Gault Millau published its new wine guide for Germany - Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland 2013 - in November 2013. It reviews on more than 900 pages more than 1000 wineries. Its rating symbol is a grape and Germany’s best winemakers are awarded one to five grapes.
Ever since 1994, the Gault Millau WeinGuide Germany has honored outstanding personalities of the German wine world and special wines.
For earlier years, see:
Best German Wines (Awards) – Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland 2012
Gault Millau WeinGuide Germany 2011 – Ratings
Outstanding Personalities
Wine Maker of the Year: Joachim Heger, Weingut Heger (Baden)
“For decades, Joachim Heger has produced outstanding Pinot Blancs with grapes from the Ihringer Winklerberg and the Achkarrener Schlossberg. Now, he has achieved this top level of excellency with his Pinot Noirs as well” said editor-in-chief Joel Payne.
Joachim Heger has been in charge of winemaking at Weingut Dr. Heger since 1981, and, together with his wife Silvia, in charge of the whole estate since 1992. He has been a giant in German winemaking for some time and the award came in my view a bit late, but nevertheless fully deserved.
The estate lies in the Kaiserstuhl (literally “emperor’s chair”), a small volcanic group of hills in the Upper Rhine Valley in southwest Germany, northwest of Freiburg. Joachim Heger’s hometown of Ihringen enjoys the highest average temperature in Germany. So while some fine Riesling and Silvaner gets made here, it is really Pinot country.
Rising Star of the Year: Karsten Peter , Gut Hermannsberg (Nahe)
“Within 3 years only, Managing Director Karsten Peter has brought this world famous wine estate back to the top level in the Nahe Valley” said Joel Payne.
Gut Hermannsberg – previously Weinbaudomäne Niederhausen-Schlossböckelheim - can look back to a long history. 3 years ago, when the domain was privatized (and renamed) and Karsten Peter was hired as cellar-master and vineyard manager, a new chapter was opened.
Gut Hermannsberg possesses 30 hectares of vines, mostly Riesling, in some of the very best vineyard sites in all of Germany: Schlossböckelheimer Kupfergrube, their monopole Niederhäuser Hermannsberg, and the Traiser Bastei.
Discovery of the Year: Josten und Klein – Mittelrhein / Ahr
“This is one of the few new wineries in the country. The dynamic winemaker duo makes Riesling, Spätburgunder and Sauvignon Blanc in 2 different wine areas, Mittelrhein and Ahr” said Joel Payne.
Outstanding Wines
Best Wine Collection of the Year: Hansjörg Rebholz, Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz (Pfalz)
Bester Winzersekt 2002: Chardonnay Prestige Brut Blanc de Blancs Raumland – Rheinhessen
Best Spätburgunder 2010: Wildenstein »R« Bernhard Huber – Baden
Best Weißer Burgunder: 2011 Ilbesheimer Kalmit »Großes Gewächs« Kranz – Pfalz
Best trockener Riesling: 2011 Forster Pechstein »G.C.« Dr. Bürklin-Wolf – Pfalz
Best feinherber Riesling: 2011 Rauenthaler Nonnenberg Georg Breuer – Rheingau
Best Riesling Kabinett: 2011 Saarburger Rausch Zilliken – Saar
Best Riesling Spätlese: 2011 Bockenauer Felseneck Schäfer-Fröhlich – Nahe
Best Riesling Auslese: 2011 Saarburger Rausch 1 Zilliken – Saar
Best edelsüßer Riesling 2011 Goldlack Trockenbeerenauslese Schloss Johannisberg (Rheingau)
See:
VDP Vineyard Illuminations at Johannisberg Castle
Outstanding Wines, 10 Years Later
Bernhard Breuer Trophy - Trockener Riesling: 2002 Morstein GG Riesling, Weingut Wittmann (Rheinhessen)
10 Jahre gereifter Spätburgunder: 2002 Spätburgunder "R", Weingut Huber (Baden)
See:
One of the Fathers of the German Red Wine Revolution: Weingut Huber in Baden
Outstanding Sommelier and Wine List
Sommelier of the Year: Thomas Sommer – Schloßhotel Lerbach – Bergisch Gladbach
“Thomas Sommer is very much into German wine, in particular ultra-premium Riesling. At the same time, he remains open for young talents and worldwide trends” said Joel Payne.
Wine List of the Year: Jianhua Wu – Hot Spot – Berlin
“The Chinese Jianhua Wu combines in an ideal way the love to his home country and German Riesling. And he shows exemplarily, how well Asian food goes with German wine” said Joel Payne.
The Hot Spot is a Chinese Restaurant in Berlin Charlottenburg, Eisenzahnstrasse 66, just next to the famous Kurfuerstendam, well known for its amazing list of German wines. Mr. Wu, the owner, loves wine and in particular German wine.
At first sight, Hot Spot appears to be a regular Chinese restaurant. But once you have eaten there, you know that its Szechuan- and Shanghai-inspired menu really stands out. And once you have seen the wine list, you can understand why Hot Spot has become something of a sensation in Berlin: Hot Spot offers an extensive list of fine German wine. Hot Spot has become the place to go if you want to fine German wine with fine Chinese food.
Hot Spot is owned and run by Mr. Wu, 50, who came to Germany in 1984 from Zhejiang. He earned a degree here in engineering but left school and opened a Chinese restaurant. In 1995, he became interested in wine and started to serve French wine at his place. In 2007, Mr. Wu opened Hot Spot with an extensive list of German wine.
A few weeks ago, the Newsweek cover story was titled "The 101 Best Places to Eat in the World." The restaurants were chosen by 53 of the world's most famous chefs, including Anthony Bourdain, David Chang, Anita Lo and Lidia Bastianich. 2 German places made it to the list: Winebar Rutz and the Chinese Restaurant Hot Spot, both in Berlin.
See:
Chinese Food and German Wine at the Hot Spot in Berlin: 5 VDP Winemakers Pour their Wines
Weinbar Rutz and Restaurant Hot Spot, both in Berlin, Germany, on the Newsweek List of 101 Best Places to Eat in the World, 2012
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Best German Wines (Awards) – Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland 2012
Gault Millau WeinGuide Germany 2011 – Ratings
Germany’s Top 100 Winemakers – Handelsblatt online and Vinum 2011
The Doctor Made a House Call - A Tasting with Ernst Loosen, Weingut Dr. Loosen, at MacArthur Beverages in Washington DC, USA
One of the Fathers of the German Red Wine Revolution: Weingut Huber in Baden
The Wines of Franz Kuenstler from Hochheim, Rheingau, Germany
Best German Wine and Winemakers – Stuart Pigott’s Favorites (2011)
A Pinot Noir Star: Visiting August Kesseler and his Weingut August Kesseler in Assmannshausen, Germany
Visiting Armin and Caroline Diel and their Schlossgut Diel in Burg Layen in Germany
VDP Vineyard Illuminations at Johannisberg Castle
Chinese Food and German Wine at the Hot Spot in Berlin: 5 VDP Winemakers Pour their Wines
Weinbar Rutz and Restaurant Hot Spot, both in Berlin, Germany, on the Newsweek List of 101 Best Places to Eat in the World, 2012
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