More about Braunewell

Braunewell makes the case that Rheinhessen, long written off as Germany's bulk-wine heartland, can turn out wines with real tension: dry Riesling, Pinot Noir and Sekt grown on limestone in the region's coolest, windiest corner.

The family's roots in Essenheim go back to 1655, when Huguenot ancestors from the Loire Valley settled in the village. Today brothers Stefan and Christian run the 27-hectare estate. Both trained at Geisenheim and worked at leading German and Austrian estates, among them Rebholz, Wittmann and Knipser, before coming home in 2009 and 2012. Essenheim lies about 12 kilometers southwest of Mainz in the Selztal, on soils unusual for Rheinhessen: limestone, limey marl and loess, with little clay. The heart of the estate is the Teufelspfad, a hillside rising from 130 to 240 meters and planted parcel by parcel to Riesling and the Pinots, with the terraced Blume next door.

Fermentations are spontaneous. Whites age partly in large old casks; reds age in small barrels, mostly used, and go unfiltered, and the Sekts are made at the winery from start to finish. The range runs from a cheerful off-dry Scheurebe through Riesling and Pinot Noir at estate, village and single-site level to several sparkling wines. Mostly dry, salty and taut: the brothers would rather not mask their cool climate with sugar.

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