Pfalz Wine Guide: Grapes, Appellations & Producers

Riesling's warm German peak

Soil: Diverse loam, limestone and sandstone, sheltered by the Haardt hills.
Style: Riper, fuller, powerful dry Riesling — sun-drenched yet still structured.
Top sites: Grand sites in Forst (Kirchenstück, Jesuitengarten), Deidesheim, Ruppertsberg.
Vintages: 2012, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019
Producers: Reichsrat von BuhlMüller-Catoir

Tip · The Pfalz is Germany's warm, sunny answer to Alsace just over the border — riper Riesling with power, and increasingly fine Pinot.

Value pick

Reichsrat von Buhl 'Bone Dry' Riesling Trocken · ~$20

A historic Forst estate's entry dry Riesling — ripe, mineral and bone-dry, punching well above its price.

Collector pick

Reichsrat von Buhl 'Forster Kirchenstück' Riesling GG · ~$120 · 2019

From one of Germany's greatest Riesling sites — a structured, age-worthy dry GG.

The Pinot-rich south

Soil: Warm loam and limestone on the southern German Wine Route toward Alsace.
Style: Germany's Pinot heartland — fine Spätburgunder, Grau- and Weissburgunder.
Top sites: Around Siebeldingen, Birkweiler; Kastanienbusch is a top site.
Vintages: 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020
Producers: Ökonomierat RebholzDr. WehrheimFriedrich Becker

Tip · The southern Pfalz, hard against Alsace, is a Pinot powerhouse — Friedrich Becker's Spätburgunder vines literally cross into France.

Value pick

Friedrich Becker 'Becker' Spätburgunder · ~$30

Entry Pinot Noir from a German red-wine legend whose top vines sit in France — Burgundian class at a fair price.

Collector pick

Friedrich Becker 'Heydenreich' Spätburgunder GG · ~$120 · 2018

A Grand-Cru-level German Pinot from vines that cross into France — seriously collectible.