Germany is one of the largest sparkling wine markets in the world. One out of four bottles of sparkling wine produced in the world is consumed in Germany. Sparkling wine produced in Germany is called Sekt. Sekt can range from inexpensive mass Sekt to premium and ultra-premium Sekt made in the méthode traditionnelle.
Deutscher Sekt Preis 2018/ German Sekt Competition 2018
For the fifth time, Meininger Verlag organized a Sekt Competition in July 2019 in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse. A total of more than 500 Sekts were tasted. Only premium and ultra-premium Sekts (made in the méthode traditionnelle) could be submitted.
Three years ago (but not this year) Annette Schiller was one of the tasters.
Sekt Basics
Sekt is made in all German wine regions, both in the méthode traditionnelle and charmat method. There are three groups of Sekt makers: (i) large and (ii) smaller Sekt houses, who only make Sekt and (iii) winemakers, who make predominantly wine, but complement their wine selection by a few Sekts. The Sekts produced by large Sekt estates tend to be in the demy-sweet and sweet range, while the Sekts of smaller estates and the wine makers are mostly in the brut and extra brut range. In addition to Sekt, Germany produces semi-sparkling wine, which is called Perlwein. But the production of Perlwein is small.
Large Sekt Houses
There is a dozen or so large Sekt houses. They produce more than 2.000.000 bottles each annually. Most of these large Sekt houses were established in the 1800s. At that time, there was only one method known to produce Sekt, the méthode traditionnelle. But in contrast to the champagne houses, the large Sekt houses have all moved to the charmat method as main method of the second fermentation after World War II. Like the champagne houses, Sekt houses do not own vineyards, but purchase the base wine from winemakers. More than three quarters of the base wine used to make Sekt is imported from other EU countries, essentially Italy, France and Spain. Sekt can only be labeled as Deutscher Sekt if it is made exclusively from German grapes, which is rare in the case of the large and the smaller Sekt houses. Most of the Sekt houses have beautiful chateau-type facilities with old underground cellars for the second fermentation and storage. Overall, these Sekts are reasonably priced, are of good quality, but with the introduction of the charmat method are no longer in the same class as their counterparts in the champagne region.
The Rotkäppchen-Mumm conglomerate is now the largest Sekt producer. Rotkäppchen was founded in Freiburg (Saale-Unstrut) in 1856, in the eastern part of Germany, and has experienced a phenomenal expansion since reunification of the two Germanys in 1989. It introduced the charmat method in 1956. Mumm was founded in 1827, initially as a champagne house, by the German banker and wine merchant P. A. Mumm. His sons J. and H.G. Mumm created the famous “Mumm Cordon Rouge” at their estate in France and also branched out to Germany. A few years ago, the French branch was bought by Pernod Ricard and the German branch by Rotkäppchen, and the Mumm estates separated. Henkell-Söhnlein, also a conglomerate, is the second largest Sekt house. Henkell was founded in 1832 in Mainz (Rheinhessen). Its most famous “Henkell Trocken”, made of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Chenin Blanc, is available in the US with (supposedly) the same taste as in 1894, when this cuvee was created by Adam Henkell, although then, the charmat methode had not yet been discovered.
Smaller Sekt Houses
The smaller Sekt houses, like the large Sekt houses, do not own vineyards, but also buy the base wine from winemakers. They also tend to have a long history and often links to the champagne region, beautiful facilities and old cellars for the second fermentation and storage. The big difference is that they typically have not gone the route of tank fermentation but continue to ferment in the méthode traditionnelle.
Geldermann in Breisach makes its Sekt exclusively from French wines imported from the Loire valley. The two Germans Deutz and Geldermann founded a champagne house in 1838 in the champagne, and the Breisach (Baden) outlet became their German branch in 1904 for tax reasons. Another one is Kessler, in Esslingen (Baden-Wuerttemberg), the first German Sekt house, founded in 1826 by Georg Kessler, who had worked for Veuve Clicqot. Fürst von Metternich Sekts are produced in a beautiful castle overlooking the Rhein river in the Rheingau. Von Metternich received the castle from the Austrian Emperor Franz I in 1816 as a gift for his skillful negotiations as his Minister of Foreign Affairs during the Vienna congress (1814 -15). The von Metternich Sekts are all Rieslings from von Metternich vineyards.
Small Sekt and Wine Producers
Finally, increasingly, there is a number of top quality winemakers, who, in addition, to their still wines, have started to include Sekts in their portfolio. These Sekts are typically vintage Sekts, from a specified vineyard, made of specific grapes, often Riesling, in the méthode champenoise and with little or not dosage (brut or extra but). While the first fermentation typically takes place at the winery, the second fermentation is often not in the cellar of the winemaker but in the cellar of a Sekt house that bottle-ferments for other wineries. One of those is award-winning Volker Raumland in Rheinhessen. He bottle-ferments for himself and for others. He keeps the bottle sur lie up to 12 years before corking and labeling the bottle for sale. There is a large and growing number of winemakers who have started to produce world class Sekts. Unfortunately, their production is very limited and they are difficult to find in the US.
Deutscher Sekt Preis 2019/ German Sekt Competition 2019: 6 Categories
The Sekts were grouped in 6 different categories:
Riesling brut
Burgundy Grapes brut
Burgundy Grapes brut premium (on the lees for at least 36 months)
Rosé
Other Grapes brut
Sekt trocken
Kategorie I - Riesling Sekt Brut/ Riesling Sekt Brut
1. Platz 2014 Riesling Prestige Extra Brut, Griesel Sekt - Sekthaus Streit, Hessische Bergstraße, 90 Punkte, 21,00 Euro
2. Platz 2016 Dürkheimer Schenkenböhl Riesling Sekt b. A. brut, Lebenshilfe Bad Dürkheim e.V, Pfalz, 90 Punkte, 12,00 Euro
3. Platz 2016 von Buhl Riesling brut, Weingut Reichsrat von Buhl, Pfalz, 90 Punkte, 14,90 Euro
Kategorie II - Burgunder Sekt Brut/ Burgundy Grapes Sekt Brut
1. Platz 2015 Pinot Brut Nature, Griesel Sekt - Sekthaus Streit, Hessische Bergstraße, 92 Punkte, 23,00 Euro
2. Platz 2015 Grande Cuvée Dosage Zéro, Griesel Sekt - Sekthaus Streit, Hessische Bergstraße, 91 Punkte, 29,00 Euro
3. Platz 2014 Chardonnay extra brut, Weingut Gutzler, Rheinhessen, 91 Punkte, 13,60 Euro
Kategorie III – Prestige-Burgunder Sekt Brut (mind. 36 Monate Hefelager)/ Premium Burgundy Grapes Brut (minimum 36 months on the lees)
1. Platz 2008 Vintage Chardonnay Extra Brut, Sekthaus Raumland, Rheinhessen, 93 Punkte, 69,00 Euro
2. Platz 2008 Vintage Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut, Sekthaus Raumland, Rheinhessen, 93 Punkte, 69,00 Euro
3. Platz 2014 Grande Cuvée Dosage Zéro, Griesel Sekt - Sekthaus Streit, Hessische Bergstraße, 93 Punkte, 29,00 Euro
Kategorie IV – Rosé Sekt Brut/ Rosé Sekt Brut
1. Platz 2015 Pinot Rosé brut, Weingut Franz Keller, Baden, 91 Punkte, 16,00 Euro
2. Platz 2014 Pinot Rosé brut, Weingut Rings, Pfalz, 91 Punkte, 19,00 Euro
3. Platz Rosé Brut, Privat-Sektkellerei Reinecker, Baden, 91 Punkte, 14,00 Euro
Kategorie V – Sortenvielfalt Sekt Brut/ Other Grapes Sekt Brut
1. Platz 2016 Grüner Veltliner dosage zero, Sektmanufaktur Schloss Vaux, Rheingau, 91 Punkte, 20,00 Euro
2. Platz Baden Crémant Brut, Privat-Sektkellerei Reinecker, Baden, 90 Punkte, 12,00 Euro
3. Platz 2017 Britzinger Nobling Extra Brut, Winzergenossenschaft Britzingen eG., Baden, 90 Punkte, 8,90 Euro
Kategorie VI – Sekt Trocken/ Sekt Off-dry
1. Platz 2017 Sauvignon blanc extra trocken, Weingut auf den fünfzehn Morgen, Rheinhessen, 91 Punkte, 9,50 Euro
2. Platz 2017 Pinot Rosé trocken, Weingut Erich Stachel, Pfalz, 90 Punkte, 9,50 Euro
3. Platz Spätburgunder Rotsekt trocken, Weingut Leonhardt, Pfalz, 90 Punkte, 8,20 Euro
Sonderauszeichnungen/ Speical Awards
Kollektion des Jahres/ Collection of the Year
Sekthaus Raumland, Rheinhessen
Bester Sekt Brut Nature (Sekt ohne Dosage)/ Best Sekt Brut Nature (Sekt without Dosage)
Riesling Brut Nature, Frank John - Das Hirschhorner Weinkontor, Pfalz, 90 Punkte, 27,00 Euro
schiller-wine: Related Postings
Announcement: ombiasy WineTours in 2019 - Germany-North and Bordeaux
Ombiasy Wine Tours 2018: 3 x France and 3 x Germany - Ombiasy Newsletter December 2017
Reminder: Ombiasy Wine Tour to Bordeaux: September 03 - September 12, 2019
UPCOMING Tours/ Wine Dinners/ Tastings - Annette and Christian Schiller/ ombiasyPR & WineTours/ schiller-wine, Germany, France, USA (Issued: August 1, 2019)
Cellar Tour, Tasting and Dinner at Wein- und Sektgut F.B. Schönleber in Östrich-Winkel, Rheingau, with Ralph and Bernd Schönleber - Germany-North Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
Ultra-premium Sekt: Cellar Tour and Tasting at Griesel&Compagnie, Sekthaus Streit, Bensheim, with Winemaker Rachele Crosara - Germany-South and Alsace 2018 Tour by ombiasy WineTours: Baden, Alsace, Pfalz and Rheinhessen
Tasting at Sekthaus Raumland in Flörsheim-Dalsheim, Rheinhessen, with Heide-Rose and Volker Raumland - Germany-South and Alsace 2017 Tour by ombiasy WineTours
Extensive Vineyard Tour and Tasting at Weingut Reichsrat von Buhl in Deidesheim, Pfalz, with Richard Grosche - Germany-South and Alsace 2018 Tour by ombiasy WineTours: Baden, Alsace, Pfalz and Rheinhessen
Weingut Franz Keller in Oberbergen, Kaiserstuhl, Baden: Cellar Tour and Tasting with Fritz Keller – Germany-South Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
Tasting and Cellar Tour at Weingut Rings in Freinsheim, Pfalz, with Andreas Rings - Germany-South and Alsace 2017 Tour by ombiasy WineTours
Véritable - a very Special Wine Trade Fair - 2019 in St. Martin, Pfalz, Germany
Champagne – An Introduction, France
French Champagne Houses and German Roots
Champagne, Sekt, Cava, Pét-Nat ...: Sparkling Wines around the World - A Primer
Visit and Tasting at Champagne Jean Josselin, a Grower Champagne House in Gyé sur Seine – Bourgogne (and Champagne) Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours, France
Cellar Visit and Tasting at the Champagne House AR Lenoble in Epernay, with Christian Holthausen - Burgundy (and Champagne) 2016 Tour by ombiasy WineTours
Salon Tasting at Schiller's Home: Sparkling Wines of the World
German Wine Makers in the World: The Korbel Brothers from Bohemia Introduced "Champagne" to the US
Best German Sparkling Wine (Sekt): Meiningers Deutscher Sektpreis 2016, with Annette Schiller as Judge
Champagne in Russia
German Wine Makers in the World: Anton Mueller Invented the Remuage Technique Revolutionizing Sparkling Wine Drinking, 1800s, France
German Wine Makers in the World: Eduard Werle --- Owner of the Veuve Cliquot Champagne house (France)
German Wine Makers in the World: Robert Alwin Schlumberger--the Father of Austrian Sekt (Austria)
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