Daniel and Frederike farm 3 ha in Uhlbach, a small, peaceful valley to the east of Stuttgart. The project began in 2020, when the young couple decided to leave the local cooperative and, two years later, they are a fully independent winery making approximately 5000 bottles of natural wine per hectare. The intention is to make wines not to impress, but to express. Combining simple techniques with highly intuitive farming, Daniel and Frederike employ a hands off approach (and one very old tractor) and let the wine speak for itself. They use natural sprays and stone powders, slowly weaning the vines off the chemical input of previous years – a process which requires patience, as radical change would most likely lead to collapse. In Daniel’s words: ‘biodiversity is our most powerful workmate’. Healthy soils and strong plants (weeds included!) play a fundamental part in the balanced ecosystem which they strive to support.
This cuvée is 60% Chardonnay, 40% Kerner from 30–50 year old vines. The grapes are harvested by hand, this time in mid September, to ensure optimal ripeness. Wine in this raw form requires grapes at their very peak – not a second before or after. Left in whole bunches, the grapes are pressed together and left on the skins for seven days before ageing for one year on the lees in old 300 l oak barrels. The packaging is pared back to the essentials to minimise ecological impact: light bottles are used along with fsc-certified paper and biobased binding agents for labels, corks and tapes. Decant and enjoy the development of this white! It is a young wine that requires a lot of oxygen and is remarkably stable – just as delicious after one week as it is after 24 hours. We found aromatics of orange blossom and unripe peaches, followed by a light but creamy finish.