About the winery
Location and vineyards
The winery of Winning is located in Deidesheim in the Pfalz in Germany. The vineyards extend along the German Wine Route from Neustadt-Haardt via Deidesheim to Forst. Vineyard sites in Deidesheim, Ruppertsberg, Forst, Königsbach and Haardt are farmed.
Soils and grape varieties
The vineyard geology includes weathered Buntsandstein, tertiary limestone and basalt. In the Deidesheim sites Herrgottsacker and Grainhübel, the soils vary depending on the plot; they range from coloured sandstone and sandy loam to limestone rubble, basalt, weathered red sandstone, marl-limestone clay, and tertiary limestone. In Forst’s Pechstein, volcanic basalt, weathered red sandstone, sandy loam, fine clay particles and basalt veins can be found.
The stock of grape varieties, according to the VDP profile, consists of 85 percent Riesling and 15 percent of other grape varieties. These include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Blaufränkisch, Weissburgunder, Muskateller, Gewürztraminer and Scheurebe.
Winemaking and range
The range is strongly focused on Riesling and includes dry Rieslings from Deidesheim, Ruppertsberg and Forst. The wines are presented according to the VDP categories VDP.GUTSWEIN, VDP.ERSTE LAGE and VDP.GROSSE LAGE.
The winery states that in the vineyard it does without herbicides, insecticides and chemical fertilisers and works with up to 12,500 vines per hectare. In the cellar, spontaneous fermentation takes place in wooden casks of varying sizes, with long lees contact times, the use of filters and pumps kept as low as possible, and no fining agents used. The historic vaulted cellar covers around 2,000 square metres and is used for maturing.
History and selected site wines
Friedrich Deinhard founded the winery in 1849 in Deidesheim with his wife Auguste Jordan’s inheritance. According to the winery, the wines were already exported to America and England in 1849. Achim Niederberger acquired the three estates that had emerged from the original Jordan holdings in 2002, 2005 and 2007; in 2008, the name Winning was restored. The winery describes itself as a founding member of the VDP since 1907.
The south-facing site of Deidesheimer Grainhübel lies on the edge of Deidesheim near the winery. The Riesling GG there is fermented spontaneously and developed on the lees in French oak casks. The Deidesheimer Kalkofen site is located on a plateau above Deidesheim; its Riesling GG is naturally fermented in 500-litre wooden casks and developed on the lees for 1.5 years.
