RHEINHESSEN - "The time is ripe to go a step further," says Johannes Geil-Bierschenk. The Bechtheim winegrower has often faced the challenge of making a dry Spätlese appealing to customers. "Again and again, the phrase comes up: No, I don't drink sweet wines. People still associate Spätlese with residual sweetness."
The classification model for Prädikat wines was established at a time when semi-dry and sweet wines were dominant in Rheinhessen. And this apparently sticks with consumers. That's why the Association of German Prädikat and Quality Wineries (VDP) has been advocating for an alternative model that classifies wines using a quality pyramid: estate wines at the bottom, then village wines, and single vineyard wines at the top, each with its own typical characteristics.
Currently, both systems of terms exist unlinked side-by-side, which certainly doesn't make things less complicated. That's why the association "Maxime Herkunft Rheinhessen" has now been founded, which – based on the VDP nomenclature – advocates for the three-tier pyramid model. "As a binding system," as Geil-Bierschenk says. "We want to establish the origin model as a regional classification and thus gain more profile for the region."
69 wineries are among the founding members, including all VDP wineries in Rheinhessen. "With us, however, it is more broadly based," emphasizes the founding chairman, who, along with Stefan Braunewell, Philipp Wittmann, H. O. Spanier, Peter May, Johannes Thörle, Kai Schätzel, and Klaus Gres, is one of the initiators. "Not all top wineries in the region are involved yet, but the goal is to get everyone on board."
