Bianka and Daniel Schmitt
Rheinhessen, Germany

Rheinhessen, the largest wine growing area in Germany, has long been the focus of bulk & branded wine made from high-yielding crossings. Since the 1980s, however, more & more growers have realised that by limiting yields & focusing on higher-quality grapes/viticulture, truly world-class wine can be made in this region. Renewed attention to the traditional Sylvaner & Riesling grapes, as well as some red varieties, has begun to reshape the way Rheinhessen wine is perceived.

Flörsheim-Dalsheim, located in the southern part of the Rheinhessen, is an up and coming area due to the efforts of a handful of ambitious young vignerons, Bianka & Daniel Schmitt are among them. The Schmitt winery was founded over 235 years ago as part of a farm that also cultivated cereals & sugar beets. In the last quarter of the 20th Century, the Schmitt family began bottling their wine for sale, while also opening a guest house & restaurant on the property. The winery was certified organic beginning in 2007 & Demeter Biodynamic certified in 2012, one of only 75 properties in Germany to hold the Demeter certification.

This was recently taken to greater heights of recognition, following the couple's admission into Nicolas Joly's La Renaissance des Appellations - co-opted unanimously, they are a tight knit group of growers that follow the methods that were approved for indoctrination in conscious winegrowing divinity. The fundamental work of La Renaissance des Appellations is therefore to guarantee & promote the ultimate expression of terroir, based on the diversity of terroirs & quality of the wine, therefore on the purest possible work in the vineyard & in the cellar. The best of the best that are certified, let's say.