 16,000 at the beginning of the 20th century to more than 24,000 today. The evolution in consumer tastes is also striking, given that at the beginning of the 20th century there was a clear admiration for wines produced with Silvaner, Traminer or Gutedel, being nowadays very residual varietals. Riesling is not recorded as a preferred varietal in the area until the end of the 18th century, a merit attributed to Andreas Jordan. After the vicissitudes and calamities of both world wars, it was not until 1980 when the producers reflected, with their cellars full of bottles that could not even be sold at low prices due to the lack of quality; unfortunately, the 1971 law also had its effects and from those muds these muds: the suppression of estates historically recognized for their quality and the extension of others with areas where vines had never been planted allowed mediocrity to take possession of a large part of the wines. The only way out of this situation was to look for the path to quality: leaving the cooperatives, bottling on the estate, owning or buying vineyards in the best locations, carrying out meticulous work in the vineyard and investing in technical means in the winery and marketing.
And as in every crisis there is always a character who leads the revolution, in this case it was Hans-Günther Schwarz who for a long time was winemaker at Müller-Catoir, a winery that without having historically recognized as great wineries, managed through low yields and a philosophy of non-intervention in winemaking to create a school of disciples such as Hansjörg Rebholz or Frank John who went to work at Müller-Catoir under his orders to later apply the same model in their family farms.
Later, a group of five winegrowers who called themselves "Fünf Freunde" ( Five Friends ) joined forces with the aim of producing wines of the highest quality. Becker, Kesseler, Rebholz, Siegrist and Wehrheim organized themselves to present their wines together and make purchases in the same way.
It would be unfair to overlook the work done by perhaps the greatest winery in the Pfalz: Bürklin Wolf. In the first decade of the 1990s it decided to establish a four-level internal wine classification system very similar to the Burgundian one; at the TOP we would find the GC wines (equivalent to the Grand Cru), followed by the PC (equivalent to the Premier Cru), the village wines and the regional wines. It was the beginning of the recognition, by the VDP, of the historically Grand Cru vineyards in Pfalz.
Currently and focusing on the classification scheme of the WTP, specifically in its 2012 update, Pfalz adheres to the system of the recent 4 levels of the pyramid: Grosse Lage for payments classified Grand Cru from where dry wines will have the classification of Grosse Gewächs; Erste Lage for payments classified Premier Cru; Ortswein for wines coming from a particular municipality; and Gutswein for regional wines. The varietals authorized to make wines from Grosse Lage pagos will be only Riesling, Weissburgunder (or Pinot Blanc) and Spätburgunder (or Pinot Noir); in the Erste Lage segment they will additionally be the following: Grauburgunder (or Pinot Gris), Chardonnay and for sweet wines only at this level: Scheurebe, Gewürztraminer and Muskateller.