German wine region Nahe

Not many people have heard of the German wine region Nahe and that’s a shame as some of the oldest vineyards of Germany can be found there and some of the best wines as well! I went to the wine region Nahe and tasted som delicious wines. Below I’m telling you more about the German wine region Naha and I’m sharing my 3 favorite weinguts (wine houses) in Nahe.

Nahe
It’s not very strange that you haven’t heard of Nahe as it is a relatively small wine region. But it’s also a very interesting one. There’s a high variety in soil types in Nahe so the region is able to produce a large range of different wines with relatively few grape sorts. It’s also a great region to drive around in with a peaceful landscape of vineyards, orchards and meadows but also with cliffs and impressive geological formations. There are several good wineries in the region Nahe, I’ve listed my three favorites on this page.

Prinz Salm
Prinz Salm is probably the oldest wine making family in entire Germany. The family has been making wine continuously for 800 years, the 32nd generation is making the wines at the moment. You can find Weingut Prinz Salm in the town Wallhausen.
Just like many German wine houses they mostly grow Riesling, but they also have Weissburgunder and Spatburgunder. In 1988 they began with organic viticulture, as one of the firsts in the country. All hteir wines have the Fair ‘n Green quality mark.
One of my favorite wines from Prinz Salm is their Ritterhölle dry Riesling. It’s cultivated on green slates which is very unique as Germany mostly has red slates. I haven’t seen another green slate German wine before. Because of the green slate, the wines are a tiny bit higher in acidity. The Ritterhölle Riesling trocken would be great with fish or spicy foods.
Prinz Salm also has a great Spätburgunder (pinot noir), their Bingen Spätburgunder Barrique. I tasted a 2014 vintage that was matured in oak barrels for 2 years. It was a very easy red wine with not that much tannins and a hint of vanilla.

And I absolutely want their La Principesse rose sekt brut for my birthday! A sparkling, elegant rose with a pink label on the bottle is perfect for wine loving girls.

Emrich-Schönleber
The Emrich-Schönleber family has been making wine since the mid-18th century. Currently father Werner mostly takes care of the grapes and the vineyard and son Frank mostly takes care of the winemaking proces.
The weingut Emrich-Schönleber has a beautiful, modern tasting room with a panoramic picture of their vineyards on the wall. During wine tastings you can see exactly from which slope your wines come from. Emrich-Schönleber only makes white wines, which I didn’t mind as I love white more than red. About 85% of their wines are Riesling. Some slopes are 70% steep, so they do everything by hand. They don’t want to make wines that are just ‘good’, they want wines that each have their own individual character. One of my favorite wines was the ‘Lenz’ (‘spring’) Riesling. When I tasted it, it was just bottled that week. It was very floral, fruity and open. It’s a bit sweeter dan a dry wine, but not as sweet as you’d think of with an ‘off-dry’ wine. Another great one is the 2015 Halenberg Riesling -R-. The R stands for richer, as it’s creamier. It’s classified as Grosse Lage from VDP.

Dönnhoff
The Dönnhoff family has a deep passion for making wines which results in high quality wines that you all want to take home with you. They’re located in the middle of the Nahe wine region and have been making wines for 250 years. They have 28 hectares and produce about 180.000 bottles a year. About 80% of their wines are Rieslang and 20% is Weissburgunder and Grauburgunder. They’re known around the world for their fine wines. Their dry Rieslings are clean and vibrant and very elegant.

A great hotel to stay at during your time in Nahe is QL Hotel Meisenheimer Hof in Meisenheim.

Click here to read more on Germany as a wine region.

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