Pfalz

To the south of Neustadt, in an area known as the Südliche Weinstrasse, or Southern Wine Road, there is a dearth of really good vineyard sites, which has not stopped a number of dedicated winemakers from producing some great wines here. The Riesling grape plays a less important role than it does in the more northerly regions. Nevertheless, there are vineyard sites with suitable soils, and lying in locations protected from the wind, where Rieslings are produced that can easily compete with those of the Mittelhaardt sub-region. The best Riesling sites are the Birkweiler Kastanienbusch, which has a shallow, hard soil of decomposed red sandstone, and the Burrweiler Schäwer, an exceptional vineyard with grey Devon slate soils. By far the best producers in this area are Rebholz and Meßmer. Of far greater importance in the Southern Pfalz however are the Burgundy grape varieties of the Pinot family. The loess-clay soils are often very deep, providing ideal conditions for Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc. On parcels of land with a high limestone content, or even with a sub-soil of calcareous stone, Pinot Noir too can deliver excellent results. Apart from Meßmer and Rebholz, it is particularly Rainer Bergdolt in Duttweiler who is producing Burgundian-style wines that can seriously compete with the best examples produced in Baden. Other top producers are Dr. Wehrheim in Birkweiler, Münzberg in Godramstein and Friedrich Becker in Schweigen, the most southerly tip of this region. A significant part of his vineyards are already located on French territory – perhaps that is the reason why they are so good?

(translation by Peter Gebler)