The Schätzel Wine Company is a family-owned and operated winery that specializes in producing Riesling wines of the highest quality. Founded in the late 19th century, the winery has a long history of producing traditional Riesling wines using traditional methods. Today, the Schätzel Wine Company continues to produce Riesling wines that are true to the varietal’s unique characteristics and reflect the region’s terroir. The winery’s commitment to preserving the Riesling tradition has earned them a reputation as one of the premier Riesling producers in the world.
A few words about Schätzel Riesling GG Ölberg
Schätzel Riesling GG Ölberg is a dry Riesling wine from 100% grapes grown along the Mosel river in Germany. The GG designation in the name of the wine stands for “Grosses Gewächs”, which is German for “great growth”. This designation is given to only the best Riesling wines from the Rheinhessen region. The Ölberg vineyard, where the grapes for this wine are grown, is considered one of the finest vineyards in the region and is known for producing wines with intense minerality and great ageing potential. The Schätzel Riesling GG Ölberg grapes are handpicked and carefully selected to ensure only the best grapes are used.
This wine is an excellent example of a “reserve” Riesling wine. Reserves are bottled later in the winemaking process after they have aged longer than a typical wine. Reserve Riesling wines are typically aged for more than two years. This longer ageing time allows the wine’s flavours to develop more fully to produce a more complex and balanced wine. The grapes are then fermented in stainless steel tanks using natural yeasts, a method that preserves the grapes’ unique characteristics and the region’s terroir. The wine is then aged for several months in the bottle before being released for sale.
The Schätzel Riesling GG Ölberg is a medium-bodied wine with aromas of lime and green apple with a hint of honeydew melon. This wine has a pleasant combination of sweetness and acidity with a medium finish and is dry and crisp. The wine’s intensity and minerality are a true reflection of the Ölberg vineyard’s terroir. Finally, the wine pairs well with seafood or Asian dishes.
The Ölberg vineyard
It is where the grapes for the Schätzel Riesling GG Ölberg come from and is located in the Nierstein area of Rheinhessen. This area is known for its calcareous soils and warm climate, resulting in a wine full of minerality, a characteristic of the Riesling variety. The Schätzel family has been farming in this area for generations and has identified the perfect location for the Riesling variety.
Primary focus: Riesling
In this day and age, where many wineries focus on producing a wider variety of wines, the Schätzel winery continues to focus on producing high-quality Riesling wines. It is a risky move, as Riesling is a varietal that few people are familiar with and can be challenging to produce. However, this risk also makes the Schätzel winery stand out as one of the premier Riesling producers in the world.
Wines profile
Over the past decade, wineries have produced wines with higher alcohol levels and more exuberant fruit flavours. These trends are especially evident in the profile of German wines. The Schätzel winery is trying to buck this trend and produces wines that are more true to the Riesling varietal. These wines have lower alcohol levels, less exuberant fruit flavours and more minerality. In other words, these wines have a more cutting and distinctive flavour profile.
The tradition of Schätzel winery
The Schätzel Winery was founded in the late 19th century; thus, it makes the winery one of the oldest wineries in Germany. The Schätzel family has been making wine in this region since the late 1700s. When the winery was established in 1885, it was named after its founder, Gabriel Schätzel. In 1889, the winery was purchased by Joseph Oppenheimer and his wife, Maria, who had been making wine at their winery since 1876. They continued to operate the Schätzel winery until their sons, Theodor and Johannes, took over in the 1930s. The winery was passed down from one generation to the next, from Theodor to his son Johannes and from Johannes to his son, Nikolaus. The current owners, Nikolaus and his wife, Angela, continue to produce high-quality wines using traditional methods at the Schätzel winery.
The Schätzel winery today
The Schätzel winery produces approximately 65,000 cases of wine per year, most of which consist of Riesling wines. Their flagship wine is the GG Ölberg Riesling, named after the vineyard where the grapes are grown. The grapes for their wines are handpicked and fermented with natural yeasts. This winery is one of only a few in Germany that produce Riesling wines traditionally. They even used wooden fermentation vessels, a method used to make wine in the Middle Ages. The Schätzel winery is located in the southwestern region of Germany known as the Rheinhessen. This area is known for producing Riesling wines characterized by high acidity and minerality. The Schätzel winery gets its grapes from two vineyards whose grapes are prized for their consistent quality and suitability for making Riesling wines. These vineyards are the GG Ölberg Vineyard and the Dr Hoell Vineyard.
