The ’90s a ‘dark decade’ for German wine

The scion of his historic family wine estate in northern Pfalz, Philipp Kuhn has said that global pressure for Germany to plant international varieties in the 1990s contributed to a “dark decade” for the wine business.

Philipp Kuhn in his family’s cellars

“We were told to pull out our old Riesling vines and plant French varieties” said Philipp Kuhn, winemaker and cellarmaster of his family’s estate in Laumersheim, northern Pfalz.

“I’m not a grape racist,” he said playfully. “But in order to make good wines, it is important to understand your vineyards, and French varieties back then just didn’t grow in our soils. However now with global warming – whether for better or worse – it is becoming easier.”

Philipp was referring to the decade of the 1990s when Germany was gradually shaking off its reputation for producing overly sweet, ‘easy drinking’ Blue Nun-styles of wine and the global school of thought seemed to be that in order for wines to sell well, winemakers needed to have internationally recognized grapes on the labels to make wines easier to understand – “But complicated wine laws are a fact of Germany!” he said gleefully.

However, chilly Germany struggled to ripen the likes of Cabernet and Merlot, whereas its earlier ripening Frühburgunder (also known as Pinot Noir Précoce) was much better suited to the soils, aspect and weather.

Thrust into the thick of things at the tender age of only 20 in 1992, Philipp took over the estate from his father and has since been involved in all vine plantings – with exception of the old Riesling vineyards, which were planted before he was born. The estate around 40 hectares, 20 of which are dedicated to red grape varieties with a focus on Pinot Noir, followed by Frühburgunder, St Laurent, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Under Philipp’s gentle helm, the estate is now known for its extremely elegant but very aromatic styles of Pinot Noir – the best of which comes from the Steinbuckel (meaning stony hill) Grosses Gewachs vineyards and Kirschgarten (cherry garden) Grosses Gewachs vineyards which Philipp described as a “piano player, not a rockstar,” with its softer, more mineral and elegant style. “It’s more Musigny than Chambolle!” he said, eyes twinkling.

However in terms Pinot Noir, it’s only now, thinks Philipp, that Germany is “getting it right.”

“The problem was back in the 1990s, winemakers treated Pinot Noir just like any other grape to grow. But it’s really complicated and struggled to achieve the aromas, ripeness and balance that we have now. Now our vines are now 20 years old and can yield the results that we want but it’s taken this long to develop.”

The other 20 hectares of the estate is devoted to white varieties, especially Riesling and Pinot Blanc – along with Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier. The whites, too, have seen a certain style evolution since Philipp came on board with racy powerful Riesling and balanced Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris.

““All of our wines are dry and we’ve evolved to being more mineral-driven,” he said. “I don’t like the older ‘Baroque’ styles which are too fat and oily.

“You have only one chance per year to get it right and we don’t make the rules, Mother Nature does.”