Hannes & Claudiu
Pfalz, Germany

In South Pfalz, surrounded by the dense Palatinate Forest, Hannes Bergdoll and Claudiu Dumea creatively collaborate to produce stunning wines of immense drinkability and charm. The two met in Frankfurt, where Claudiu continues to run a wine bar called Espresso Espresso. A friendship blossomed, and when the two decided to try their hand at vinification, Hannes’ family offered a portion of their vines up for the worthy project.

From the municipality of Landau they grow native and international grapes like riesling, scheurebe, silvaner, müller-thurgau, gelber muskateller, huxel, weißburgunder, grauburgunder, chardonnay, spätburgunder, donfelder and blauer portugieser, and the team approaches winemaking from two equally important angles.

Hannes Bergdoll offers an analytical, farming-based approach, coming as he did from a generation of German viticulturists. Hannes seeks out the highest quality fruit, and achieves this through organic and biodynamic farming. Like many great viticultors, Hannes prefers to utilise tea-based sprays in his vines rather than the soil-eroding copper sulfur mixture.

Claudiu Dumea: Italian sommelier and the “nose” of the operation, so to speak. Seeking balance, harmony, and that ever-desirable moreishness of great wine, Claudiu approaches the vinification of each wine with great care.

The team seek to channel the vast and ethereal charm of the slightly elevated Southern Pfalz region, where vines close to the forest grow roots into dense limestone bedrock and vines further from the forest’s edge sink into porous red sandstone soils. At an average of 30 years old, the vines produce ample terroir-driven fruit, which enter the cellar for a decidedly hands-off approach to vinification. Collaboratively, the two chose to neither fine nor filter the wines, and to bottle everything without the use of sulfites.

There’s something to be said about the dual-faceted approach to this project: two skilled mindsets set towards a shared goal. Purity and quality of fruit comes through each wine in waves, and a bold approach to vinification is rewarded with wines of decided vitality and character.