The Moselle

January is traditionally the month when we, as a team, reflect on the past year. What were our best discoveries? Which visit truly stayed with us, and which glass gave us goosebumps? My list was barely finished before we started loudly dreaming of new adventures.

And so it happened: on the ninth day of this year, we hopped in the car, destination Mosel. The last time I visited this region, I was barely nine years old. What remains are vague memories of a strenuous hike and liters of grape juice from green glasses, supplemented by some knowledge from wine books.

Key figures

Brauneberger Juffer: a formidable slope

It's mind-boggling how close the Mosel is. Any Belgian with an interest in wine has probably spent a day exploring a cellar in Reims or devoured a plate of sauerkraut in Colmar, but Bernkastel is barely 320 km from our home base and offers an incredibly fascinating array of hotels, hiking trails, and wine bars where you can enjoy a glass of local wine.

It wasn't the sunniest day, but once you catch sight of the hills and vineyards, you can't help but smile spontaneously. The majestic grandeur of nature, making you feel small as you gaze at those steep slopes. In the foreground, you hear the splashing sound of a wild river: the Mosel. The rain is pouring down in buckets, and there's a strong wind. You know and feel immediately: anyone who wants to make wine here needs character.

We park our car just before the Brauneberger Juffer, in the village of the same name between Bernkastel and Piesport. There are about 35 winemakers active, spread over a good 100 hectares. Martin Conrad, owner of this family estate, is already waiting for us and immediately takes us inside to introduce his entire range.

Normally, I like to explore the vineyard first to get an idea of someone's style. But this reverse approach turned out to be spot on here. To explain why, we first need to discuss the classifications.

Classification: a study in itself

The most common styles:

German wine is extremely complex to study, which won't surprise you. But once you grasp the logic, the system proves to be surprisingly structured, straightforward, and recognizable.

The most important basic rule is the KMW, or Klosterneuburger Mostwaage. This number indicates how much sugar your grapes contain and thus what type of wine you can make. We convert this to Oechsle, and this standard, along with the location of the vineyard and the grape variety, determines which quality label the bottle can bear.

In terms of location, your vineyard can be an Ortswein (village), an Erste Lage (1er cru) or a Grosses Gewächs (grand cru). In addition, a winemaker may use the designation Goldkapsel to indicate that it is one of their better wines, both in terms of location and quality.

Furthermore, the winemaker uses taste indications to specify whether the wine is dry, off-dry, fruity, or sweet. In the past, you would more often come across names such as Beerenauslese and Eiswein. For the latter, you need a high concentration of residual sugar and several days of severe frost. Due to changing climatic conditions, it is taking longer and longer for these conditions to be met, often until January, and sometimes it has simply become impossible.

Acidity, the key to victory

Are you still awake and is everything still clear? Then it's high time to prepare ourselves for an explosion of acids. Because no grape in the world is so noble and pure that it can age indefinitely even in its most naked form.

Riesling hardly needs wood to be complex, and acidity and fruit will never be a problem. The only dangers are ripeness and humidity, but even there, Mother Nature has truly spoiled us in recent years.

Weingut Martin Conrad

Martin Conrad cultivates 6 hectares, divided over three large zones: Brauneberger Juffer, Mülheimer Sonnenlay, and Veldenzer Kirchberg. We warm up with the Conradus, a frivolous and playful wine made with grapes from almost all parcels, which immediately reveals the house style.

Meanwhile, Martin explains how he works in the cellar. He only uses natural yeasts, which allow the vinification to start spontaneously. Maceration is limited to a maximum of 36 hours to preserve purity. Fermentation takes place exclusively in stainless steel, usually in small tanks for more control over the fermentation. And above all: as little intervention as possible.

The vines stand on pure slate. This soil gives a cool, wet impression that evolves towards vanilla notes and smokiness as the wine ages.

Without quite realizing it, vintages and crus fly past us. At first, it's overwhelming how different each vintage is, and the variations between the vineyards are also enormous. But gradually, a pattern emerges.

Mülheimer Sonnenlay is the most ripe and fleshy style. A particularly fascinating glass that can handle a full meal, because you can use both the fresh acidity and the body and richness. From light fish dishes to hearty meat preparations.

The Veldenzer Kirchberg, with its terrifying sharpness and freshness, is one of my favorite wines. It's like a samurai sword, so pure and mineral. A glass for the enthusiast and the seasoned Riesling drinker.

But the most refined style is probably found in the Brauneberger, due to its fully southern orientation. This allows the winemaker to seek the balance between fruit, acidity, and intensity. Yields here are barely higher than 30 hl/ha, and in the micro-vineyard Sonnenuhr, it's half of that again.

Here, the Feinherb left the biggest impression on me. Wines of unprecedented length in the finish, still youthful but already so intense and powerful, while you know and taste that the ravages of time will only refine the fruit and acidity.

The fact that Martin was one of the few winemakers to make the drastic choice to work fully organically fifteen years ago is a great asset for the future. With climate change, organic viticulture in this cool, humid region is becoming somewhat less difficult anyway.

Moreover, technology helps. Research is being conducted at the domain into whether a drone can spray the vineyards with natural products during certain periods of the year. Manually, that easily takes three weeks, whereas a drone could do it in one week, with unprecedented precision. In the cellar, he is also assisted by modern gadgets to keep the temperature in the tanks under control.

We are therefore looking forward to what else Martin will do to elevate his wines. Although we are already very proud of this newcomer to our range.