Weingut Riffel

The winery is located in the municipality of Büdesheim ( Bingen area) in the German wine-growing region of Rheinhessen. The formerly mixed agricultural business began marketing its own wines in the 1970s. In 2007, the winery moved into its new building, which won the "Best of Wine Tourism Award 2012" in the category "Architecture, Parks and Gardens". The winery in the centre of the village is run by Erik and Carolin Riffel. The vineyards cover 16 hectares of vines in the single vineyard sites Bubenstück, Kirchberg and Scharlachberg (6 ha) on the Rochusberg in Bingen. They are planted with the white wine varieties Riesling( 60%), Silvaner, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Scheurebe and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as the red wine varieties Pinot Noir and Merlot.

From 2009 onwards, the vineyards were cultivated organically according to the ECOVIN guidelines, and the next step was the conversion to biodynamic viticulture in 2012. Special emphasis is placed on biodiversity in the vineyard. The "RIFFEL pleasure pyramid" is divided into three lines: site and réserva wines, local wines and estate wines. 90% of the white wines are fermented spontaneously in stainless steel tanks, followed by long ageing on the full lees. The RÉSERVE line is matured in barrique. Certain Riesling wines are bottled in large bottles (magnum with 1.5 l). Around 100,000 bottles of wine are produced annually. Bottle-fermented sparkling wines, pet nats, sparkling wines and grape juice are also produced. The winery is a member of the ECOVIN, Maxime Herkunft Rheinhessen and Vinissima associations.

Photos: Riffel Winery, Robert Dieth and Nils Weiler