Bianka & Daniel Schmitt
Rheinhessen, Germany
This picturesque region (just 45 mins south-west of Frankfurt) benefits from a temperate continental climate with mild winters & warm summers, making it one of Germany's warmest wine-growing departments. Shielded by the Hunsrück hills, Rheinhessen enjoys ample sunshine & moderate rainfall, creating ideal conditions for grape ripening. The varied topography, with its rolling hills, valleys, and proximity to the Rhine River, fosters diverse microclimates that further enhance the complexity of the wines produced here.
Bianka & Daniel are based in the esteemed village of Flörsheim-Dalsheim, located in the southern sub-region of Wonnegau, which has become fertile ground for progressive winemaking thanks 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 own wine for sale & the winery was certified organic beginning in 2007, then Demeter Biodynamic certified in 2012 - one of only 80 properties in Germany to hold the Demeter certification.
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 finished wine, therefore on the purest work possible in the vineyard & in the cellar. The best of the best that are certified, let's say.
Bianka is from Hungary, Daniel is German. They met in 2012 when Bianka became cellar hand at Daniel's family estate. The Schmitts farm various plots in Flörsheim-Dalsheim, Monsheim, and Kriegsheim - they cultivate a total of 16ha of vineyard holdings - their wines are gastronomic & meant to pair with a wide variety of foods. Weingut Bianka & Daniel Schmitt epitomises the new wave of German producers who are creating the highest quality of wines from what nature's nuances have to offer, with as little intervention as possible. As Bianka puts it, the philosophy of the winery is, “Wine just from grapes!”
“Working biodynamically is a lifestyle that includes producing & spreading preparations in the vineyards as well as social interactions. The interactions between the life in the soil (like bacteria, mykorizen, plants as green cover & the vines) are composed with each other. Vines become stronger & get more vitality from a living soil, not from chemical treatments.
This active interaction in the soil life, the mutual strengthening of the plants result in stronger resilience for the vines which reflects the high quality of the grape, supports the presence of the individual soil types (calcareous soil covered by clay, partly loess & gravel). By working according to the biodynamic principles, biodiversity is supported as an automatic successor. As a result, the vineyards & the biotopes created by us offer a home for a diverse & local animal community.
After hand picking, the grapes are processed with or without skin maceration. And rest in wooden oak (5000L, 3000L, 1200L, 600L) or clay amphorae (1200L, 300L) for at least 12 months on the whole yeast depot. The focus is on offering an optimal ageing potential for the years to come." - Bianka & Daniel Schmitt, Weingut Bianka & Daniel Schmitt
