Pfalz Producers
Friedrich Becker, VDP.Weingut
Südliche Weinstraße | Schweigen | 29.8 hectares | Certified biodynamic by respekt-BIODYN
"I didn't want to, and still don't want to disappear into the anonymity of a 500,000-liter tank." -- Friedrich Becker Sr.
In the short film by Harold Woetzel, "Der Rebell und das Weinwunder." Friedrich Becker und die "5 Freunde," my favorite quote from Friedrich der "Alte Fritz" Becker Sr. (deceased), perfectly captures the rebellious attitude of what is undoubtedly one of Germany's leading red wine estates. It only barely surpasses my second favorite quote, from Frtiz Becker Jr., aka der "Kleine Fritz, "my mother was the calming center of the family, we're all Hitzköpfe (hotheads) you could say." If, on a quiet evening, you find yourself with 45 minutes to spare, search for this moving and inspiring short film on YouTube, preferably with a glass of Becker Spätburgunder in hand. It's a story and a reminder of all that is beautiful about wine.
In 1968, Fritz Becker paid a visit to the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, and the world, his and ours, would never be the same. Fritz's father (what do we call him, der "Älteste Fritz"?) was a board member of the regional wine cooperative at the time, making Fritz's decision to break away and bottle his own wine a rebellious move on multiple levels. Fritz's visit to "the domaine" had made a clear impression. By 1973, the decision had been made to start his own domaine, to withhold delivery to the cooperative, and to do so without his father's approval.
Fritz Becker also decided to focus on dry, uncompromising Pinot Noir at a time when sweeter, mass-produced styles dominated the German market. To mark this independent streak, he launched his first bottles with the "Füchschen" (Little Fox) label—a nod to "The Fox and the Grapes," one of Aesop's Fables. Fritz's determination to produce dry and serious red wines drew mockery from his peers. The "sour grapes" fox remains on the label as a badge of honor.
Low yields and the use of small French oak barrels to age his wines were equally controversial at the time. Germany had just enacted a completely revised "Fifth" wine law in 1971, which explicitly turned away from the notion of terroir and embraced a new ideology based on ripeness (i.e., sugar levels). Fritz Sr., with 70% of his vineyards lying across the French border in Alsace, ignored the paradigm entirely, opting instead to underscore the limestone vein running through his vines.
In 1966, he began reclaiming the Kammerberg, a steep, historic vineyard near Wissembourg that had become overgrown and forgotten. Sankt Paul is another single vineyard site, first cultivated by the Cistercians in the 14th century. Over the centuries, Sankt Paul too fell into disrepair and eventually became completely overgrown with trees and bushes. The Spätburgunders from Kammerberg and Sankt Paul would later become two of Germany's most famous red wines, both powerful expressions of their Muschelkalk soil with distinctive "salty" minerality, high tension, and immense aging potential.
Fritz Becker Jr. worked alongside his father and, in 2005, took over cellar responsibilities. The younger Fritz brought his own ideas, which, like father, like son, were sometimes received with friction from his father. Friedrich Becker Sr. passed away in February 2025 at the age of 77. According to Fritz Jr., he was out in his beloved vineyards inspecting his vines just the day before he died. Fritz Jr. carries on the legacy, producing what many consider the greatest red wines in Germany.
Dr. Bürklin-Wolf, VDP.Weingut
Weingut Dr. Bürklin-Wolf is an 85-hectare estate located in the Mittelhaardt village of Wachenheim and is one of the largest family-owned wine estates in Germany. This VDP estate comprises some of the most valuable vineyard lands in the country, with holdings in just about every top vineyard site in the Mittelhaardt, including Forster’s Jesuitengarten, Ungeheuer, Pechstein (the benchmark example), and .54 hectares of Kirchenstück. In addition, there are Reiterpfad and Gaisböhl (an Alleinbesitz) in Ruppertsberg, and Hohenmorgen, Langenmoregen, and Kalkofen in Deidesheim. These sites were classified GC (denoting Grand Cru) in the 1994 in-house classification based on a Bavarian tax map from 1828. The nine GC vineyards and seven PC (Premier Cru) sites made up 30% of Bürklin-Wolf’s production and helped solidify their return to the top echelon of German wineries. The internal classification and conversion to biodynamics in 2005 came about with the current generation, led by Geisenheim-trained Bettina Bürklin since 1990, with her husband, Christian von Guradze. Dr. Bürklin-Wolf can trace its history to the 16th century (1597), but the sweat of many generations, especially the current one, has made it one of the leading estates in the Pfalz and throughout Germany.
Schwedhelm, Weingut
Know the Zellertal? No? I’m guessing you already know the neighborhood, though. Everything about this northern subregion of the Pfalz seems poised to capture our attention. Limestone soils, cooling west-east winds, and ambitious producers like Weingut Schwedhelm. Brothers Stephan and Georg Schwedhelm run Zellertal’s leading estate from their family’s winery in Zell, situated in the heart of this west-east valley bordering Rheinhessen. After locating Schwedhelm on a map, I couldn’t help but ask Stephan whether they associate more with their superstar Rheinhessen neighbors like Keller and Battenfeld-Spanier than with Von Winning or Rebholz. “We belong to the Pfalz,” said Stephan without a flinch, adding that “Zellertal was previously known as the Unterhaardt,” a region often overlooked in favor of the famous Mittelhaardt and Sudpfalz. Not that Zellertal is without great terroir or historically significant vineyards. Quite the opposite, actually. Schwedhelm is the caretaker of the Schwarzer Herrgott's original parcel. A 9-hectare, south-facing terraced site situated on a limestone plateau. The rocky, pale, porous limestone with heavy layers of loam and marl typifies Zellertal’s terroir, as does the cooling wind from the west, which leads to dry summers. The name stems from a large black crucifix visible from a distance. The village maintains it as a tribute to English Monk Philipp, who produced wine for the Eucharist here as early as 708 AC. The Schwarzer Herrgott is one of Germany's oldest vineyards. When you taste at Schewdhelm, you can tell they’re the clear quality leader in the valley. Their ascent was rapid; their grandparents grew grains and grapes and raised pigs in the 1940s. When the brothers’ parents took over, they focused solely on wine, producing 20 grape varieties and 60 different styles. Stephan joined the winery in 2006, and Georg joined a few years later. The brothers turned their focus to the Zellertal's unique terroir, making fewer wine styles and concentrating on dry, limestone-influenced Riesling, Weißburgunder, and Spätburgunder from great sites like Kreuzberg, Klosterstück, and Schwarzer Herrgott. “No one else in the Pfalz has this type of soil, says Stephan, "our soil is limestone-based like that in Burgundy.” The farming is organic, although Stephan grew dismayed by how much copper he sprayed in the vineyard and has since dropped the organic certification. Fermentations are mostly spontaneous, depending on vintage conditions, and the Gutsweine ages in stainless steel tanks, while Orstweine and single-vineyard wines spend time in a combination of stainless steel, old oak tonneau, or larger Holzfaß. Weingut Schwedhelm produces wines that capture Zellertal’s essence, with slender, cool profiles, limestone identity, and clear Pfalz origin.
Pfalz: Pfalz is for the Feinschmecker →
Reichsrat von Buhl, VDP.Weingut
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