Christoph Raffelt

Old vine riesling fruit before harvest in the Mosel.

Mosel · Germany

The Last of Their Kind: Germany’s Treasury of Old Vine Riesling

ByChristoph Raffelt May 29, 2024June 4, 2024

The power, pride and potential of old vines. And it turns out, the Mosel really could be where it all started..

Steffensberg Pinot vineyard in the Mosel encased in fog

Germany · Mosel

Modern Mosel Pinot Noir: Riesling Dressed in Red

ByChristoph Raffelt May 2, 2024May 3, 2024

Winemakers in the Mosel are tending an old tradition that is budding anew. These modern Pinots reach for elegance and complexity, edginess and vitality. and the world is finally taking notice.

Bottle of Aldinger Burgundersekt before disgorgement in cellar

Germany · Tasting Article

How Burgundersekt Is Usurping Riesling’s Sparkling Crown

ByChristoph Raffelt January 23, 2024January 27, 2024

10 sparkling secrets of the sekt generation.

Germany · Baden

Wish You Were Here! Love, Bodensee

ByChristoph Raffelt May 31, 2023November 2, 2023

Ask a German about their favorite domestic vacation spots and Bodensee — aka Lake Constance — routinely sits near the top of the list. The country’s largest…

Small house at the top of the Vitzenburger Schlossberg vineyard in Saale-Unstrut

Germany · Saale-Unstrut

Wine at the 51st Parallel in Saale-Unstrut

ByChristoph Raffelt February 15, 2023November 5, 2023

Trink Magazine | That viticulture is still possible in Germany’s Saale-Unstrut in an age of climate crisis is due to the microclimate of the valleys and the perseverance of its growers.

Germany · Baden · Pfalz · Rheinhessen · Tasting Article

On the Way to German Chardonnay 2.0

ByChristoph Raffelt November 16, 2022November 14, 2023

Roughly five years ago, a group of sommeliers, journalists, and ambitious wine aficionados gathered in Hamburg to dig deep into one of the world’s great grapes. We called it ‘Cool Climate Chardonnay.’

Germany · Rheinhessen · Tasting Article

Wine Returns to Weinheim

ByChristoph Raffelt July 21, 2022September 10, 2024

A handful of Weinheim visionaries are reshaping the future of German wine in the country’s largest winegrowing region with lessons from the past.

Bucket of Blaufränkisch grapes under a pair of pruning shears

Germany · Austria · Burgenland · Württemberg

Blaufränkisch Bares Its Soul

ByChristoph Raffelt May 11, 2022February 21, 2024

My first true Blaufränkisch moment came in 2013, at a now-shuttered restaurant in Hamburg. Thirty-six bottles from a swath of Austria’s appellations stood open for…

Austria · Portrait · Wachau

When Wines Play the Lang Game in Austria

ByChristoph Raffelt February 18, 2022October 17, 2023

”In the past, nature held very little meaning for me,” Kremstal winegrower Markus Lang admits when asked to remember the first impressions of his vineyards….

Thomas Niedermayr from Hof Gandberg behind a cluster of ripe piwi grapes.

Germany · Alto Adige · Climate Crisis · Tasting Article

PIWI’s Big Wine Adventure

ByChristoph Raffelt October 29, 2021February 11, 2024

Trink Magazine | Are PIWIs or grape hybrids our viticultural future as the climate crisis makes winegrowing more, not less, challenging? By Christoph Raffelt

Germany · Franken · Pfalz · Rheinhessen

Drink More Scheu!

ByChristoph Raffelt April 7, 2021September 10, 2024

If there is an underdog in Germany’s largest winegrowing region, Rheinhessen, it is Scheurebe. Vinified sweet for many years, Scheurebe — pronounced SHOY-ray-beh — largely…

Steepled church among vineyards overlooking mountains of Alto Adige

Alto Adige · Climate Crisis · Italy

Quo Vadis, Alto Adige?

ByChristoph Raffelt February 5, 2021October 17, 2023

Südtirol-Alto Adige winegrowing has already exerted tremendous energy in re-inventing itself. But as has become ever clearer, that was only step one. The second is yet to come.