Von Winning

A Deidesheim house with deep roots

The history of this winery dates back to 1849, and the historic, labyrinthine cellars located beneath the town of Deidesheim were also built at that time. These cellars are located along the “Weinstraße” (Wine Route) that runs through the Pflaz region and are an integral part of the town’s landscape. However, a new chapter in the winery’s history began in 2007. That year, manager Stephan Attmann decided to completely overhaul the winery’s operations, basing them on traditional winemaking methods, natural fermentation, the use of wooden barrels, and, whenever possible, relying on gravity instead of pumps. This was a deliberate departure from the style focused on technical perfection using stainless-steel tanks, which had dominated German winemaking for several decades. This transformation has been a resounding success. Today, Von Winning is one of the leading wineries in the Pflaz, and its wines are featured not only in Germany but also on the wine lists of top restaurants around the world, as well as in the collections of wine connoisseurs.

Six Erste Lage, eight Grosse Lage

Von Winning owns an exceptionally large number of classified vineyards. Specifically, these include 6 plots classified as VDP.ERSTE LAGE and 8 plots classified as VDP.GROSSE LAGE. In the VDP (Association of Leading German Wineries) classification system, these categories represent the two highest ranks and generally correspond to the Burgundian Premier Cru and Grand Cru classifications.

These vineyards are located in Deidesheim and its surroundings, as well as in Ruppertsberg and Forst. The names “Pechstein,” “Kirchenstück,” “Ungeheuer,” “Grainhübel,” and “Reiterpfad” are known as Germany’s most prestigious Riesling growing sites, and all are managed by von Winning.

From the winery, you can walk directly to the best vineyard in Deidesheim. This proximity is of great importance: the team doesn’t waste time traveling by car but is constantly right there in the vineyards.

The terroir

The Pflaz is situated in the shadow of the Haardt Mountains, making it one of Germany’s warmest and driest wine-growing regions. Since the grapes ripen easily here, the Pflaz is well-suited for growing not only Riesling but also Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

The soil varies from plot to plot, and this is the essence of the “Erste Lage” and “Grosse Lage” classification system. Each plot has its own unique character. For example, Pechstein is famous for its basalt soils, while other plots in Deidesheim are dominated by sandstone, limestone, and clay. Von Winning’s single-vineyard wines are crafted precisely to embody this diversity.

Riesling first, but not only

As with any self-respecting winery in the Pflaz, the Riesling variety forms the foundation of this estate. However, von Winning has also gained renown thanks to two grape varieties that most German producers still consider “secondary”:

• Riesling (from the “Erste Lage” and “Grosses Gewächs” plots)
• Sauvignon Blanc (bottled as several varieties, including “Sauvignon Blanc 500”)
• Chardonnay (from the best single-varietal vineyards, such as Herrenletten and Bürgergarten)

The winery’s work with Sauvignon Blanc is a testament to its determination. Mr. Attmann openly states that he wants to demonstrate that Germany can stand on equal footing with New Zealand and South Africa in the production of this variety, and his wines certainly confirm this.

Winemaking

Stephan Attmann describes this winery’s approach as “controlled non-intervention”, a term borrowed from the late Hans-Günter Schwarz. The essence of this concept is to minimize intervention and allow the wine to develop on its own.

In practice, this means natural fermentation using wild yeast, aging not in stainless steel tanks but in wooden barrels, and racking the wine using gravity as much as possible, a process made possible by the cellar’s design. This marks a return to German winemaking methods used until the mid-20th century, when technical precision came to the fore.

It is in this historic vaulted cellar, covering an area of about 2,000 square meters, that all these processes take place. In the case of white wines, and especially Riesling, barrel fermentation gives von Winning’s wines a unique texture and finish, which sharply distinguishes them from the conventional style of the Pflaz region, where winemaking in stainless-steel tanks predominates.

The range of wines

The range is built around the VDP pyramid, running from everyday drinking wines at the bottom through to single-vineyard Grand Cru Rieslings at the top. 

Riesling is the heart of the estate, running from the entry-level Drache and Win Win through village-level Ortsweine, up through eleven Premier Cru (Erste Lage) single-vineyard bottlings and eleven Grand Cru (Grosses Gewächs) wines. At the very top sit three prestige Rieslings, U500, Marmar and Ozyetra, made in tiny quantities from the finest individual plots.

Sauvignon Blanc is offered in four versions, from the entry-level Sauvignon Blanc II up to the flagship 500, are Attmann's attempt to show Germany can match the world's best.

Chardonnay follows the same structure: a Royal, Imperial and 500 bottling, plus four single-vineyard Erste Lage wines and the prestige KO at the top.

Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris fill out the white range with three tiers each.

Red wines include a rosé and a light red for everyday drinking, two tiers of Pinot Noir, a single-vineyard Pinot Noir from Gutenberg, plus small-production Cabernet Franc and Syrah.

Sweet wines and rarities include an off-dry Kabinett, a Gewürztraminer Süss, a fortified Trop, and a rare Beerenauslese from the Grand Cru Ungeheuer site, plus a ten-year wood-aged Gewürztraminer spirit.

Sparkling wines cover five traditional-method Sekt bottlings aged at least 36 months on lees, two wines under the historic Dr. Deinhard label, a light Secco range and a non-alcoholic option.

In total, roughly 60 different wines and styles, all built around the same core philosophy: spontaneous fermentation, oak ageing, no pumps, no herbicides.