Rheinhessen

Roter Hang Riesling: spicy, savoury and salty dry white from the Rhine slope.

Nierstein and Nackenheim's red slope gives the region's best-known Riesling: orange, apricot, herbs and smoke, medium to full body, bone dry in the benchmark style. Village wines drink well young; the top-site GGs repay years in the cellar.

Nierstein and Nackenheim's red slope gives the region's best-known Riesling: orange, apricot, herbs and smoke, medium to full body, bone dry in the benchmark style. Village wines drink well young; the top-site GGs repay years in the cellar.

Rheinhessen Silvaner: dry, herbal and almondy - the quiet local favourite.

Softer than Riesling, with herbs, pear and almond and a salty edge when grown on limestone. It is cheap to try, easy with food and still rare abroad.

Softer than Riesling, with herbs, pear and almond and a salty edge when grown on limestone. It is cheap to try, easy with food and still rare abroad.

Handkäs mit Musik with dry Silvaner or Riesling.

Mainz's marinated cheese, with onions, vinegar and oil, is the local pub snack. A dry, high-acid white like Silvaner or Riesling handles the vinegar and onions.

Mainz's marinated cheese, with onions, vinegar and oil, is the local pub snack. A dry, high-acid white like Silvaner or Riesling handles the vinegar and onions.

Ingelheim Spätburgunder: elegant Pinot Noir, Rheinhessen's red to know.

Ingelheim, west of Mainz, is the region's Pinot Noir town: shell limestone and sandy soils give elegant, red-fruited wines with fine tannins. Good value compared with Burgundy.

Ingelheim, west of Mainz, is the region's Pinot Noir town: shell limestone and sandy soils give elegant, red-fruited wines with fine tannins. Good value compared with Burgundy.

Celebration fizz: a local traditional-method Sekt from Raumland.

Cuvée Katharina is the approachable Brut Nature; Marie-Luise (pure Pinot Noir) or Triumvirat are the prestige picks. A genuinely local alternative to Champagne.

Cuvée Katharina is the approachable Brut Nature; Marie-Luise (pure Pinot Noir) or Triumvirat are the prestige picks. A genuinely local alternative to Champagne.

Off the beaten path: Silvaner from a young, organic grower.

Thörle's Saulheim Silvaner 'Kalkstein' is unfiltered, limestone-grown and made with minimal sulphur. Few friends will have tried a serious Silvaner.

Thörle's Saulheim Silvaner 'Kalkstein' is unfiltered, limestone-grown and made with minimal sulphur. Few friends will have tried a serious Silvaner.

Off the beaten path: a skin-contact white from Schmitt or Schätzel.

Bianka & Daniel Schmitt's Frei Körper Kultur comes in a one-litre bottle; Schätzel's Naturweiss is an unsulphured, unfiltered white. Talking-point bottles for adventurous friends.

Bianka & Daniel Schmitt's Frei Körper Kultur comes in a one-litre bottle; Schätzel's Naturweiss is an unsulphured, unfiltered white. Talking-point bottles for adventurous friends.

Gunderloch: Nackenheim family estate; Fritz's Riesling is the easy way in.

A founding-era Roter Hang name run by the Hasselbach family. Fritz's Riesling trocken is the accessible dry bottle, Jean-Baptiste Kabinett the off-dry classic, and Rothenberg the flagship.

A founding-era Roter Hang name run by the Hasselbach family. Fritz's Riesling trocken is the accessible dry bottle, Jean-Baptiste Kabinett the off-dry classic, and Rothenberg the flagship.

Thörle: Saulheim organic estate; its 'Kalkstein' Silvaner shows limestone.

Brothers Christoph and Johannes Thörle run a young, organic estate. Their Silvaner is unfiltered, low in sulphur and made from younger vines of top sites; their Hölle and Schlossberg Rieslings are the step up.

Brothers Christoph and Johannes Thörle run a young, organic estate. Their Silvaner is unfiltered, low in sulphur and made from younger vines of top sites; their Hölle and Schlossberg Rieslings are the step up.

A steep Rhine-facing slope: sun, river reflection and shelter from wind.

The slope faces the river, which reflects light and evens out temperature. Hills shelter it from the prevailing westerly winds, so grapes ripen fully but keep their acidity.

The slope faces the river, which reflects light and evens out temperature. Hills shelter it from the prevailing westerly winds, so grapes ripen fully but keep their acidity.

Rheinhessen traditional-method Sekt: Pinot and Chardonnay fizz with long lees ageing.

A small group of growers makes bottle-fermented Sekt from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier. It is the local high-end celebration bottle and far better value than most Champagne.

A small group of growers makes bottle-fermented Sekt from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier. It is the local high-end celebration bottle and far better value than most Champagne.

Celebration: a Roter Hang or Wonnegau Grosse Lage Riesling.

Choose the style you like: Gunderloch Rothenberg or Kühling-Gillot Ölberg from the red slope, or Wittmann Morstein or Keller Hubacker from the limestone. All age well and are made in small amounts.

Choose the style you like: Gunderloch Rothenberg or Kühling-Gillot Ölberg from the red slope, or Wittmann Morstein or Keller Hubacker from the limestone. All age well and are made in small amounts.

Wild yeast and big old casks give savoury, textured dry Riesling.

At Gunderloch, Wittmann and Keller, Riesling ferments spontaneously in large old oak casks. The wood adds texture without any oaky flavour, so the Riesling tastes more savoury and rounder.

At Gunderloch, Wittmann and Keller, Riesling ferments spontaneously in large old oak casks. The wood adds texture without any oaky flavour, so the Riesling tastes more savoury and rounder.

Low-intervention and skin-contact whites from the young-grower scene.

A growing group of Rheinhessen growers works biodynamically, ferments with wild yeast, leaves white wines on their skins and bottles with little or no sulphur. Expect cloudy, savoury, sometimes tannic whites with real character.

A growing group of Rheinhessen growers works biodynamically, ferments with wild yeast, leaves white wines on their skins and bottles with little or no sulphur. Expect cloudy, savoury, sometimes tannic whites with real character.

Scheurebe: bred in Alzey in 1916 - grapefruit and blackcurrant.

A Riesling crossing created by Georg Scheu in Alzey, Rheinhessen, which still grows more Scheurebe than any other region. Pungent grapefruit, blackcurrant and tropical fruit with high acidity, dry or sweet.

A Riesling crossing created by Georg Scheu in Alzey, Rheinhessen, which still grows more Scheurebe than any other region. Pungent grapefruit, blackcurrant and tropical fruit with high acidity, dry or sweet.

Organic and biodynamic farming is now normal among the top growers.

Wittmann, Keller, Kühling-Gillot, Battenfeld-Spanier, Wagner-Stempel, Thörle and Schätzel all farm organically or biodynamically. Expect purer, more site-driven wines than the old industrial style.

Wittmann, Keller, Kühling-Gillot, Battenfeld-Spanier, Wagner-Stempel, Thörle and Schätzel all farm organically or biodynamically. Expect purer, more site-driven wines than the old industrial style.

Wonnegau limestone Riesling: tighter, chalkier and slower than the red slope.

Inland around Westhofen and Dalsheim, limestone and marl give precise, mineral dry Riesling. This is the home of the region's most sought-after GGs.

South-west of the Rhine, the Wonnegau is a landscape of rolling limestone hills. Here Riesling is less spicy and more chalky than on the Roter Hang: the wines have a taut, linear frame, brisk acidity and a salty, stony finish, and they usually need a few years to open. The vineyards that matter are Morstein, Kirchspiel and Aulerde in Westhofen, plus Hubacker and Abtserde around Dalsheim. Producers such as Keller and Wittmann treat each as a separate bottle, so tasting through them is an education in small differences of slope and soil. The best wines pick up beeswax, almond and petrol notes with age. This is also where the region's most expensive dry Riesling is made, in tiny quantities, while the estates' lower-tier wines remain good value.

Same grower, several vineyards: Rheinhessen's best way to taste terroir.

Top estates bottle each Grosse Lage separately, so you can taste limestone against red slate in one tasting. Keller and Wittmann are the clearest examples.

Rheinhessen's best growers treat sites like Burgundy domaines do. Wittmann bottles Morstein, Aulerde and Kirchspiel side by side: Morstein is the most structured and age-worthy, Aulerde the warmest and richest with stone fruit, Kirchspiel spicier and more herbal with chalky tension. Keller's range shows the same logic: Hubacker is ripe and peachy over a deep mineral core, Kirchspiel is cooler and finer, Morstein powerful and mineral, and Abtserde comes from very old vines that ripen late. The winemaking is deliberately the same across the range, usually native yeasts and large old casks, so the differences you taste are the vineyards. A flight of three GGs from one cellar is the quickest education Rheinhessen offers, and village wines from the same estate give a cheaper preview.

Keller: Dalsheim family estate; GGs from Hubacker, Kirchspiel, Morstein and Abtserde.

Klaus Peter Keller is the figure most often credited with starting the region's quality revival. Von der Fels is the cheaper way in; G-Max is the rare, famously expensive old-vine cuvée.

Keller is a family estate, mostly Riesling, with limestone in the Dalsheim and Westhofen hills and a small holding on the Roter Hang. Klaus Peter Keller took charge in 2001 and is widely seen as the spark of the region's quality movement. The wines are racy and precise, usually fermented with native yeast, with dry Rieslings kept moderate in alcohol, and he sometimes lets dry whites sit on their skins briefly before pressing. The range starts with Limestone and Von der Fels, made from younger vines including top-site fruit, and rises through the GGs: Hubacker for ripe peach over a mineral core, Kirchspiel for finesse, Morstein for power, Abtserde from very old vines. G-Max, an old-vine selection first made in 2001, is bottled in tiny quantities and sold only inside a mixed case. Keller also makes outstanding Scheurebe, Silvaner and Spätburgunder.

Wittmann: biodynamic Westhofen estate; Morstein, Aulerde and Kirchspiel GGs.

Philipp Wittmann co-founded the young-growers' group and farms biodynamically. His Gutsriesling and Westhofener village Riesling are the best-value way in; the GGs are among the region's most age-worthy.

Wittmann in Westhofen is the other pillar of the region's revival. Philipp Wittmann, the fifteenth generation, took over winemaking in 2003 and co-founded Message in a Bottle. The estate has been organic since 1990 and biodynamic since 2004. Each parcel ferments spontaneously in its own large wooden cask in a cellar built in 1829, and the GGs age in big neutral oak barrels. The style is pure, austere and salty, bone dry and moderate in alcohol. Each GG has a clear personality: Morstein, from a south-facing slope, is the most structured; Aulerde, on heavy clay-marl, is the warmest and richest; Kirchspiel is spicier and more herbal. The Westhofener village wine blends younger parcels of Morstein and Brunnenhäuschen and is the smart purchase, with the Gutsriesling his stated 'liquid calling card'. Wittmann also grows Silvaner, Scheurebe and the Pinots.

Raumland: Flörsheim-Dalsheim Sekt house; Cuvée Katharina and Marie-Luise.

Volker Raumland makes only sparkling wine, all by the traditional method, with long time on the yeast and little or no added sugar. Cuvée Katharina is the intro; Triumvirat is the prestige blend.

Sektgut Raumland in Flörsheim-Dalsheim has been making sparkling wine since 1984 and makes nothing else. Founder Volker Raumland, nicknamed the 'Sektpapst', is president of the association of traditional Sekt makers, and his daughters Marie-Luise and Katharina are now in the business. Grapes are hand-picked and whole-bunch pressed, only the best juice is used, and the wines rest on the yeast for years before disgorgement, usually with no or very little added sugar. The base is Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with some Meunier, Pinot Blanc and Riesling. Start with Cuvée Katharina, a Pinot Noir and Meunier Brut Nature that Raumland himself recommends as an introduction; Cuvée Marie-Luise is pure Pinot Noir; Triumvirat blends all three Champagne grapes. As a local celebration bottle, it makes imported Champagne unnecessary.

Schätzel: Nierstein biodynamic estate making light Kabinett and a Naturweiss.

Kai Schätzel's family has farmed the Roter Hang since 1350. His style is lighter, longer and a little wilder, with a very light Riesling Kabinett and an unsulphured Naturweiss.

Kai Schätzel has led this Nierstein estate since 2008, and his family has farmed plots on the Roter Hang since 1350. Wines ferment spontaneously in large wooden barrels in cellars more than 800 years old, are pressed gently over about twenty hours and often sit for up to two years before bottling. The credo is 'lighter, longer and sometimes a little wilder': Kabinett Riesling is kept very light in alcohol, and the estate also holds Pettenthal, Ölberg and Hipping, with a Schätzel clone of Silvaner planted in Hipping. The Naturweiss is spontaneously fermented, unsulphured and unfiltered, and can be rough and reductive, so treat it as an adventure rather than a classic. The estate is a VDP member and Demeter-certified, which makes it an unusual mix: a traditional Roter Hang address that also sits comfortably in the natural-wine world.

Time on the skins gives some dry whites grip and savoury depth.

Keller leaves some dry whites on their skins before pressing, and growers like Schmitt ferment whites on skins for weeks. The result is firmer and more savoury than classic clean Riesling.

Skin contact is normally a red-wine technique, but Rheinhessen's more adventurous growers use it on whites as a way of adding grip and flavour without oak. At one end, Keller macerates dry Riesling on its skins for a day or so before pressing, which adds a little phenolic structure without changing the wine's classic outline. At the other end, Bianka and Daniel Schmitt leave some wines on skins for days or weeks: their Riesling M spends five days on skins and the Silvaner Zöld four weeks, giving golden, textural wines with some tannin and a touch of bitterness. Schätzel's unsulphured Naturweiss is another example. In the glass, expect orchard fruit, tea, wild herbs and a firmer finish. These bottles work best with food and are usually served less cold than a standard white.

Red sandstone and clay on the Rhine bank give spicy, salty Riesling.

The Roter Hang between Nierstein and Nackenheim is iron-rich Rotliegend soil that drains well and pushes roots deep. The wines taste of herbs, orange and smoke, with a savoury, salty finish.

The Roter Hang between Nierstein and Nackenheim is iron-rich Rotliegend soil that drains well and pushes roots deep. The wines taste of herbs, orange and smoke, with a savoury, salty finish.

In the glass: Spicy, savoury, mineral Riesling with a salty finish

A steep Rhine-facing slope: sun, river reflection and shelter from wind.

The slope faces the river, which reflects light and evens out temperature. Hills shelter it from the prevailing westerly winds, so grapes ripen fully but keep their acidity.

The slope faces the river, which reflects light and evens out temperature. Hills shelter it from the prevailing westerly winds, so grapes ripen fully but keep their acidity.

In the glass: Ripe fruit with firm acidity and good ageing potential

Limestone inland makes tighter, chalkier Riesling and Silvaner.

Around Westhofen and Dalsheim the soils are limestone and marl. Wines are more precise and chalky than the Roter Hang, and age slowly. Silvaner from limestone tastes herbal, almondy and salty.

Around Westhofen and Dalsheim the soils are limestone and marl. Wines are more precise and chalky than the Roter Hang, and age slowly. Silvaner from limestone tastes herbal, almondy and salty.

In the glass: Chalky tension, precision and slow development in the glass

Volcanic rock in the far west gives smoky, herbal, high-acid Riesling.

Siefersheim sits high and cool near the Nahe border, on porphyry, a volcanic rock. Its Rieslings have sharp acidity, salty drive and a stony, smoky character quite unlike the Rhine slopes.

Siefersheim sits high and cool near the Nahe border, on porphyry, a volcanic rock. Its Rieslings have sharp acidity, salty drive and a stony, smoky character quite unlike the Rhine slopes.

In the glass: Smoky, herbal, saline Riesling with brisk acidity

A new generation cut yields, picked by hand and went organic.

From the early 2000s a group of young growers took over family estates, lowered yields, harvested by hand in several passes and moved to organic or biodynamic farming. That shift is why the region's reputation changed.

From the early 2000s a group of young growers took over family estates, lowered yields, harvested by hand in several passes and moved to organic or biodynamic farming. That shift is why the region's reputation changed.

In the glass: Cleaner, more site-specific wines than the old bulk style

Same grower, several vineyards: Rheinhessen's best way to taste terroir.

Top estates bottle each Grosse Lage separately, so you can taste limestone against red slate in one tasting. Keller and Wittmann are the clearest examples.

Rheinhessen's best growers treat sites like Burgundy domaines do. Wittmann bottles Morstein, Aulerde and Kirchspiel side by side: Morstein is the most structured and age-worthy, Aulerde the warmest and richest with stone fruit, Kirchspiel spicier and more herbal with chalky tension. Keller's range shows the same logic: Hubacker is ripe and peachy over a deep mineral core, Kirchspiel is cooler and finer, Morstein powerful and mineral, and Abtserde comes from very old vines that ripen late. The winemaking is deliberately the same across the range, usually native yeasts and large old casks, so the differences you taste are the vineyards. A flight of three GGs from one cellar is the quickest education Rheinhessen offers, and village wines from the same estate give a cheaper preview.

In the glass: Clear differences between vineyards: chalk, herb, stone fruit, structure

Organic and biodynamic farming is now normal among the top growers.

Wittmann, Keller, Kühling-Gillot, Battenfeld-Spanier, Wagner-Stempel, Thörle and Schätzel all farm organically or biodynamically. Expect purer, more site-driven wines than the old industrial style.

Wittmann, Keller, Kühling-Gillot, Battenfeld-Spanier, Wagner-Stempel, Thörle and Schätzel all farm organically or biodynamically. Expect purer, more site-driven wines than the old industrial style.

In the glass: Cleaner, more savoury wines with clearer differences between vineyards

Wild yeast and big old casks give savoury, textured dry Riesling.

At Gunderloch, Wittmann and Keller, Riesling ferments spontaneously in large old oak casks. The wood adds texture without any oaky flavour, so the Riesling tastes more savoury and rounder.

At Gunderloch, Wittmann and Keller, Riesling ferments spontaneously in large old oak casks. The wood adds texture without any oaky flavour, so the Riesling tastes more savoury and rounder.

In the glass: Savoury depth, round texture, no obvious oak taste

Time on the skins gives some dry whites grip and savoury depth.

Keller leaves some dry whites on their skins before pressing, and growers like Schmitt ferment whites on skins for weeks. The result is firmer and more savoury than classic clean Riesling.

Skin contact is normally a red-wine technique, but Rheinhessen's more adventurous growers use it on whites as a way of adding grip and flavour without oak. At one end, Keller macerates dry Riesling on its skins for a day or so before pressing, which adds a little phenolic structure without changing the wine's classic outline. At the other end, Bianka and Daniel Schmitt leave some wines on skins for days or weeks: their Riesling M spends five days on skins and the Silvaner Zöld four weeks, giving golden, textural wines with some tannin and a touch of bitterness. Schätzel's unsulphured Naturweiss is another example. In the glass, expect orchard fruit, tea, wild herbs and a firmer finish. These bottles work best with food and are usually served less cold than a standard white.

In the glass: Grip, tea-like savouriness and deeper colour; less fruity, more textural

Top grapes are picked by hand, often in several passes.

Selective hand-picking lets growers harvest each parcel at the right moment, and keeps yields low. It is a big part of why the best bottles cost more than supermarket Rheinhessen.

Selective hand-picking lets growers harvest each parcel at the right moment, and keeps yields low. It is a big part of why the best bottles cost more than supermarket Rheinhessen.

In the glass: Better ripeness balance and more concentration

Sekt spends years on the yeast before release.

Quality Rheinhessen Sekt ages in the bottle on its yeast for years, with little or no sweetening afterwards. That builds toast, brioche and fine bubbles.

Quality Rheinhessen Sekt ages in the bottle on its yeast for years, with little or no sweetening afterwards. That builds toast, brioche and fine bubbles.

In the glass: Toasty, creamy, fine-bubbled and dry