Top 10 Wineries in the Pfalz
The Pfalz stretches along the eastern flank of the Haardt mountains, a mild strip of southern Germany where almond trees flower in March and fig leaves overhang the cellar doors of Mittelhaardt villages. It is Germany's second-largest wine region by area and its most consistent source of powerful dry Riesling. The towns of Forst, Deidesheim, Ruppertsberg, and Wachenheim form the heart of what Hugh Johnson once called "the Côte d'Or of Germany."
Reichsrat von Buhl
A historic Forst estate, once supplier to Bismarck's court, restored to top form under biodynamic conversion in the last decade. Their Forster Kirchenstück and Pechstein bottlings are among the most precise dry Rieslings in Germany.
Dr. Bürklin-Wolf
Bell Beth Bürklin's estate covers 86 hectares across the great Mittelhaardt grand crus. The vineyard hierarchy follows a Burgundian PC/GC system and the wines have a chiselled, mineral, lifetime-ageing profile.
Geheimer Rat Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan
A Deidesheim estate that pioneered single-vineyard bottlings in Germany in the 19th century. The Hohenmorgen and Kalkofen parcels in Deidesheim produce some of the most savoury Rieslings of the region.
Müller-Catoir
Based in Haardt, the estate is famous for Rieslaner, Scheurebe, and Muskateller alongside Riesling — a defender of aromatic varieties when the rest of the Pfalz went all-in on Riesling.
Knipser
Based in Laumersheim in the northern Pfalz, the Knipser brothers are known for Bordeaux blends and Spätburgunder alongside Riesling. Their "X" cuvée is a benchmark for serious German red.
Christmann
Steffen Christmann runs both his family estate in Gimmeldingen and the VDP (Germany's premier wine association). Biodynamic, with fine-grained Rieslings from the Idig and Mandelgarten parcels.
Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz
Hansjörg Rebholz makes electric Riesling and Weissburgunder in the Südpfalz from limestone soils. The Im Sonnenschein parcels deliver extraordinarily salty, mineral Riesling.
Weingut A. Christmann
Not to be confused with VDP-president Steffen — distinct family of estates, both producing terroir-driven Riesling from Königsbach and Gimmeldingen vineyards.
Friedrich Becker
A red specialist in the Südpfalz, Becker's Pinot Noir from limestone soils across the French border (where his oldest vineyards sit) has been a benchmark German Pinot for thirty years.
Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz (Südpfalz)
Riesling, Weissburgunder, and Spätburgunder from the limestone of Birkweiler and Siebeldingen. Long considered the most precise Südpfalz address.
Planning a Pfalz trip
The Deutsche Weinstrasse runs the length of the region; Forst and Deidesheim are walkable from one to the other, and most estates open their Vinothek on weekdays for casual tasting. Find them all on the interactive map and filter to the Pfalz.