As the 2023 harvest approached, the Baumbergers sat down as usual to plan for the coming months. A typical setting for a family who work very much as a unit, but this time with an unexpected outcome: from now on, every grape would be destined for Glow Glow. Since 2019 the Baumbergers have run two projects under one roof: Weingut Baumberger with the classical wine line, founded in 1855, and the newer addition of Glow Glow, the natural wines brought to life by Pauline and her brother Carl. The beauty of this family is not only their openness to question, learn and reevaluate, but their ability to look in the same direction. Excited by the wines his children were making, and despite initial reticence when the project first began, Marcus (a.k.a. Papa Baumberger) suggested shifting entirely to natural wine — stepping away from generations of conventional winemaking. At present, the winter is unfolding into yet another learning process. Keen to unlock the full potential of grapes that Glow Glow hasn’t used before, single variety wines are being created in order to find the specific expression of these grapes and their individual vineyards.
Rot ’22 harks back to a previous vintage; a generally dry year that resulted in small berries with a beautiful density and concentration. An energetic red made with a 50/50 blend of Regent and Dornfelder, all of which were de-stemmed and macerated at 8 degrees for 6 days before pressing. A more complex wine than Rot ’21 given the very different ratio of juice to skin, and with a little more grip. With the desire to create a red that echoes the feel of the Weiss, it was bottled with 2 grams of residual sugar, giving the wine a slight fizz and a lively character. Enjoy lightly chilled.