Von Winning Grainhubel Riesling Grosses Gewachs 2017
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The name means “sandy bay”, referencing its soil – sandy loam over red sandstone, with layers of limestone. This is a south facing vineyard, sloping south towards the village, with the walls and houses of Deideshiem at the base of the slope. This equates to less movement of air and more direct sun and more solar radiation.
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Since Von Winning Winery was founded in 1849, unique wines reflecting our vineyards in Ruppertsberg, Deidesheim, and Forst have been produced in our historic cellar. In 1907, Leopold von Winning, son-in-law of Dr. Andreas Deinhard, dedicated his life to creating top quality wines with respect to the outstanding vineyards in which he was allowed to work. He meticulously raised the quality of the wines to a new level and became founding member of VDP, an association of German premium wineries. His decision to work as gentle and close to nature as possible remains the overarching goal of today’s young and ambitious team led by Stephan Attmann. Thus, the visionary Leopold von Winning’s legacy of great wine lives on!
Intensive and sustainable work in the vineyard enables us to harvest grapes of optimal balance for vinification without interfering with the wines’ inner structure. The vineyard’s layout in our new high density plantings, for example, does not follow the machine’s design or “efficient” cultivation methods. Out of our own demand for quality and tradition, the original viticultural principles reemerged, allowing our vineyards to regain the face of earlier times!
We ferment our musts relatively turbid and without artificial cooling in different size oak barrels using their indigenous yeasts. Here the precious phenols polymerize to bestow a deep and complex aroma upon our wines. Subsequently, the wines are bottled with minimal handling and often without the aid of filtration. This approach is our way of expressing both world-class vineyards, such as the legendary Kirchenstuck of Forst, as well as the distinctive style of our winery. It is almost impossible to foster a wine more respectfully, from the flowering of the fruit to the finished bottle! In spite of everything, we have not established new winemaking practices. Rather we have resurrected traditions that were believed to be forgotten. Discover vivid, fine wines which are full of character, the way they were once upon a time!
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
This sunny and relatively dry region served for many years as a German tourist mecca and was associated with low cost, cheerful wines. But since the 1980s, it has gained a reputation as one of Germany’s more innovative regions, which has led to increased international demand.