WINERY: d.b Schmitt
GRAPE:  Scheurebe, Weißburgunder, Huxelrebe, Grauburgunder, Ortega
REGION: Rheinhessen
 
Bianka and Daniel Schmitt are two talented young winemakers making biodynamic wine “just from grapes”  in the Rheinhessen region of Germany. The wines are pure and fresh, full of personality and life.
 
Rheinhessen is the largest wine growing region in Germany, and has been largely associated with bulk production. However, in recent years, the region’s reputation has begun to shift as a new generation of younger, more innovative growers are reducing yields and honing in on the largely undervalued terroir of this region. Bianka and Daniel epitomize this new wave of German winemakers, working hard to produce wines of the highest quality with as little intervention as possible.
 
The Weingut Schmitt winery has been in the family for over 200 years. Bianka and Daniel have been working their 16 hectares biodynamically for over a decade and are one of only 80 producers in Germany to be Demeter certified. They work with amphorae as well as used oak barrels and release a ‘Natur’ line that contains no added sulphur.
 
The idea behind the wine is to offer something uncomplicated and refreshing – an introduction to natural wine. The litre bottle is to say that it is a bottle for friends and for the table. Something to be enjoyed rather than analysed.
 
Frei Körper Kultur is about re-working the idea of tradition. Freikorperkultur is normally written as one word. This is separated on the bottle to three. Frei – be free (be brave to be free), Korper – body (we are all the same kind) and Kultur – culture (cultivate your nature). In essence, natural wine is just pure wine – nothing fancy or clever - and that wine is individual because the people behind it are individuals.
 
VINEYARD
Region: Rheinhessen
Grape: Scheurebe, Weißburgunder, Huxelrebe, Grauburgunder, Ortega
Vineyard Size: 16 hectares
Soil: limestone, sandstone, clay
Average Age of Vines:
Farming: biodynamic
Harvest: by hand
 
WINEMAKING
Alcohol: 12% Suitable for Vegan and Vegetarian Manual harvest • Whole bunch/destemmed? Huxelrebe and Scheurebe are destemmed. • These two grapes spend two weeks on skins • Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Ortega whole-bunch pressed to retain freshness and avoid oxygen • Indigenous yeasts / Ambient ferment • Fermentation vessel – Fibreglass epoxy-lined • Malo done • Aged on lees in tanks for nine months
Winemaking: 3 week maceration of Scheurebe, Weißburgunder, Huxelrebe, whole cluster, spontaneous fermentation in fiberglass with indigenous yeasts
Aging: in fiberglass
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: 15 mg/L
 
TASTING NOTES
Floral and exotic fruit notes, balanced, velvety texture with a persistent finish. This is a crazy blend of Scheurebe 10%, Huxelrebe 20%, Pinot Gris 30%, Pinot Blanc 20% & Ortega 20%