At New York City’s Korean restaurant Oiji Mi, the beverage team has a particular fondness for Riesling. “It’s a somewhat misunderstood grape,” says beverage director Chris Clark, who finds his guests confused by Germany’s complex labeling system and array of anbaugebietes. “Sure, perhaps people have heard of the Mosel or Blue Nun, but we love championing the lesser known areas and producers,” he says.
For Clark, that means highlighting the 2021 Ganz Horn from Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz. “They have an array of different terroirs located all relatively close to the winery, all in separate parcels, but the one we absolutely love is the Ganz Horn,” says Clark. “It’s a small patch of soil that has fine gravel mixed with sand that differentiates it from the surrounding vineyards.”
The family-owned estate, now run by the third generation, is located at the edge of the Palatine Forest and most of the vineyards lie on the gentle slopes of the Haardt Mountains. The wines are produced as naturally as possible, forgoing acid adjustments or additions, and the vineyards have been farmed organically since 2005. In 2015, the winery joined respekt-BIODYN, an association of 19 wineries from Austria, Germany, Italy, and Hungary that aim to produce the highest quality wine using biodynamic farming practices.
Ökonomierat Rebholz ‘Ganz Horn’ Riesling GG 2021 Selling Points
- A brand’s environmental integrity has become a high priority for consumers and all Rebholz wines are produced using sustainable practices in the vineyard that actively work to preserve nature.
- The wines are made without herbicides, synthetic fungicides, or mineral fertilizers.
- After three hot vintages in Europe, 2021 offers a return to a more classic, mineral-driven style of Riesling that, due to climate change, is now becoming a rarity.
Ökonomierat Rebholz ‘Ganz Horn’ Riesling GG 2021 Tasting Notes
“[This wine has] both initial power and the balance of full bodied, dry Rieslings, but also ageability,” says Clark. “Furthermore, the arriving 2021s have seen Germany, as a whole, return to a bit more classical, cool vintage—Rieslings without the opulence and flashy youth of the past few years.”
Caitlin A. Miller is a New York-based wine writer and a senior editor for SevenFifty Daily. Her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Vinous, and Christie’s International Real Estate Magazine. She holds the WSET Diploma in Wines and was the recipient of the 2020 Vinous Young Wine Writer Fellowship.
