Sparkling wines of the year 2021 awarded // Griesel Sekt wins sparkling wine collection of the year for the first time // Raumland achieves a coup // around 25 percent awarded 90 points and more
More and more German wine producers are dedicating themselves to the supreme discipline of sparkling wine production. For the seventh time, Meiningers Deutscher Sektpreis honors the best German sparkling wines from traditional bottle fermentation. The jury confirms exceptional qualities.
German sparkling wine from traditional bottle fermentation is enjoying increasing popularity and recognition. In the past, sparkling wines from the well-known regions of France, Italy or Spain were the preferred choice, but nowadays the right sparkling wine for almost any occasion can be found on the lists of German sparkling wine producers as well.
On three tasting days, the expert jury tasted over 500 sparkling wines sent in by 230 sparkling wine producers. First, all sparkling wines were tasted individually and without knowledge of the producer and evaluated on the basis of the international 100-point scheme. The next step was to select the winners from the six best sparkling wines in each category in a direct comparison.
In the Riesling sparkling wine category, this year’s winner is Sekthaus Krack from Deidesheim in the Palatinate with its first single vineyard sparkling wine. Second place goes to Staatliche Weinbaudomäne Oppenheim from Rheinhessen, also with a single vineyard sparkling wine. Third place goes to a Riesling from Sekthaus Raumland that has been on the yeast for more than 12 years: 2008 Riesling Grande Réserve brut, a sparkling wine of this kind that is possibly unique in Germany.
Two categories are dedicated exclusively to sparkling wines produced from Burgundy grape varieties. These varieties are ideally suited for the production of high-quality sparkling wines; in Champagne, for example, they also build the basis for the most famous sparkling wine origin in the world.
In the category of Burgundy sparkling wines that have been on their yeasts for less than 36 months, the winner is Griesel Sekt from Bensheim, Hessische Bergstrasse. Second place goes to Weingut Gabel from Herxheim am Berg. Third place is awarded to the Brenneisen winery from Efringen-Kirchen (Baden).
The Prestige Burgundy sparkling wine category (at least 36 months of yeast aging) is dominated this year by the most successful sparkling wine producer of recent years: all three places on the podium this year are occupied by the Sekthaus Raumland. The Raumland family has thus achieved a feat that no other sparkling wine producer has ever accomplished at Meiningers Deutscher Sektpreis.
The theme of rosé is omnipresent this year, and the tasting of rosé sparkling wines clearly showed that in addition to their classic use as a welcome drink, they can also be perfect accompaniments to food. In this category, too, one sparkling wine producer is represented twice: both first and second place were awarded to Griesel Sekt from Bensheim. Third place goes to Weingut Reinhardt from Niederkirchen in the Palatinate. Together with Weingut Gabel and Sekthaus Krack, Weingut Reinhardt belongs to the generation of young, up-and-coming sparkling wine makers in the Palatinate.
In addition to the classic Burgundy varieties and, of course, Riesling, a number of other grape varieties that were tasted in the Sortenvielfalt category (various grape varieties) are suitable for great sparkling wines. Here, a grape variety more native to Austria takes the victory: the 2019 Grüner Veltliner brut from Weingut Hammel in Kirchheim (Pfalz) wins first place. Second place is awarded to Weingut Kuhn from Freiburg, Baden, and third place goes to Weingut Sektgut Destillerie A. Diehl from Edesheim, Palatinate.
In the category of dry sparkling wines, which have more residual sweetness than the brut-flavored sparkling wines, two rosé sparkling wines come out on top this year. First place is won by Leitzgen Weine from Bremm on the Moselle, followed by the Simon-Bürkle winery from Zwingenberg (Hessische Bergstrasse) with second place. Third place is taken home by the Weingut auf den fünfzehn Morgen from Selzen, Rheinhessen, which has already been on the winners’ podium in previous years.
The “Sparkling Wine Collection of the Year 2021” award determines the best overall result based on the individual scores of the sparkling wines. With calculation by decimal places, the decision has never been so close. Griesel Sekt, which has shown a more than impressive development in the past years since its foundation in 2013, conquers the award “Sparkling Wine Collection of the Year” for the first time, closely followed by Sekthaus Raumland. Both sparkling wine producers received an average of over 92 points for their sparkling wines.
Overall, the competition shows that in addition to these two companies as the spearhead of German sparkling wine producers, there is a proud number of other outstanding sparkling wine producers. With 90 points and more on average, sparkling wine producers such as Sekthaus Burkhardt Schür, Weingut Brenneisen, Staatliche Weinbaudomäne Oppenheim, Weingut Bernhard Koch, Weingut Simon-Bürkle, Weingut Reichsrat von Buhl, Weingut Bergdolt Klostergut St. Lamprecht, Sektkellerei Andres und Mugler and Weingut Geheimer Rat Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan have placed here.
A proud 119 sparkling wines were awarded 90 or more points in Meiningers Deutscher Sektpreis 2021, impressively underlining the high quality of German sparkling wines from traditional bottle fermentation.
Christian Wolf, Director Degustation at Meininger Verlag, said, “German sparkling wine from traditional bottle fermentation is one of the flagships of German winemakers and sparkling wine makers today. What we were able to taste this year clearly shows that the handle can happily go to Germany in search of an outstanding sparkling wine. Domestic producers manage par excellence to offer stylistic diversity, whether it’s Prestige Burgundy sparkling wine, Rosé sparkling wine or primary-fruited Riesling sparkling wine.”
This year’s winners of Meiningers Deutscher Sektpreis are once again presented online by Christian Wolf, Director Degustation, and Sascha Speicher, editor-in-chief of meiningers sommelier. You can find the video here (German language): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMDPjNJBKVY
All award-winning sparkling wines as well as further information on the seventh Meiningers Deutscher Sektpreis can be found at: www.meininger.de.
The first-place winners and the top 100 best German sparkling wines from traditional bottle fermentation will be presented by Meiningers Weinwelt in its next issue, which will be published in mid-September.
About Meiningers Deutscher Sektpreis
Since 2015, a select jury of sparkling wine experts has met once a year in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse to blind taste and evaluate around 600 sparkling wines using the internationally recognized 100-point scheme. The competition is the only officially recognized competition exclusively for German sparkling wines from traditional bottle fermentation.
The competition is organized by Meininger Verlag, founded in 1903 in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, one of Germany’s oldest specialist publishers and now run by Andrea Meininger-Apfel and Christoph Meininger in the fourth generation. The company specializes in particular in the wine and beverage industry and its portfolio makes it the European market leader in the wine sector. In addition to well-known trade magazines, the company organizes trade fairs, industry events and trade congresses. Internationally, Meininger Verlag has made a successful name for itself with the MUNDUS VINI Grand International Wine Award.
