Matthias Hild' life's work is to reclaim some of Europe’s oldest Elbling vines, not Riesling. Elbling, it’s an ultra-light laser beam of a wine, dry, dry, dry, with lemon-skin citrus and finesse. Far from being... Read More

Matthias Hild' life's work is to reclaim some of Europe’s oldest Elbling vines, not Riesling. Elbling, it’s an ultra-light laser beam of a wine, dry, dry, dry, with lemon-skin citrus and finesse. Far from being one of Germany's most expensive white wines, it’s one of its most stunning values. Elbling is an ancient grape. Jancis Robinson says the Romans brought it to Germany thousands of years ago. It used to be all over Germany but now it’s very rare.

He farms very old Elbling (70ish years) on ancient terraces that he painstakingly preserves. They are located in the Upper Mosel, where the limestone geology resembles Champagne or Sancerre more than it does the slate of the Mosel’s classic Riesling villages. Most of Germany's Elbling is gone and most of the terraces are abandoned, But Matthias persists. We’re so grateful he’s preserving this traditional jewel of a wine.