The view south from Kastanienbusch Vineyard

Weingut Okonomierat Rebholz has been making wine for three generations and is currently run by Hansjorg Rebholz and his wife Brigit.  The weingut is a welcoming place and the owners, staff and the dog are very warm (people).  Rebholz is best known for its dry style of whites, the rieslings, about 35% of production, chardonnay and weissburgunder.  But they also make distinctive gewurztraminer from their oldest vineyard as well as grauerburgunder and muskateller.  About 25% of production is in spatburgunder.  Rebholz wines are about intensity of flavor stemming from …

Warmth in climate and hospitality show through in the wines of the Pfalz.  When we visited Weingut Messmer, we met with Gregor who runs the estate, but his PR man, father Herbert, dropped in to greet us.  Messmer’s flagship wines are the dry rieslings, grauerburgunder and weissburgunder, a little bit of fine gewurtztraminer and muskateller, and spatburgunder.  The whites range from everyday wines to “cru” Erste Lage from Michelsberg vineyard, Schawer and Goldener Jost, but they are all driven by purity of flavors.  This starts in the vineyard, where Gregor has moved from the common …

The benchmark pinot gris/grigio are from Alsace, Oregon and northeast Italy.  Pinot gris is a pale golden colored, medium-full bodied wine with peach and spice flavors.  The pinot grigio from Italy tends to be a much lighter, crisper style while Alsace pinot gris has the rich, full-bodied and oily style of a warm, dry region.  Oregon falls inbetween, with a fresh, fruit-driven character. 
Germany’s Pfalz region has a similar terroir to Alsace but is about 150 km (90 miles) to the north – and in Europe, small distances make a lot of difference.  The …

The Pfalz aka the “Palatinate” lies to the east of the Haardt Mountains, a continuation of the Vosges Mountain range in France.  Just as the Vosges acts as a rainshadow from westerly rains for the Alsace wine region to the south, so does the Haardt provide shelter for the Pfalz.  It is the among the driest and warmest German wine regions, allowing for a wider variety of grapes to be grown.  In addition to the Riesling, the Pfalz grows white mueller-thurgau aka rivaner (as in “Black Tower”), kerner, silvaner, weissburgunder (pinot blanc), …

If you are deciding which classic wine region to visit next, Germany is a great choice.  The major wine regions in Germany are clustered in the West/Southwest within a two-hour’s drive of Frankfurt International Airport (FRA).  Bernkastel in the Mosel wine region is about 85 miles to the west; Rudesheim in the Rheingau is only 30 miles or so to the south and the Pfalz is about 75 miles away.   Other pluses, many Germans speak English and the highways are modern and fast.
The world-class wines to taste are the white rieslings, which can range …

When people think of Pinot Noir, they think of Burgundy or maybe Oregon or Russian River.  Some think that pinot noir, aka Spatburgunder, from Germany is another wine region trying to commercialize on the popularity of pinot.  After all, in 1975, only 3.5% of total German vineyards was planted to Spatburgunder.  But domestic consumption trends have evolved since that time from sweeter white wines to drier reds.  In 2006, 63% of imports were red wines and, as of 2007, Germany became the 3rd largest grower of pinot noir after France and the US, …

If  you are travelling to the Pfalz, the Pfalz Tourist (Pfalz.Touristik e.V.) and Wine (Pfalzwein e.V.)  Associations have good publications and maps.  Email info@pfalz-touristik.de for tourist info and info@zum-wohl-die-pfalz.de for wine region information. 
Wine tasting:  There is no shortage of highly-regarded wineries as well as local cooperatives, most of which are open to the public.   The German Wine Route with cycling path goes through the Pfalz and is marked with a yellow sign signifying “Deutsche Weinstrasse” with a grape cluster.  There is also a hiking path which is marked on maps available …