Cool Climate Wine Summit

We visit Thorben Bosse of Gut Steyerberg in Schweppenhausen on the Nahe, one of the first Demeter wineries in Germany, which he took over in 2023. Among the vines and in the Demeter preparation store, he explains why nature does not want to make a good wine, why vines have to struggle, and how one single hill of 16 hectares became his estate. He talks about freshness from tannins instead of acidity, humus that rose from 0.2 to over 2 %, and making wine to pay for landscaping.

Interview in English.

📍 Schweppenhausen, Nahe, Germany

In the glass

1. Purist 2023: Natural cuvée of orange Gewürztraminer, Cabernet Blanc and a little Riesling; skin-fermented, spontaneous, unfiltered, over a year on the lees

2. Pinot Noir 2022: 100 % whole bunch from slate, no added sulphur, 12 % alcohol; a sélection massale of nine Burgundy clones

Chapters

0:00 Welcome to Gut Steyerberg

0:28 Met at ProWein: on board from the start

1:17 If not a winemaker: pharmacist

2:51 "Nature does not want to make a good wine"

4:19 Role model: Martin Darting

6:21 His personality as a wine: the Purist

7:18 Nature as a demanding friend

8:44 Vines have to struggle

9:21 Gut Steyerberg: one hill, one vineyard

11:11 Tasting: Purist 2023

13:54 Skin fermentation instead of added acidity

16:45 Climate change: freshness from tannins

19:05 In the Demeter preparation store

22:00 Nothing new: back to a living soil

22:54 Why biodynamic: you can taste it

23:55 Resilient vineyards and Corinne Kox

24:32 Humus from 0.2 to over 2 %

26:48 The first ten years are annoying

27:28 Living soil next to dead soil

28:22 Making wine to pay for landscaping

29:09 Tasting: Pinot Noir 2022

32:23 Slate Pinot: Ahr versus Höllenberg

33:47 Nine Burgundy clones

34:12 See you in Copenhagen: five years from now

📺 Watch the video: https://youtu.be/4uIz2Wiv_7s

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We meet Michi Weber of Weber Brüder in the Saar valley, in the middle of a rainy harvest. Together with his brother Stefan he started in 2013 with a quarter hectare of their grandfather's old vines; today they farm four hectares alongside their day jobs. We talk about bursting grapes after weeks of rain, spontaneous fermentation and low-intervention Riesling, why climate change is bringing the Saar's famous acidity into balance, how two brothers with five children manage a winery on the side, and their first wine, Phoenix.

Interview in English.

📍 Saar, Mosel, Germany

In the glass

1. Riesling Sekt Brut 2021: their first sparkling wine, two years on the lees in tank and 15 months of bottle fermentation, 9 g/l of sugar

2. Ober-Emmeler Altenberg Riesling Spätlese 2020: 60 g/l residual sugar, five years of age, notes of dried fruit

Chapters

00:00 Back on the Saar, in the middle of harvest

00:30 Rain, bursting grapes and a rushed harvest

01:08 If not a winemaker: the social sector

02:15 Geisenheim, Portugal, Australia, Montpellier and the US

03:45 His personality as a bottle of wine

04:18 Nature and terroir on the Mosel

05:48 Weber Brüder: from a quarter hectare in 2013 to four hectares

07:08 Tasting: Riesling Sekt Brut 2021

09:07 Saar acidity and climate change

10:07 Covid, frost, rain, drought: the work in the vineyard

11:32 Two brothers, five kids, two day jobs

12:50 Phoenix: the first wine

13:48 Momentum and the low-intervention scene

16:04 Tasting: Ober-Emmeler Altenberg Spätlese 2020

17:39 Sweet or dry: the market and young drinkers

18:28 See you in Copenhagen

📺 Watch the video: https://youtu.be/qiKij-0BOhE

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We visit Paul de Watteville of Domaine de Montbenay in Mont-sur-Rolle, in the vineyards above Lake Geneva. The estate has been in his family since 1543; Paul runs its eight hectares with his father Maurice. We talk about why Chasselas, born at Lake Geneva, is "the sponge of the terroir", a 25-year-old Chasselas, a fortified Chasselas inspired by port, his sélection massale Pinot Noir with 500 types of Pinot, an export project to China, and how hail and drought change the work in the vineyard.

Interview in English.

📍 Mont-sur-Rolle, Vaud, Switzerland

In the glass

1. Chasselas 1999: from the year Paul was born; honey, dried hay, ginger and a precise acidity

2. Pinot Noir Les Trésières 2023: sélection massale with 500 types of Pinot Noir, ten days whole bunch, 12 months in French oak

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to Mont-sur-Rolle, above Lake Geneva

00:43 If not a winemaker: a cheese farm in the mountains

01:36 In the family since 1543

02:18 Inspiration: Raymond Paccot, Domaine La Colombe

03:41 His personality as a bottle of wine: Pinot Noir

04:48 Nature and organic viticulture

05:52 Domaine de Montbenay: eight hectares, nine varieties, 85% Chasselas

08:12 Tasting: Chasselas 1999

09:21 Chasselas was born at Lake Geneva: "the sponge of the terroir"

12:43 Gruyère with old Chasselas

13:02 Between Geneva and Lausanne: a scene of young winemakers

14:38 Swiss wine abroad: Chasselas in China

16:03 Chasselas muté: a "port" made from Chasselas

17:30 Pinot Noir: Neuchâtel, Burgundy and ageing potential

19:37 Tasting: Pinot Noir Les Trésières 2023, sélection massale

22:40 Climate change: sélection massale, hail and drought

26:22 Rootstocks for deeper roots

26:57 Outlook: the next five years

27:42 See you in Copenhagen

📺 Watch the video: https://youtu.be/cLmjjDqhrD0

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We visit Oliver Schell of Weingut O. Schell in Rech on the Ahr, the fourth generation of an estate founded in 1921, with 70 % of its eight hectares on steep terraces. He explains why this narrow valley makes great red wine and how the flood changed his winemaking. We taste his first PIWI, a Sauvignon Gris called "I can't believe it's a PIWI", and his Spätburgunder from the Recher Herrenberg, and talk about north-facing sites and the new problem of too little acidity.

Interview in English.

📍 Rech, Ahr, Germany

In the glass

1. „I can't believe it's a PIWI“ 2023: Sauvignon Gris from the Dernauer Burggarten (steep slate); Auslese ripeness, fermented dry, 15 % alcohol, five hours on the skins, second-use barrel; 497 bottles; label by his wife, an homage to Roy Lichtenstein

2. Spätburgunder Recher Herrenberg 2022: 18 months in barrique, 50 % new oak after the flood, 13.5 %; light colour, cherry, raspberry, wild strawberry, red flowers and spice

Chapters

0:00 Welcome to the Ahr and Weingut O. Schell

0:52 If not a winemaker: a chef

1:21 His influence: his grandfather

2:28 His personality as a wine: a bolder Pinot Noir

3:43 Nature: the one thing we can't control

4:32 Weingut O. Schell: since 1921, 70 % steep

5:47 Why the narrow Ahr valley makes red wine

6:44 "Come and see it yourself"

7:34 Tasting: „I can't believe it's a PIWI“ 2023

8:58 15 % alcohol you don't taste

9:23 Flint, quince and an autumn touch

11:10 The label: pop art and Roy Lichtenstein

12:56 Planting Sauvignon Gris: "a very good mistake"

13:46 After the flood: new ways to sell wine

14:46 Easy wines are like learning a language

16:10 A warmer Ahr: shaded sites and new grapes

18:24 What the flood taught him: let things roll

19:46 Tasting: Spätburgunder Recher Herrenberg 2022

21:37 50 % new oak after the flood

22:24 Cherry, wild strawberry and spice

23:20 The new problem: too little acidity

24:24 Harvest under pressure on steep slopes

25:02 Burgundy, Chablis and the Ahr style

26:20 Five years from now

27:15 See you in Copenhagen

📺 Watch the video: https://youtu.be/pZmaiHTK0Z4

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We visit Karin Hvidtfeldt and winemaker Lou Langdon of Hideaway Vingaard on Fejø, a small island off Lolland in southern Denmark. They explain how the sea gives Fejø about 200 more hours of sunshine than the Danish average, how the estate began with Karin's late husband Michael Gundersen in 2006, and what they learned from Jens Heinemeyer. We talk about free-range geese, organic rules that were not written for wine, spring droughts and 200 millimetres of rain in one day, and why Danish wine belongs on every restaurant wine list.

Interview in English.

📍 Fejø, Lolland, Denmark

In the glass

1. Vingesus 2023: Souvignier Gris and Solaris, fermented spontaneously and aged in oak

2. Gåsefod 2024: 100 % Solaris in a Riesling style, with 17 g/l of residual sugar

3. Sommergås 2024: Rondo, Bolero, Cabernet Cortis and Rehberger, made by carbonic maceration

Chapters

0:00 Welcome to Fejø: by ferry and over the deer fence

1:06 Lou: from England to Fejø, a hidden gem

3:10 Why "Hideaway"? A Beatles song

4:00 1.3 hectares, holiday cabins and 70 fig varieties

5:18 Biodiversity garden and exotic trees

6:33 The Fejø microclimate: the sea all around

9:55 An extra month of sunshine

10:07 Where we are: Lolland, Copenhagen and Hamburg

10:42 2006: Michael Gundersen and the beginnings

14:34 A new start with Lou and Jens Heinemeyer

16:43 Wine with Soil Connection

17:29 Tasting: Vingesus 2023, Souvignier Gris and Solaris

22:04 New grapes and oak: two shifts in Danish winemaking

27:00 The freedom to experiment, and its downside

28:19 "Can you grow wine in Denmark?"

29:27 A Danish bottle in Zielona Góra, and Jens Heinemeyer

30:47 Only take advice from someone whose wine you love

34:26 Is the Pfalz still cool climate?

36:02 Tasting: Gåsefod 2024, the geese and Molly the vineyard dog

38:09 A Riesling style from Solaris

41:04 17 grams of sugar, 7 of acidity

43:22 "Kissed by the oak": why so few Danish wines with residual sugar?

46:02 Climate change on Fejø: the frost is back

49:26 Spring droughts, cloudbursts and groundwater

52:38 Mildew on a warm, dry island

53:53 Organic rules not written for wine: the copper ban

58:18 Bureaucracy, and on to the red wine

59:10 Tasting: Sommergås 2024, a Nordic red

1:01:09 "Verdammt, du hast wieder recht": how the red was born

1:02:28 94 points from Jamie Goode

1:04:30 Rondo, PIWI reds and old vintages

1:06:20 Warsaw and export

1:07:25 Five years ahead: Danish wine on every wine list

1:09:25 Pride, Janteloven and bragging

1:10:39 See you at the Cool Climate Wine Summit

📺 Watch the video: https://youtu.be/HGpMEPKXe5k

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We visit Lara Mindnich of Weingut Mindnich, a family estate of about eight hectares on the Nahe. Standing in a young vineyard full of poppies and bees, she talks about learning winemaking from her father, her role models Juliane Eller and Pauline Baumberger, and why a region with more than 180 soil types has no single Riesling style. She explains green slate, how her father simply said "just do it", sustainability on the label, PIWIs and Vitiforst, and what her generation can do against climate change.

Interview in English.

📍 Nahe, Germany

In the glass

1. Riesling vom Grünen Schiefer: Gutswein from green slate: fruity, juicy, soft and elegant, with a lively acidity

2. Johannisberg Riesling 2024: Single vineyard on steep terraces, harvested by hand; more structure and concentration

Chapters

0:00 Welcome to the Nahe and Weingut Mindnich

0:26 If not a winemaker: something creative and social

0:55 Role models: her father, Juliane Eller and Pauline Baumberger

2:04 Her personality as a wine: Riesling from green slate

3:16 A young vineyard full of flowers and bees

4:19 Happy about the rain

4:51 Weingut Mindnich: 8 hectares, three generations

5:40 The Nahe: small, unknown and creative

7:07 Tasting: Riesling vom Grünen Schiefer

8:55 What is green slate?

9:41 180 soil types: is there a Nahe signature?

11:10 Between Rheinhessen and the Rheingau

11:51 Studying wine business in Geisenheim

12:29 "Just do it": the generation change

13:50 Structural change: scared or hopeful?

15:45 Telling sustainability on the label

17:00 Niepoort and the idea of eight points

17:55 Tasting: Johannisberg Riesling 2024

19:32 Holding vintages back

20:39 Fresh and green: the Nahe style

21:41 Climate change and new grape varieties

23:59 PIWIs and Vitiforst

25:23 Staying positive

25:54 Five years from now: even more for nature

📺 Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/@coolclimatesummit

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Zu Besuch in Remerschen, in der Gemeinde Schengen, am Dreiländereck von Luxemburg, Deutschland und Frankreich: Marie Kox führt die Domaine Sunnen-Hoffmann in sechster Generation, zusammen mit ihrer Mutter. Es geht darum, warum in Luxemburg „Crémant immer geht“, um einen Brut Nature ohne Dosage und ohne Schwefel, um den unterschätzten Auxerrois aus der ersten Bio-Lage des Weinguts, um eine Crémant-Lese, die schon im August beginnt, und um PIWI-Sorten wie den Pinotin.

Interview auf Deutsch. Aufgenommen am 22. Mai 2025.

📍 Remerschen, Schengen, Luxemburg

Im Glas

1. Crémant de Luxembourg Brut Nature 2022: 50 % Chardonnay und 50 % Pinot Blanc, ohne Dosage und Schwefel, zweieinhalb Jahre auf der Hefe

2. Auxerrois 2022 aus der Lage Schengen-Fels: 50 Jahre alte Reben, die erste Lage, die das Weingut auf Bio umgestellt hat

Kapitel

0:00 Begrüßung: Domaine oder Cave?

0:49 Wenn nicht Winzerin: Ernährungsberaterin

2:30 Prägende Erfahrung: Praktikum in Châteauneuf-du-Pape

3:19 Die Persönlichkeit als Flasche Wein: Pinot Noir

4:21 Zurück nach Luxemburg und unterschätzte Weinregionen

5:33 Natur und ökologischer Weinbau

6:21 Die Domaine Sunnen-Hoffmann: sechste Generation seit 1872

6:51 Schengen und das Dreiländereck

7:44 Crémant de Luxembourg: „Crémant geht immer“

9:10 Verkostung: Crémant Brut Nature 2022

12:26 Frühe Lese und unberechenbare Jahrgänge

14:28 Luxemburg als Weinbauregion: Mosel, Römer, Elbling

16:30 Rotwein im Kommen und die Geschichte des Crémant

17:32 Zweiter Wein: Auxerrois aus der Lage Schengen-Fels

19:39 Klimawandel: Lesezeitpunkt und Säure

21:32 Verkostung: Auxerrois 2022 und Food Pairing

23:23 Export: Luxemburg nach außen zeigen

24:39 PIWIs: Cabernet Blanc und Pinotin

27:03 Ausblick: die nächsten fünf Jahre

27:45 Einladung nach Luxemburg und Kopenhagen

📺 Zum Video: {{VIDEO_LINK}}

🎟 Jetzt für den nächsten Cool Climate Wine Summit anmelden: https://coolclimatesummit.com/copenhagen/registration.php?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=sunnen-hoffmann&utm_content=de

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We visit winemaker Michał Poddany of Winnica Rosenfeld in Podbiel, Mazovia, south-east of Warsaw. Of the 600 vines he planted in 2009, 12 survived two winters. He replanted, made seven vintages only to learn, and sold his first wine in 2023. He talks about his mentor at Marchesi Alfieri in Piedmont, the −18 °C limit for vinifera, the 2024 spring frost, why Pinot Noir is the easy grape in Poland, and why he wants to stay small.

Interview in English.

📍 Podbiel, Mazovia, Poland

In the glass

1. Brut Premiere: 65 % Riesling and 35 % Pinot Noir, partly aged in oak and acacia barrels from Seguin Moreau, 22 months on the lees

2. Riesling 2023: from the Una parcel, the first one planted; 1,700 bottles

Chapters

0:00 Sunshine in Poland after a month of rain

1:00 If not a winemaker: underwater welder

1:51 Inspiration: Marchesi Alfieri in Piedmont

3:14 His personality as a wine: Nerello Mascalese from Etna

4:43 Nature: a bandage on the wound

6:13 Winnica Rosenfeld: 600 vines planted, 12 survived

8:05 Mazovia: harsh winters, wind and −18 °C

9:03 Seven vintages only for himself

11:09 Emerging wine countries and teething troubles

12:45 Tasting: Brut Premiere

14:01 Still wine tells the truth about the vineyard

15:04 Champagne yeast, no turbo yeasts

17:03 Why Pinot Noir is the easy grape in Poland

17:48 Red Pinot Noir from Poland?

19:19 Three labels for a lifetime

21:07 22 months on the lees and tiny bubbles

24:25 20 vintages to understand your vineyard

26:17 Tasting: Riesling, the hardest grape in Poland

26:37 Winter frost, spring frost and 2024

28:38 Every seventh vintage without a harvest

29:55 No bad vintages, only small ones

31:03 2.5 hectares and very low yields

32:10 Riesling 2023 from the Una parcel

33:41 Low pH, high acidity and a lot of patience

34:55 A basket press and a pump gentler than gravity

37:39 Lessons for Polish winemaking

38:04 Five years from now: staying small

📺 Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/@coolclimatesummit

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Im Weinberg in Nittel an der Obermosel mit Max Frieden vom Weingut Frieden-Berg, mitten in der Lese 2026 und nach drei Tagen Starkregen, Luxemburg direkt am anderen Moselufer. Max erzählt vom Elbling, der alten heimischen Rebsorte, die noch 40 % der 14 Hektar ausmacht, von Crémant in traditioneller Flaschengärung, von seiner Liebe zu Chardonnay und Auxerrois, von der Zertifizierung durch Fair'n Green und davon, warum die Obermosel mehr mit Luxemburg und Frankreich gemeinsam hat als mit den Schieferhängen der Mosel.

Interview auf Deutsch.

📍 Nittel, Obermosel, Deutschland

Im Glas

1. Elbling Crémant 2022: 100 % Elbling, traditionelle Flaschengärung, 12 Monate Hefelager, 12 % Alkohol

2. Chardonnay Ortswein 2023: Muschelkalk mit leichten Tonanteilen, ein kühler Jahrgang, 13 % Alkohol

Kapitel

00:00 Begrüßung im Weinberg nach drei Tagen Regen

01:11 Wenn nicht Winzer: Rettungshubschrauber-Pilot

03:04 Prägende Menschen: Georg Rumpf vom Weingut Kruger-Rumpf, Nahe

04:24 Seine Persönlichkeit als Flasche Wein: Chardonnay

05:34 Natur: Gleichgewicht, Begrünung und Regen

07:43 Frieden-Berg: 14 Hektar und 40 % Elbling

10:01 Verkostung: Elbling Crémant 2022

11:51 Gehört die Obermosel wirklich zur Mosel?

13:15 Familienweingut mit Weinbar

14:37 Vertrieb und Export: von Finnland bis Indonesien

16:37 Nachhaltigkeit: Fair'n Green

18:53 Verkostung: Chardonnay Ortswein 2023

22:16 In fünf Jahren: kleiner und besser

📺 Zum Video: https://youtu.be/moqWVVsDvKE

🎟 Jetzt für den nächsten Cool Climate Wine Summit anmelden: https://coolclimatesummit.com/copenhagen/registration.php?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=frieden-berg&utm_content=de

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Live from VieVinum 2026 in Vienna with Raphael of Weingut Kodolitsch in southern Styria, an exhibitor at CCWS Copenhagen 2026. Styria is Austria's southernmost wine region and, because it lies close to the Alps, also its coolest. We talk about single-vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, why a quarter of the estate is Riesling, Welschriesling as "the Styrian answer to Aligoté", 20 hectares of steep slopes farmed by hand, and why winemakers are farmers first.

Interview in English.

📍 Tillmitsch near Leibnitz, Südsteiermark, Austria

In the glass: Sauvignon Blanc Ried Rosengarten

- 100% clay soil, one night on the skins

- 24 months on the full lees in 500-litre barrels, with malolactic fermentation

- 13.5% alcohol

Chapters

00:00 Welcome at VieVinum

00:13 Looking back at Copenhagen 2026

00:54 Styria: the coolest region in the south

01:54 Riesling and Welschriesling in Styria

03:01 Tasting the Sauvignon Blanc Ried Rosengarten

04:46 If not a winemaker: volunteer firefighter

05:40 Influences: Johann Donabaum

07:05 His personality as a bottle of wine

08:09 20 hectares of steep slopes and sustainability

09:09 Certification, economics and farming

11:04 Rain, water and climate

11:22 Export: the North, Kazakhstan and India

📺 Watch the video: https://youtu.be/AyaGYJvoH5k

🎟 Sign up for the next Cool Climate Wine Summit: https://coolclimatesummit.com/copenhagen/registration.php?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=kodolitsch&utm_content=en

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