Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours took place from Monday, June 19, 2023 to Thursday, June 29, 2023.
In Württemberg, the last of the 4 regions we went to, we visited:
Vineyard and Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Fürst Hohenlohe-Öhringen (VDP) in Öhringen-Verrenberg, Württemberg, with the New Managing Director Carl-Julius Cromme - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Walk in the Vineyard and Tasting at Weingut Schlossgut Hohenbeilstein (VDP) in Beilstein, Württemberg - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Dinner at Restaurant Lamm Hebsack in Remshalden, Württemberg, with Owners Markus (Kitchen) und Sylvia Polinski (Service) - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineToursTasting at Weingut Beurer (VDP) in Kernen, Württemberg, with Jochen Beurer - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Schnaitmann (VDP) in Fellbach, Württemberg, with Rainer Schnaitmann – Germany-East Wine and
Art Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015), Germany
Tasting at Up-and-coming Weingut Lassak in Hessigheim, Württemberg, with Stefanie and Fabian Lassak - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Dinner at Restaurant Zum Alten Rentamt at Weingut Graf Neipperg (VDP) in Schwaigern, Württemberg, with Neipperg Wines from Württemberg and Bordeaux - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Weingut Dautel (VDP) in Bönnigheim, Württemberg, with Ernst and Christian Dautel
At Weingut Dautel, we were received by Christian Dautel. However, he had to leave us after a few minutes as he was receiving the "Winemaker of the Year" award by Falstaff later this day. XXX took over and showed us the winery and led a tasting, during which Ernst Dautel, the senior boss, greeted us.
The first time we visited Weingut Dautel, many years ago, we were hosted by Ernst Dautel. At a more recent visit, Christian Dautel was our host.
The wines of Weingut Dautel are widely available in the USA through Skurnik Wines, New York.
Weingut Dautel (VDP) in Bönnigheim, Württemberg
Viticulture
has been a tradition in the Dautel family since 1510. In 1995, Ernst
Dautel was one of the first winemakers to age his red wines in barrique
barrels, and to create red wine cuvées, a novelty in those days in
Germany. The 33 acres of vineyards are planted with the traditional
Württemberg grape varieties, Lemberger, and Trollinger as well as with
Pinot-Noir, Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot- Blanc.
Today, son Christian, who is a graduate of the renowned Geisenheim oenological university, follows in his father’s footsteps farming the land organically and sharing his conviction that great wines can only be produced with meticulous work in the vineyard and a patient hands-off approach in the cellar.
I personally love the Dautel wines with their moderate alcohol levels and their elegance. If you like beauty more than muscle, then these are the wines for you.
Dautel (20 hectares)
Bönnigheim / Württemberg / Germany
Though Württemberg is not yet well known in the states, the Dautel family is a leading producer with grape growing history going back 500 years. Like many estates, the previous story was one of mixed agriculture. The region is protestant and reformation dictated that property be divided between all children; individual parcels of vineyard land got smaller and smaller with each passing generation. Co-ops were founded and came to dominate the area, the idea being that the smaller plots of land could be reunited through production rather than ownership.
The region itself is marked by ancient, very steep terraced vineyards, among the most beautiful and forbidding you’ll see in Germany, including the Mosel-terrasen. These steep vineyards hug the Neckar and Ahr rivers while the rest of the region, similar to Austria’s Weinvertel region, consists of a rolling landscape with isolated steeper hillsides. Soils range from calcareous marl, Gipskeuper (deeper clay with a high gypsum content, which is common in Franken), a rare soil called Schilfsandstein (reed sandstone) which is a hard yellow-ish sandstone often used in building construction, and our old pal Muschelkalk which, as you know, means “fossil-bearing limestone.”
“In the 1970s, Württemberg was known for Blue Nun and all that sweet shit and thermo-vinification. It was more or less a bulk production. It was not quality focused. This is more or less the story of German wine after WWII – take Rheinhessen for example. All the wines were sweet, you had to go to Alsace if you wanted dry wines .” says Christian Dautel.
Ernst Dautel, Christian’s father, was the first generation in his family to attend winemaking school in Geisenheim in the 1970s. When he returned home he decided to stop working with the coop, though his father was one of the founding members of the coop in Meimsheim. Ernst didn’t want to “throw his fruit in with all the rest and get some bad quality wine out of it.” Ernst is an iconoclast and one of the first producers in the Württemberg to estate bottle wines. His wife Hannalore was from Bönnigheim, where the winery is located now, and; they were married in the late 1970s. Their eldest son, Christian, was exposed to wine at a very young age, recounting picnics in the vineyards and family vacations that always included visits to great estates.
“There were only two countries we always went to on holidays – one is called Italy and the other is called France. This was it. My whole childhood I was all the time in wine regions. I was a meter tall and I already saw Cos d’Estournel, La Tour, blah blah blah. My father was – well if you want to put it in a bad way you could say he was a ‘copy and paste’ man. Everywhere he traveled he saw things and got new experiences. He saw new things and realized ‘why can’t I do things like this here in my region as well? I have the potential from the vineyards, so why can’t I also use why can’t I also use oak? Why can’t I work in this way, more quality minded? And this is how things started.” Says Christian.
Ernst became well known, in part for challenging the status quo in the region but also for making excellent wines, though they were not always regionally accepted. He joined the VDP in 1999 and the estate remains one of the very best in Württemberg, now under the guidance of Christian, who returned home in 2010.
Christian attended Geisenheim like his father, with Andreas Huetwohl (von Winning) and Georg Rumpf (Kruger-Rumpf). During his studies, Dautel worked with a winemaker named Chris Burke who worked for Laurel Ridge in Oregon but made his own wines under the label “Roots” in the Willamette Valley. “Roots” was made at a custom crush facility where Dominique Lafon was making the Seven Springs wines at this time. There, Christian met Lafon and Christophe Vial, the cellar master for Lafon since 1999. After Oregon, Christian worked at Mount Langi Ghiran in Australia, Saronsberg in South Africa and Weninger in Austria before moving to Mersault in 2009 to work with his friend Christophe at Lafon in Mersault. In 2010 Christian finished his studies and returned home. 2010 was the first vintage that Christian was in charge, though he notes, “It wasn’t that I wasn’t a part of the winery before. I was always part of the winery, just like my father is still a part of the winery; it’s just that the balance was has changed.”
Christian is a thoughtful winemaker repeating the refrain we always hear from quality minded growers – “the wines are made in the vineyards”. Like other top winemakers from his generation taking over successful wineries from their parents, he has a huge amount of respect for what his father accomplished and sees no need to tear down the work that has been done by making abrupt changes.
Today, Christian farms four Grand Cru (Grosse Lage) sites, Michaelsberg Grosse Lage (colored marl), Steingrüben Grosse Lage (Schilfsandstein), Schupen Grosse Lage (Gipskeuper, weathered limestone) and Forstberg Grosse Lage (colored marl and stony clay with limestone inclusions), and two 1er Cru (Erste Lage) sites Sonnenberg Erste Lage (Schilfsandstein, Gipskeuper) and Wurmberg Erste Lage (Muschelkalk).
Christian’s goal is to continue to bring out the specific character of each terroir without losing the inherent flavor of the grape variety planted to each vineyard. Wines are not made by formula, but by taking in to account the feeling for each site and variety. These are singular wines, unlike anything we’ve come across in Germany.
- Vineyard Area: 20 hectares
- Annual Production : 75,000 bottles
- Top Sites:
- Cleebron Michaelsberg: Grand Cru, colored marl
- Bönnigheim Steingrüben: Grand Cru, Schilfsandstein (reed sandstone)
- Bönnigheim Schupen: Grand Cru, Gipskeuper, weathered limestone
- Oberstenfeld Forstberg: Grand Cru, colored marl and stony clay with limestone inclusions
- Bönnigheimer Sonnenberg: 1er Cru, Schilfsandstein “reed sandstone,” Gipskeuper
- Besigheimer Wurmberg: 1er Cru, fossil-bearing limestone
- Grape Varieties: 24% Riesling, 18% Spätburgunder, 16% Lemberger, 12% Weissburgunder, Trollinger,
Cabernet & Chardonnay
Visiting Weingut Dautel (2013)
Visiting Weingut Dautel (2015)
Visiting in 2023
Arriving
Christian Dautel
Cellar Tour
Tasting
Hannelore and Ernst Dautel
Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours (Released and Forthcoming Postings)
Announcement: Exciting ombiasy Wine Tours in 2023
ombiasy WineTours: Wine Tour Schedule 2023 - Austria, Germany/East, Burgundy/ Champagne, Germany/ North
Announcement: Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours - 12 Days: May 28 - June 08, 2023
Announcement: The
Wine, Concert, and History Tour - Germany-East 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
- Monday, June 19 - Thursday, June 29, 2023
Summery: Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
City Tours: Berlin and Potsdam - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Steak Tartare at Restaurant Borchardt, Berlin-Mitte - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Born in Salzatal-Höhnstedt, Saale-Unstrut, with Elisabeth and Günter
Born - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen,
Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Tour and Tasting at Niche Wine Producer Weingut Herr & Frau Lüttmer, in Vitzenburg, Saale-Unstrut, with Klaus Lüttmer - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Landesweingut Kloster Pforta in Bad Kösen, Saale-Unstrut, with Paula Löber, 2022 Wine Princess of Bad Kösen - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
In Naumburg, Saale-Unstrut: Concert and Tour of the Organ at St. Wenzel Church with the Organist and Tour of the Naumburg Cathedral - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Tour and Tasting at Weingut Pawis (VDP) in Freyburg, Saale-Unstrut, with Christian Pawis - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Wine Pairing Dinner at Restaurant Zufriedenheit in Naumburg, Saale Unstut, with the Wines of Weingut Hey (VDP) and Weingut Böhme und Töchter (VDP) - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineToursTasting at Weingut Gussek in Naumburg, Saale-Unstrut, with André Gussek - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Leipzig: City Tour and Concert at Gewandhaus Leipzig with the full Gewandhaus Orchestra - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Martin Schwarz (VDP) in Meissen, Sachsen, with Philipp Henke - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Lunch at Restaurant/ Weingut Vincenz Richter in Meissen, with Julian Herrlich - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Tour and Tasting at Weingut Schloss Proschwitz, Prinz zur Lippe (VDP) in Meissen, Sachsen, with Robert Kroos and Björn Probst - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Tour and Tasting at
Sächsisches Staatsweingut Schloss Wackerbarth in Radebeul, Sachsen -
Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen,
Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Dresden: Lunch at Coselpalais Grand Café and Tour of the “Historisches Grünes Gewölbe” (Historic Green Vault) in the Royal Palace - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi at Semperoper Dresden, Sachsen - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Visit of the Deutsch-Deutsches Museum in Mödlareuth, Töben, Thüringen, with Lunch at Turnhallen Gaststätte in Töpen, Bavaria - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Schiller’s Favorites: 2 Legendary Wine Taverns in Würzburg – Juliusspital and Bürgerspital
Schiller’s Favorite Wine Taverns in Würzburg
Tasting at Weingut Seufert in Iphofen, Franken, a Niche Producer of "Natural Wines", with Laura Seufert - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Tour and Tasting at Weingut Wirsching (VDP) in Iphofen, Franken, with Dr. Uwe Matheus - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy
Tasting at Weingut Weltner (VDP) in Rödelsee, Franken, with Paul Weltner - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy
Wine Dinner at Weinstuben Weingut Juliusspital in Würzburg, Franken - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy
Walk in the Vineyard, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Rudolf May (VDP) in Retzstadt, Franken, with Rudolf and Benedikt May - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy
Vineyard and Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Fürst Hohenlohe-Öhringen (VDP) in Öhringen-Verrenberg, Württemberg, with the New Managing Director Carl-Julius Cromme - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Walk in the Vineyard and Tasting at Weingut Schlossgut Hohenbeilstein (VDP) in Beilstein, Württemberg - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Dinner at Restaurant Lamm Hebsack in Remshalden, Württemberg, with Owners Markus (Kitchen) und Sylvia Polinski (Service) - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineToursTasting at Weingut Beurer (VDP) in Kernen, Württemberg, with Jochen Beurer - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Schnaitmann (VDP) in Fellbach, Württemberg, with Rainer Schnaitmann – Germany-East Wine and
Art Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015), Germany
Tasting at Up-and-coming Weingut Lassak in Hessigheim, Württemberg, with Stefanie and Fabian Lassak - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Dinner at Restaurant Zum Alten Rentamt at Weingut Graf Neipperg (VDP) in Schwaigern, Württemberg, with Neipperg Wines from Württemberg and Bordeaux - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Dautel (VDP) in Bönnigheim, Württemberg, with Ernst and Christian Dautel - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
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