Description
The Dr. Bürklin-Wolf Estate in Wachenheim at Weinstrasse is one of the largest and most important family-owned wineries in Germany, with tradition dating back to 1597. The total vineyard area amasses to 85 hectares – a treasure trove of top-rated vineyard sites in the unique landscape of the Mittelhaardt district. Bettina Bürklin-von Guradze, the oldest daughter of Dr. Albert Bürklin, inherited the Estate from her parents in 1990. Since then she has truly taken the lead at the estate by turning her own vision into a reality and establishing the winery as a pioneer and trailblazer for change in German viticulture. Carrying on where her ancestors left off, the key objective is to produce top-quality Riesling wines in harmony with nature. To ensure that the diversity and depth of the terroir could be mirrored and presented perfectly, Bettina converted the entire vineyard area to certified biodynamic methods in 2005, making Bürklin-Wolf the first German member of the prestigious Biodyvin group. The passion to respect the inherited resources, as well as maintain them for her children and further generations to come, is the focal point of all she does.
The German wine law of 1971, which is currently in effect, creates the impression that every vineyard site is capable of producing any quality, provided the must weight is high enough.
We have been convinced for a long time that a specific vineyard site is capable of producing a defined maximum quality. This is determined by many factors such as the soil and microclimate as well as the grape variety grown on that site.
As early as 1828, the Kingdom of Bavaria carried out the royal Bavarian vineyard classification of individual sites, using a similar system. It is not least because of the geographic similarity with the Côte-d’Or in Burgundy that we were inspired by both these systems in applying our own, estate-specific classification. Thus, Dr. Bürklin-Wolf started classifying the vineyards according to a clear structure in 1994. The maxim is that the terroir determines the quality.
Classification in the best of traditions
Starting in 1990, we compiled a quality pyramid for our vineyards that is based both on the royal Bavarian classification of 1828 and on the Burgundian principle:
Our G.C. wines can be considered to be the Grands Crus of the Mittelhaardt, they are outstanding solitaires of a rare terroir, truly great wine personalities that cannot be fully appreciated in a quick moment. The wines are fermented and matured exclusively in large oak vats, and are fermented using wild yeasts.
The P.C. classification should be seen as wines that would correspond to those from Premier Cru sites in Burgundy. These Riesling wines combine the characteristic traits of the region with the individual expression of the terroir in each case, in a most fascinating manner. The P.C. wines are also fermented in large oak vats using wild yeasts.
A step below this are the village Riesling wines – wines sourced from unclassified sections of our vineyard sites in Ruppertsberg and Wachenheim, and which display the characteristic aromas and taste of wines from these communes.
The basic wine of our classification is the estate Riesling. It is a blend of Riesling sites in all four communes of the Mittelhaardt region in which the Estate has vineyard holdings.
„We are doing all this not for our benefit today, but for the maintenance of this god-given natural resource, for our children and also for subsequent generations.“
