Jochen Dreissigacker is one of the rising stars of the German wine scene, and is producing some of Germany’s most exciting wines at his family-owned, 21 hectare estate in the Rheinhessen. Since taking over the running of the estate in 2005, he has already converted the vineyards to biodynamic viticulture; full certification will be achieved in 2010. He also plans to join the ‘VDP’ group of growers, so has adopted the same pyramid of quality – Estate, Village and Single Vineyard – that distinguishes this group from the rest of the pack in Germany.
Low yields and careful selection in the vineyard ensure excellent fruit ripeness and concentration, which means that chaptalisation is not necessary. At 45 hectolitres per hectare for the Estate Riesling, and 30 hectolitres for the new Bechtheimer Riesling, this means Jochen is even more stringent about quality than his contemporaries from the VDP (at 60hl/ha).
His approach in the winery is simple: to intervene as little as possible. Using only wild yeasts to ferment the must, and stainless steel vats, he retains in his winemaking the superb flavours that develop in his grapes.