Riesling Brut
⏳ Drinking Window
2023 - 2026
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
fresh oysters, light seafood tempura, cured ham
✨ Technical Specifications
Crafted in the unique cross-border terroir of Schweigen-Rechtenbach, where German and French winemaking traditions seamlessly blur, Weingut Bernhart's Riesling Brut is a sparkling testament to the region's limestone-rich soils. This traditional-method Sekt (klassische Flaschengärung) benefits from the cool breezes flowing through the Wissembourg Gap and the intense Pfalz sunshine. Hand-harvested Riesling grapes are gently pressed and undergo secondary fermentation in the bottle, followed by extensive lees aging. This patient process yields a sparkling wine of remarkable precision, marrying the natural, high-toned acidity of Riesling with a delicate, creamy mousse and a profound mineral backbone derived from the ancient Kalkmergel (lime-marl) soils.
🍾 About the Producer
Weingut Bernhart is situated in Schweigen-Rechtenbach along the southernmost fringe of the Pfalz, right at the French frontier near the historic Deutsches Weintor. While the family's agricultural roots date back centuries, estate bottling commenced under Willi and Wilma Bernhart in 1971, followed by their accession to the VDP in 2004 and formal organic certification in 2012. Today led by Gerd and Sabine Bernhart, the estate commands a singular cross-border terroir: approximately two-thirds of its roughly 20 hectares of vineyards are technically situated on French soil in Alsace, governed by special bilateral treaties that allow the wines to bear German designations. The viticultural backbone rests on dense, fossil-rich limestone, calcareous marl, and clay deposits across benchmark cru plots such as the Schweigener Sonnenberg. Winemaking emphasizes spontaneous fermentation, lees contact, and judicious wood aging, generating deeply structured, mineral-driven white and red expressions epitomized by their Kalkmergel and Grosses Gewächs bottlings.
🍇 Grapes
Riesling