Alto Swabia – Shattering the Absurd Narrative We’ve Been Sold about German Wine…

Let’s start 2020 by beginning to re-write the easy narratives that defined much of the 20th century.

For most of this time, the whole of vinous Germany was reduced to one grape. A damn fine grape to be sure, but still. The idea is laughable. When has culture (of any kind) ever been simple?

So let’s introduce complexity with one of the more curious, rarer bottlings of Jochen Beurer, the European BMX champ turned biodynamic guru (entertaining BMX photo below).

In the irrelevant, esoteric and admittedly bizarre circles we frequent, Beurer’s Trollinger (also known by the name Schiava) is a LEGENDARY bottle. It is the wine that brought Trollinger to whatever relevance it may have, introducing a world of possibilities in German red wine beyondPinot Noir.

The superb 2018 just landed; we get one drop of this wine and that’s that. So if you know the wine – go crazy.

If your circles aren’t quite as esoteric as ours, well, at about $20-$25 retail (depending on your geography), it’d be a bit crazy not to try a bottle.

So how do you buy? If you’re an average wine buyer, just email us, tell us what state you’re in and how many bottles you want, and we’ll help you.* It’s that easy.

If you’re in the business, you know what to do: reach out to your local vom Boden fluidity specialist, or email us at info@vomboden.com.

In Swabia, the most commonly planted grape is in fact not Riesling, but Trollinger. If you know this grape, you probably know it as Schiava and associate it with northern Italy. But of course all these countries, these man-made constructs, came long after the vines had found their happy places. And Trollinger is very happy here.

Germany is in fact a country that excels at red wines that taste not unlike the most delicate of northern Italy (introducing “Alto Swabia” – you head it hear first, now pass it on). Germany is, in general, a cool-climate country, and so the reds here are vivid, dancing, transparent, aromatic and acid-driven. 

It’s funny – though this is definitely a (light) red wine, Jochen himself always says, “…this isn’t red wine or white wine, it’s Trollinger.” Which is to say this is a singular wine: bright and brambly, with vivid crunchy red fruits, a myriad of dried spices and a fine, bouyant minerality.

There is something very special about this damn wine and if it were easy to translate into words, well, I’d just write that one line and be done with it. But Beurer’s wines in general have a sort of energy to them. It’s like they don’t follow the normal rules of physics; these damn wines levitate.

Jochen is one of the few to save the Trollinger and bottle it on its own. This is a special parcel, vines up to and over 50 years old. Beurer has only 1.2 hectares planted to Trollinger, so there’s not much. This is all you’re going to hear about this wine. Then it’ll be gone.

Vintage 2018 however proved to be one of the best red wine vintages for Germany in a long time. It also proved to be very generous. Thus we have more wine. Not a ton, but at least enough to be able to do an offer like this. Enough wine to be able to spread the good word.

Jochen Beurer (pictured to the right) is a towering and influential producer in Germany – especially in the context of his background (BMX) and geography (the non-Riesling-centric Swabia). Yet Beurer’s influence flows not only through his wines, but through his actions. Jochen farms both organic and biodynamic (he is Demeter certified) yet still he does not speak in easy truths; he seems to be seeking a viticulture that is beyond these simple rules, more integrated, more complete.

Jochen is also one of the kindest humans out there; a bear of a man who is profoundly nurturing. A whole generation of young German winemakers has passed through Beurer’s cellar.

And yet, at least in the U.S., he’s probably less well known than the 50th-most-famous producer of Riesling in the Mosel, whoever the hell that is. Why do we think that might be? If for so many decades the simple narrative we were sold was all about Riesling, well, the narratives that didn’t fit the story just weren’t told.

Luckily, this is beginning to change. By reading about wines like this and buying wines like this, you are helping to support the change. You think all this, the writing, the romance… the bitching about the tariffs(!) is just because of the wine, the business?

It’s about the people and the cultures they are a part of… the culture that we’re all a part of. 

If any of this has made you more curious about Swabia and Jochen Beurer, that’s great. This is, after all, how we both feed our families. Try the Trollinger; be amazed.

However, if you want to go deeper on the Beurer wines, check out the full offering below. Zweigelt? Damn straight. Red blends? Yup. White blends? Yeep. Riesling – yes that too, natürlich.
 
I can’t believe you’ve really read this whole thing. Thanks for all the support and wishing you all the best for 2020.

Stephen

the life and wines of Jochen Beurer

FEATURED: 2018 Beurer Trollinger (Schiava) – about $20-$25 retail
Simply put: one of the brightest, most joyful and soulful reds we sell. And so cheap that if the 100% tariffs go through, well, this will still be fairly priced.

2018 Beurer Weiss Dry (white blend) – about $20-$25 retail
A blend of grapes, Kerner and Müller-Thurgau and a bunch of other stuff that is not Riesling. This is an aromatic white; a spring garden sorta wine. Fresh greens and some citrus and soul. Stupid priced.

2018 Beurer Riesling Dry – about $20-$25 retail
Damn I love this wine. It has that high-toned citrus and mineral thing that Riesling does; but it’s also ever-so-delicately oxidative, yeasty. Somehow this rounds it out a little and makes it ultra-gulpable.

2017 Beurer Riesling Schilfsandstein (sandstone) – about $30 retail
Beurer bottles his upper-level Rieslings by soil type, thus we have this sandstone bottling. This is the most easy drinking of his middle-tier wines. Great deep fruit, energy – almost gossamer feeling. 

2017 Beurer Riesling Kieselsandstein (sandstone) – about $40 retail
Now we start getting real serious; this is a harder sandstone soil with more marl. The wine is denser, finer knit. The acidity is more cutting, the structure more severe. This is a mineral-freak Riesling.

2016 Beurer Riesling “Nothing” – about $50-$60 retail
This is Beurer’s 0-sulfur Riesling; extended aging on the lees. If you like Stein’s “Ohne” you should mos. def. check this out. 

2018 Beurer “Rotgut” – about $20-$25 retail

This is Beurer’s red blend. While not as light and bright as the Trollinger, it’s still a pretty vivid and energetic wine. The fruits are darker toned, there is a gravelly soil note not unlike Bordeaux or, maybe more appropriately, Loire reds. What else you wanna know? It’s ****ing delicious. The name, of course, is a joke – roughly translating to “good red.” This ain’t rot gut.

* Vom Boden is not a retailer; we cannot and do not sell directly to end-consumers. However, we know lots of great retailers around the country who support our growers, and we can easily put you in touch with one of them to complete the sale. Thank you for your support!