Just as carbon dioxide exerts tremendous pressure to press out the cork from a bottle of sparkling wine – it is hat kind of lively pressure and energy that drives them: networks of young winemakers are leaving their mark on all fronts of the German wine scene, more than ever before. At the ProWein trade fair 2007 in Düsseldorf, there were several presentations by such groups :„Junge(s) Schwaben“ (Young Swabians), „MoselJünger“  and other groups were very much in evidence – and a good enough reason to follow the development of this phenomenon and its facets in more detail in the wine-growing regions.

Within their regions, these groups and associations of young winemakers are often bringing a fresh breath of air into the local wine scene. Both with regard to the marketing of their wines, and also in terms of adjusting their quality to the demands of a new and more sophisticated, more demanding clientele, these groups are often in a pioneering role. For that reason, high quality and unmistakeable characteristics are high on their list of priorities. In many cases, their enthusiasm is not limited to their own products or those of their immediate associates and colleagues. If it were possible, these young, innovative winemakers would love to drag along all their colleagues in the whole region. One of these uncompromising proponents of high quality, along with his colleagues in the group known as „Message in a bottle“ (www.message-in-a-bottle.info) is 30-year-old Matthias Keth from Offstein, located to the west of Worms – just as many other active pioneers from other groupings, he is a gentle but relentless radical. The message shouted out by all these groups (with all due respect for the specific regional characteristics of all other German wine-growing regions) is: We want to primarily promote the special characteristics of our region.

They want to revive the Riesling culture in the Mosel region – and have fun at the same time: the „MoselJünger“

For this reason, Matthias Keth and the other „Bottlers“ are in the first instance wine producers in Rheinhessen, with deep roots, and absolutely opposed to any mass production. Their hearts beat – not only, but primarily – for a grape variety that has developed to be one of the most prestigious in the world: Riesling. However, to assume „Message in a bottle“ is purely a pro-Riesling initiative would be only half the story – as Pinot varieties are also grown with great enthusiasm. This group, which currently consists of 19 men and one woman (Carolin Gillot from the VDP member estate Kühling-Gillot in Bodenheim) aged between the mid-twenties and early forties, sees itself in the first instance as an initiative in support of better quality – and of an improved perception of quality, which many well-known and unknown producers in Rheinhessen have made their motto.

The ideas of „Message in a bottle“ are aimed in two directions. First: „Quality, not quantity“. Second: „Exchange ideas rather than envious looks“ states an image brochure issued by the group. This is something it has in common with networks found in politics or business: the members know each other, and are more or less fond of each other, and are therefore prepared to work together in helping everybody get ahead. Winemakers are classically thought of as individual fighters and practising individualists – but when it comes to things the individual cannot achieve, the group can make it possible. Nevertheless, these networks of young winemakers are not primarily aimed at increasing sales. The „Bottlers“, for instance, are mainly concerned with developing and promoting a sense of quality. An important facet is that the bottling of wines is followed by communal tastings and constructive criticism.

The future lies on steep slopest: The Enkircher Ellergrub vineyard site was recultivated by Jan Klein, wine producer in Kröv, and other members of the Klizekleiner Ring

By the way, unlike many other networks, the „Message in a bottle“ group does not produce a communal blend, nor is there a logo on the wines produced by members. What they do have is a mutual and common presentation of their ideas to the outside world – which includes a stand at ProWein, as well as an annual party/presentation called „Wein in den Mai“, a presentation in Mainz, and plans to hold a presentation in Berlin as well. The ambitious young winemakers from Rheinhessen are certain of one thing: such a lot of passion and authentic regional character in a glass and in a bottle – that is what gives them the confidence and energy required to make an impression on the market.

Matthias Keth and his colleagues are characters, in any case. The same can be said of the „MoselJünger“ (www.moseljuenger.de) (Jünger means the younger ones, but also disciples, as in Christ’s disciples), 16 active people in the Mosel and Saar regions. Their centre of activity is in and around the well-known town of Trittenheim (five members, all related to the Eifel or Clüsserath families, live there). But their spectrum extends much further: Stephan Steinmetz has his winery at Wehr on the upper Mosel, right across the river from Luxemburg. And in between: a wide range of characters and temperaments – and Riesling. Apart from the upper Mosel, which is dominated by Pinot and Elbling, it is Reisling that leads the way in this region. And Riesling is central to the programme put forward by the „MoselJünger“, their sub-title is „Riesling reloaded“.

However, this slogan does not mean they are trying to reinvent Riesling – a sentiment expressed quite firmly and in unison by Alexandra Eifel from Trittenheim, Holger Breit (Piesport), Andreas Clemens (Poltersdorf) and Sebastian Oberbillig from the Deutschherrenhof estate in Trier-Olewig. What these young disciples do want to achieve is to promote their favourite wine, possibly with a youthful image, that is where they see their strengths. Of course, the common denominator also lies in their determination to express the differences of the terroirs each has to work with. The group is promoting its passion for the landscape and terroir, and how this can be expressed in grapes and in wine. It is thus hardly surprising that it is the same passion that drives Holger Breit to work on protecting the riverside meadows and leas along the Mosel, with other members involved in many similar projects.

Betting on a quality offensive for Riesling and the Pinot varieties: Matthias Keth and his colleagues from „Message in a bottle“

The members of the „Klitzekleiner Ring (a play on words, the major VDP estates on the Mosel are united in the „Grosser Ring“, or large ring, and organise an annual auction together, while this group here is the „itsy-bitsy-teenie ring“ by contrast – plus one of the members goes by the name of Klein, or small. The other famous ring in the region is the Bernkastler Ring, which is also VDP-based, with its own auction), who are all based in and around the town of Traben-Trarbach, are all dedicated to the protection of their natural environment, which sustains them as well as the lovers of their wines. „You shall be eleven winemakers“, proclaims their Internet homepage www.klitzekleinerring.de. As the three musketeers did before them, they are fighting for a good cause – for their 6500 square metre vineyard in the „Enkircher Ellergrub“ site, which they have jointly revived, saving it from the dangers of lying fallow, which almost inevitably would have meant its demise. In typical Mosel tradition, they have planted the vineyard with vines using single-pole trellising, and work the parcel together. „We are only strong if we act together“, stated as a fact by the members of the „tiny“ ring.

The members of the „Klitzekleiner Ring“ have jointly achieved somethin, that probably now individual could have successfully pulled off: The Ellergrub site, formerly a highly-regarded vineyard site, and then sadly neglected, is once more a showpiece, and a symbol for the confidence of a region and of the profession. The fruits of this commitment and dedication are once again flowing into the glasses: The first wines from the Elelrgrub site were bottled from the 2006 vintage, under the „Bergrettung“ (mountain rescue) label – one is an off-dry (feinherb) Spätlese, the other is a sweet botrytis Auslese (available from Thorsten Melsheimer in Reil and from Jan Klein at the Staffelter Hof estate in Kröv). Naturally, the fact that Riesling from the Mosel region is held in high regard internationally is an additional motivation for Martin Müllen, Ulrike Böcking, Daniel Vollenweider and the eight other members of this very special ring, and strengthens their resolve. In any case, this team of eleven knows their joint project Ellergrub need not fear comparison on the international playing field. And they know another thing, in case some day somebody comes along and wants to take over working their vineyard site, which is full of rocks: the next slope that deserves to be rescued from lying fallow, and falling into disuse, is surely waiting already.

By contrast, other coordinates and thoughts determined the establishment of the  „Junges Schwaben“ (Young Swabia – region in south-west Germany) group of five winemakers. Although: there are still many facets to be discovered in Württemberg, the home region of Rainer Wachtstetter (Pfaffenhofen), Hans Hengerer (Heilbronn), Jürgen Zipf (Löwenstein), Sven Ellwanger (Großheppach) and Jochen Beurer (Kernen-Stetten) – although or perhaps because there are already so many highly-regarded wineries in the region, such as those of Gerhard Aldinger, Rainer Schnaitmann, Hans Haidle and others. Winemaking in the Swabian region is characterised by an exciting mix of tradition and innovation, it is deeply rooted in the soil, while still leaving room for new ideas. The region and its wines are also fascinating for another reason: Although the landscape is mainly Protestant, the lifestyle here is opulent and hedonistic in a southern style.

Bottled for he first time in the 2006 vintage, under the "Bergrettung" (mountain rescue) label – the off-dry Spätlese and the sweet botrytis Auslese

In this garden of Eden you will find passionate people who stand firmly rooted in their home soil, with both feet on the ground, but with a clear vision beyond their immediate surroundings. Wine is a matter of emotions and of the heart for the five young Swabians, and that is based not only on their experience with the vines and the soil, on which they grow, they are also all friends. Their firm connection with their home soils does not cloud their desire to bring a breath of fresh air to their home region of Württemberg: „We want to reconsider regional traditions critically“, is the way Ellwanger, Beurer and associates express their thoughts in unison. They want their wine to be unique and unmistakeable, and yet not to deny its origins, they want it to be an authentic Swabian, and yet a citizen of the world. Light-bodied, fresh, mostly dry, and with a prominent mineral expression particularly in the Riesling: that is what the wine that is marketed with the  Junges-Schwaben logo on the bottle is meant to present. In this case, each of the five friends from the home region of Mercedes Benz is respopnsible for one of the wines marketed in this range: Jochen Beurer makes the Riesling, Sven Ellwanger the Sauvignon Blanc, Hans Hengerer the Pinot Noir, Rainer Wachtstetter the Lemberger and Jürgen Zipf the red blend – individual wines, which ideally should each transport something of the group’s spirit.

There are many of these networks. Sixteen in total, most of them in the Rheinhessen and  Pfalz regions, are listed by the German Wine Institute. What is surprising: Saale-Unstrut and Sachsen, the growing regions that are so full of pioneering spirit, are currently not participating in this phenomenon. Even the leading Baden region, with its diverse wine scene, is yet to join the trend. However, wherever young winemakers with good ideas get together, there is hope that the German mentality of „low prices are all that counts“ can be effectively countered by wines with body, elegance and unmistakeable aromas.