Cool Climate Wine Summit

Stephan Steinmetz farms on the Upper Mosel, looking across the river to Luxembourg. His vineyards are on limestone, not slate. He builds his own machines, and the family has gone back to the region's traditional grapes. We talk about soil life and water, his trials against fungal disease in organic farming, climate change, PIWI varieties, and why Elbling and Auxerrois are the identity of the Upper Mosel.

Interview in English.

📍 Wincheringen, Upper Mosel, Germany

In the glass

1. Pinot Blanc

2. Elbling Sekt

Chapters

00:00 Introduction: the Upper Mosel facing Luxembourg

03:32 Self-built machines and apprenticeship

07:06 Soil life, water and nature

10:48 Family history and return to traditional varieties

15:41 Tasting Pinot Blanc

17:50 Elbling and Auxerrois as identity

19:42 Organic farming and fungal disease trials

23:47 Climate change on the Upper Mosel

24:45 Elbling Sekt and its history

31:34 Five years from now: PIWI varieties

📺 Watch the video: https://youtu.be/x1Ne7lNnpIo

🍷 Winery: https://www.stephan-steinmetz.de/

📖 More about Weingut Stephan Steinmetz: https://coolclimatesummit.com/copenhagen-2026/winemakers/weingut-stephan-steinmetz

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

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We visit VDP. Weingut Bernhart in Schweigen, at the very south of the Pfalz, where two-thirds of the vineyards lie on the French side. In the estate's old cellar, Vera Dieterle, who looks after marketing and export, talks about a family winery of four people, chalky soils and the Palatinate Forest that keep the acidity, and why the organic stamp no longer sells wine. We taste the Weißburgunder Schweigen Kalkmergel 2023 and the Spätburgunder Wormberg 2020 from a vineyard completely in France.

Interview in English.

📍 Schweigen, Pfalz, Germany

In the glass

1. Weißburgunder Schweigen Kalkmergel 2023: Pinot Blanc, Ortswein (the second VDP level) from chalky soil; a little barrique, malolactic, 13.5 %; reductive touch, flowers, mature fruit, a dusty chalk note and fresh acidity

2. Spätburgunder Wormberg 2020: Pinot Noir, Erste Lage; the vineyard lies completely in France; Dijon clones; a touch of marzipan, precise acidity, integrated tannins, can age another 10 to 15 years

Chapters

0:00 Welcome to the secret chamber

1:26 Vera Dieterle: from wine fairs to the family estate

2:57 Taking on export

4:07 If not a winemaker

5:17 Inspiration: father, grandfather and Huber

6:40 The woman of the house

7:40 Marius as a wine: a Premier Cru

9:28 "Silent power"

10:23 Nature: "our superpower, our god"

12:06 VDP. Weingut Bernhart: 21 hectares, four people

13:16 Two-thirds of the vineyards in France

13:46 Modern Europe at the border

14:45 In the VDP since 2004

15:38 Burgundy varieties and oak

16:22 Tasting: Weißburgunder Schweigen Kalkmergel 2023

16:47 Like Burgundy 30 years ago

17:21 Chalk dust: the Bernhart signature

19:10 The southern Pfalz: cooler than the Mittelhaardt

20:02 The Palatinate Forest: shade and airflow

21:28 The market: "people need to remember your name"

22:57 Marius, Geisenheim and a blind tasting

24:20 A young winemaking community in the Pfalz

26:49 Why not sauerkraut and Riesling?

28:10 Organic: does it still help to sell?

30:39 Tasting: Spätburgunder Wormberg 2020, grown in France

31:37 Dijon clones and the grandfather's vineyard

33:29 Ready now, or in 15 years

34:34 A 1992 Blanc de Blancs, still fresh

35:02 Under the radar, and too cheap

35:56 Export: Denmark, Scandinavia, Belgium

37:07 ProWein, Weinbörse and travelling to markets

37:58 Five years from now: from Gerd to Marius

39:16 "We love what we do"

40:01 See you in Copenhagen

📺 Watch the video: https://youtu.be/DQAZfKD8C18

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

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In Ihringen on the Kaiserstuhl, Jessica Stigler of VDP. Weingut Stigler is part of the next generation taking over. Is Baden really cool climate? She explains why it is, and we talk about her influences (her family and Martin Donatsch), Chenin Blanc as an answer to climate change, and how well their Pinot Noir ages.

Interview in English.

📍 Ihringen, Kaiserstuhl, Germany

In the glass

1. Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 2019

2. Ihringer Pagode Pinot Noir VDP. Großes Gewächs 2017

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and the next generation

01:38 Alternative life and gastronomy in Baden

03:20 Influences: family and Martin Donatsch

05:08 Personality as a wine and nature

07:03 Kaiserstuhl and the Stigler estate

10:38 Tasting: 2019 Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut

12:00 Is Baden cool climate?

18:33 Climate change and Chenin Blanc

20:44 The wine market and the next generation

22:45 Tasting: 2017 Pagode Pinot Noir GG and aged wines

28:28 VDP, fairs and five years from now

📺 Watch the video: https://youtu.be/q7yPH0ABGcA

🍷 Winery: https://weingut-stigler.de/

📖 More about VDP. Weingut Stigler: https://coolclimatesummit.com/copenhagen-2026/winemakers/vdp-weingut-stigler

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

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We meet Kathrin Mehling of the organic Weingut Mehling in the Petershöhle vineyard in Deidesheim, Pfalz. She nearly became a musician. We talk about single vineyards on sandstone, a winemaking generation that collaborates instead of competing, and her aim of honest wines. She also explains why good sparkling wine needs patience and minimal intervention, and how she prices a Riesling Sekt Brut Nature.

Interview in English.

📍 Deidesheim, Pfalz, Germany

In the glass

1. Riesling Sekt Brut Nature 2022

2. Riesling In der Oberen Petershöhle 2022

Chapters

00:00 Introduction in the Petershöhle vineyard

01:38 Tasting: 2022 Riesling Sekt Brut Nature and pricing

04:31 If not a winemaker: music

06:57 The winery and its single vineyards

08:06 Inspirations and a collaborative generation

09:49 Personality as a wine and what nature means

12:26 Honest wine style and sandstone

16:26 Sparkling, patience and low intervention

21:05 Tasting: 2022 Riesling In der Oberen Petershöhle

23:28 Export and five years from now

📺 Watch the video: https://youtu.be/MhXIa6o9isM

🍷 Winery: https://www.weingut-mehling.de/

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

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Standing in the steepest parcel of Weingut Benedikt Nilles in Pünderich on the Mosel with winemaker Benedikt Nilles. The estate appears in the town chronicles in 1624 and farms four hectares, more than half of them steep slopes worked by hand. Benedikt talks about rare, iron-rich red slate, spontaneous fermentation in wooden barrels with each parcel kept separate, why he is not certified organic, spraying by helicopter, climate change, and the Sauvignon Blanc that an internship in New Zealand inspired.

Interview in English.

📍 Pünderich, Mosel, Germany

In the glass

1. Riesling Trocken 2023er am rothen Pfad: from the steepest parcel, pure red slate, spontaneously fermented in wooden barrels

2. Sauvignon Blanc trocken: grown on fine loam with sand, led by gooseberry

Chapters

00:00 Introduction in the steepest parcel

01:15 If not a winemaker: a craftsman

02:20 Inspiration: his apprenticeship teacher

03:40 A young generation that cooperates

04:25 Personality as a wine: Riesling

06:22 Nature is the boss

07:48 The winery: since 1624, three generations of Benedikt

09:28 Tasting: 2023 Riesling from red slate

13:01 Spontaneous fermentation and terroir

15:17 Organic certification, helicopters and climate change

20:10 Tasting: Sauvignon Blanc from the Mosel

23:42 Five years from now

📺 Watch the video: https://youtu.be/q61NqU7-Zxs

🍷 Winery: https://www.nilles-wein.de/

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

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At Winnica Saint Vincent near Zielona Góra in western Poland with winemaker Wiktoria Rypson, a psychology graduate who now looks after 16 hectares of organic vineyards. She talks about the region's past as a sparkling wine centre and the old Grempler cellars, the estate's focus on Vitis vinifera, the April frost that cost around 90% of last year's yield, wild-yeast fermentation without fining or filtration, and how Polish wine drinkers are warming to a lighter, less oaky Pinot Noir.

Interview in English.

📍 Borów Wielki near Zielona Góra, Lubuskie, Poland

In the glass

1. Riesling Sekt Brut: 100% Riesling, traditional method, two years on the lees, steel tank only

2. Pinot Noir 2021: fermented in steel, then at least one year in barrels, most of them 500 litres

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to Saint Vincent near Zielona Góra

00:46 If not a winemaker: a therapist

01:46 Influences: Michał Popiołek

03:09 Personality as a wine and nature

05:15 Winnica Saint Vincent: 16 hectares, organic

06:29 Tasting: Riesling Sekt Brut

07:23 Zielona Góra's wine history and Grempler

09:46 Her path into winemaking

12:25 Organic farming, frost and mildew

13:54 Polish wine at home and abroad, natural wine

16:48 Tasting: Pinot Noir 2021

22:19 Five years from now

📺 Watch the video: https://youtu.be/Mf2qcXs10lE

🍷 Winery: https://winnicasaintvincent.pl/

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

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On a shaded terrace in Grünstadt-Asselheim, in the cool north of the Pfalz, with Martin Metzger of Weingut Metzger. The family estate focuses on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from limestone sites. Martin talks about his training at Friedrich Becker and the advice to make big wines with the stomach, not the head, keeping acidity as the climate warms, green cover that cools the soil from 50–60 to 25–30 degrees, 1.5 hectares of Tempranillo, and the bull label with its meat cuts.

Interview in English.

📍 Grünstadt-Asselheim, Pfalz, Germany

In the glass

1. Chardonnay Asselheim Goldberg 2023: pure limestone at about 270 metres, Meursault selections, about 60% new barriques

2. Pinot Noir Mühlheim Sonnenberg 2022: a south-facing site planted only with Burgundy clones

Chapters

00:00 Introduction: the cool north of the Pfalz

02:50 If not a winemaker: chef

05:09 Inspiration: Friedrich Becker

07:32 Personality as a wine: Chardonnay

10:55 What nature means

13:05 The winery: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and limestone

15:45 Tasting: Chardonnay Asselheim Goldberg 2023

19:14 Global warming, acidity and Tempranillo

21:43 Green cover and vineyard work

24:51 The bull label and its meat cuts

27:09 Tasting: Pinot Noir Mühlheim Sonnenberg 2022

32:10 Five years from now

📺 Watch the video: https://youtu.be/EPG0KWAg6zg

🍷 Winery: https://www.weinmetzger.de/

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

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Ein heißer Augusttag in der Südpfalz: zu Gast bei Volker Benzinger vom ECOVIN-Weingut Benzinger in Gleiszellen. Nach 50 Jahrgängen steht für ihn fest, dass die Natur der Boss ist und Zeit jede önologische Zutat ersetzt. Es geht um die Lehre aus dem Jahrgang 2022, seit der der Sauvignon Blanc morgens um fünf gelesen wird, um Naturweine ohne Schwefel und Filtration, um eine Begrünung, die den Weinberg wie einen Gewürzladen duften lässt, um 30 % weniger Ernte im Bio-Anbau und um den Export nach Italien, Skandinavien und in die USA.

Interview auf Deutsch.

📍 Gleiszellen-Gleishorbach, Südpfalz, Deutschland

Im Glas

1. 2024 Sauvignon Blanc: morgens um fünf mit der Maschine gelesen, um zehn liegt der Most schon im Fass

2. 2023 Sauvignon Blanc Fumé: ein Natural ohne Schwefel, unfiltriert, im neuen Eichenholz vergoren

Kapitel

00:00 Willkommen in der heißen Pfalz: der Jahrgang 2025 bisher

01:40 Wenn nicht Winzer: Traktorfahrer

03:31 50 Jahrgänge: Die Natur ist der Taktgeber

05:14 Verkostung: Sauvignon Blanc 2024 und die Lehren aus 2022

07:56 Persönlichkeit als Wein: provokativ und polarisierend

09:29 Naturwein vs. Minimal Intervention: Zeit ersetzt Zutaten

13:31 Die Natur ist unser Boss

15:00 Starkregen, Ahrflut und Bio-Pflanzenschutz

16:37 ECOVIN: Gemeinschaft, Biodiversität und Begrünung

19:57 Klassische Weine und Naturals: kein Schwefel, 6000 Jahre Tradition

25:04 Verkostung: Sauvignon Blanc Fumé 2023, ein Natural ohne Schwefel

29:17 Export, Naturwein-Hotspots und Germany Sustainable

30:45 In fünf Jahren: kleinere Ernten, höhere Qualität

32:32 Die Krise als Chance und warum Naturwein guttut

📺 Zum Video: https://youtu.be/t825qTEStrE

🍷 Weingut: https://www.weingut-benzinger.de/

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

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A vineyard visit among the sheep with Mira Wolf of Weingut Isegrim, a Bioland family estate in the Pfalz that has been certified organic for 40 years. She explains why the winery carries the name of the fairy-tale wolf, what she learned from Cyril Fhal at Clos du Rouge Gorge in southern France, why she ferments with nothing but grapes and sulfur, what Bioland means to her, and how sheep, green cover and vineyard tastings reconnect people with their wine.

Interview in English.

📍 Bad Dürkheim-Ungstein, Pfalz, Germany

In the glass

1. 2024 Auxerrois: zero sugar, half a year on the full lees in stainless steel, 11.5% alcohol

2. 2019 Riesling Reserve Ungsteiner Herrenberg: from the loess of the estate's home hill, bottled after one year of yeast contact

Chapters

00:00 Welcome among the sheep: why Isegrim?

02:06 If you weren't a winemaker: gardener or cheese maker

04:24 Inspiration: Cyril Fhal, Clos du Rouge Gorge

06:12 Personality as a wine: Riesling Herrenberg 2023

06:56 Nature is the boss

07:22 Climate change and fluctuating vintages

08:31 Weingut Isegrim: family estate, organic for 40 years

11:09 Wine 1 - Auxerrois 2024

13:53 What Bioland means

16:51 Sheep, green cover and biodynamic inspiration

18:53 Reconnecting people with their food and wine

21:09 Wine 2 - Riesling Reserve Herrenberg 2019

25:53 5 years from now

📺 Watch the video: https://youtu.be/bWQ5FA130Ts

🍷 Winery: https://www.weingut-isegrim.de/en

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

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On the road to meet the exhibitors of CCWS Copenhagen 2026: a vineyard date on the Mosel with Christina Andrae, a civil engineer turned winemaker and Ecovin member. She tells us about founding a new organic winery on steep slopes, what she learned from Peter Jakob Kühn, cover plants such as white strawberry, climate change on the Mosel, and the fungus-resistant Sauvignac grape.

Interview in English.

📍 Ernst, Mosel, Germany

In the glass

1. Valwiger Riesling 2022 trocken

2. Ernster Sauvignac 2025 feinherb

Chapters

00:00 Introduction: a vineyard date

01:12 From civil engineer to winemaker

02:05 Inspiration: Peter Jakob Kühn

03:15 Personality as a wine: Riesling and Sauvignac

05:06 Nature, wilderness and structure

06:26 A new organic winery on steep slopes

11:32 Tasting Valwiger Riesling 2022

17:51 Climate change on the Mosel

20:38 Cover plants: white strawberry and Kleines Habichtskraut

25:35 Ecovin and Vision Mosel

31:26 Tasting Sauvignac Feinherb

36:28 Five years from now

📺 Watch the video: https://youtu.be/QUwRPbr_-2k

🍷 Winery: https://www.ae-biowein.de/

📖 More about Christina Andrae: https://coolclimatesummit.com/copenhagen-2026/winemakers/christina-andrae

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

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