Base Wine & Blend

Mosel sparkling wine begins with a wine nobody would drink on its own. It's picked early, when the grapes carry plenty of acidity and little sugar, and tastes almost too harsh on its own. Only the second fermentation rounds it out.

At Agritiushof, according to the estate, grapes are selectively hand-harvested and pressed as whole clusters, without crushing beforehand. This protects the juice, since less tannin is extracted from the skins. Especially on the steep slopes, this handwork is in any case the only option.

Producers making sparkling wine in larger volumes blend wines from many vineyard sites into a cuvée. This evens out differences between slopes and vintages and keeps a brand's flavor consistent. Brands like Faber and Deinhard depend on every batch tasting the same. With single-vineyard Winzersekt, by contrast, the vintage takes center stage.

Crémant is governed by figures every winegrower knows by heart. From 150 kilograms of grapes, a maximum of 100 liters of must may be pressed; sulfur dioxide content must not exceed 150 milligrams per liter; and sugar must stay below 50 grams per liter. The grapes must be hand-harvested.

Spätburgunder can be used to make a Blanc de Noirs—a white sparkling wine from red grapes, pressed without skin contact so the juice stays pale. Rotling sparkling wine also exists, but it may only be made from a base wine that is itself entitled to be called Rotling.