Jan Wongse Raumland

From sommelier to his own label

Jan Wongse Raumland took a long and winding path before devoting himself to winemaking. He began his career as a sommelier, then completed an internship at the Emrich-Schönleber winery, undertook internships ranging from the Ahr River basin to South Africa, worked as a full-time employee for Klaus-Peter Keller, and later studied in Geisenheim.

He married a member of the Raumland family, known throughout Germany for their sparkling wines, and currently works there. The “WongAmat” brand is his own project, created to embody his name and unique philosophy regarding red wine in a bottle.

The name itself is a sign of respect. The Wongse-Amatyakul family from Southeast Asia is a lineage that has passed down craftsmanship and a tradition of philanthropy from generation to generation for many years, and Jan carries this spirit into his winery in Rheinhessen.

The vineyards

The red wine is made from grapes grown on two contrasting plots in Rheinhessen, and Jan Wongse Raumland does not blend them but vinifies each one separately.

Bürgel is located in Flörsheim-Dalsheim. Thanks to its eastern exposure, it remains cool, and the soil is calcareous and clayey. Each year, 4 barrels of wine are produced from this plot in barriques.

Rosengarten is located in Kriegsheim. This warm, south-facing plot has sandstone soil covered with red clay. Six barrels of wine are produced here. Since these two plots have different effects on the Pinot Noir grape, the main challenge is to preserve their distinct characters during winemaking.

The third Spätburgunder is produced on the Vogelsang plot, also located in Rheinhessen. As for the Cabernet Franc, Jan travels to Untertürkheimer Herzogenberg, located in the south in the state of Württemberg. This region lies outside Rheinhessen, but the principle is the same: wine from a single vineyard and small-scale production.

Cool east, warm south

Although the Bürgel and Rosengarten vineyards are only a few minutes’ drive apart, they differ from one another as if they were two different worlds. The eastern slope of Bürgel, bathed in morning sunlight and cooling quickly, along with its moisture-retaining calcareous clay soil, gives the Pinot Noir a more firm and cool flavor.

Rosengarten, on the other hand, has exactly the opposite characteristics. The south-facing slope remains warm throughout the day; the topsoil consists mainly of sandstone, with red clay beneath it. In such warm plots, Pinot Noir typically develops greater ripeness and roundness, and it is precisely these characteristics that are evident here.

Rheinhessen is Germany’s largest wine-growing region, which was once known primarily for its mass production of white wine. However, a new generation of winemakers, including Jan Wongse Raumland, is decisively shifting the focus toward single-vineyard wines, dry wines, low yields, and meticulous winemaking.

The grapes

Jan Wongse Raumland works with two brands, offering only carefully selected varieties.

• Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir): the main variety in the “WongAmat” series. From the Bürgel, Rosengarten, and Vogelsang vineyards
• Cabernet Franc: from a single vineyard in Württemberg
• Riesling (dry), WongSiri brand
• Chardonnay (dry), WongSiri label

The WongAmat label has a simple rule: it produces only red wines. White wines are produced under the WongSiri label.

Winemaking

Jan Wongse Raumland describes his approach as a “battle between intuition and logic” and candidly admits that there is no set “recipe.” Since no two days in the vineyards are alike, the winemaking processes in the cellar also vary from harvest to harvest.

The only thing that remains constant is 100 percent organic farming and a commitment to the highest quality in everything: from the grapes to the cork. The red wine is aged in French barriques, and to ensure that the character of each plot is clearly discernible when poured into a glass, the wine is produced in small batches for each plot (4 barrels for Bürgel and 6 barrels for Rosengarten).

The style he strives for is not that of the rich German Pinot Noir from 20 years ago, in which extract dominates. He aims for a subtle, fruity, and delicate flavor. A lighter, more transparent wine. This is precisely the direction that winemakers of his generation are pursuing in Rheinhessen, and Jan firmly follows this path.

The WongAmat and WongSiri range

All “WongAmat” wines are red, and they are all made from grapes grown in specific plots. The Spätburgunder variety is grown in the following three vineyards:

• “WongAmat Dalsheimer Bürgel Spätburgunder”: produced on a plot with a cool eastern exposure and calcareous-clay soil
• “WongAmat Kriegsheimer Rosengarten Spätburgunder”: produced on a plot with a warm southern exposure, on sandy-gravel and red clay soil
• “WongAmat Vogelsang Spätburgunder”: also produced in Rheinhessen

In addition to these, the lineup includes “WongAmat Untertürkheimer Herzogenberg Cabernet Franc” from Württemberg and the non-vintage wine “Yufancholi No. 3 Trocken” from Rheinhessen.

White wines are released under the separate “WongSiri” brand and come in two varieties: dry Riesling and dry Chardonnay, both produced at the “Rosengarten” vineyard in Kriegsheim.

For such a small project, the vineyard area is quite extensive, but the logic is consistent: one vineyard, one wine, one story in every bottle.