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Schweigen-Rechtenbach SonnenbergImage: Deutsches Weininstitut
Schweigen-Rechtenbach Sonnenberg. German wine from French soil. Although the vines of the Schweigen-Rechtenbach winegrowers are partly on the territory of the Alsatian municipality of Wissembourg, the wines may be marketed under the name of the German single vineyard Sonnenberg. An exceptional regulation makes this possible. The vineyards have been owned by German winegrowing families for generations. Between 1871 and 1919, Alsace and thus also Wissembourg (Weißenburg) belonged to the German Empire. The vineyards in the Sonnenberg, classified by the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP) as Große Lagen and Erste Lagen, are mainly on the French side: the Große Lagen Heydenreich, Kammerberg, Kostert, Sankt Paul and Rädling as well as the Erste Lagen Enggasse, Finstergasse, Güldenwingert, Steinwingert and Wormberg. In addition to parts of the single vineyard site under wine law, the Große Lage Sonnenberg also includes vineyards on the other side of the border. Only the Erste Lagen Pfarrwingert and Herrenwingert are located entirely on German territory.

Our Latest Ratings

Winewhitedry to off-dryWeißer Riesling

2024 Lieser Niederberg-Helden Riesling Alte Reben Réserve Qualitätswein

Thanisch, Lieser

Germany

Mosel • Geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung (g. U.)

Amtliche Prüfungsnummer 2589227 20 25 • 12 % vol alcohol

17🯅🕓

Tasted on 14 May 2026 by Werner Elflein

WinewhitesweetWeißer Riesling

2025 Riesling Qualitätswein

Thanisch, Lieser

Germany

Mosel • Geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung (g. U.)

Amtliche Prüfungsnummer 2589377 11 25 • 10 % vol alcohol

13🯅🕓

Tasted on 14 May 2026 by Werner Elflein

WinewhitedryRuländer

2025 Grauburgunder Qualitätswein trocken

Thanisch, Lieser

Germany

Mosel • Geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung (g. U.)

Amtliche Prüfungsnummer 2589377 24 26 • 12.5 % vol alcohol

15🯅🕓

Tasted on 14 May 2026 by Werner Elflein

WinewhitedryWeißer Riesling

2024 Lieser Niederberg-Helden Riesling Qualitätswein trocken

Großes Gewächs

Thanisch, Lieser

Germany

Mosel • Geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung (g. U.)

Amtliche Prüfungsnummer 2589227 23 25 • 12.5 % vol alcohol

17.5🯅🕓

Tasted on 14 May 2026 by Werner Elflein

Sparkling winewhitedryWeißer Riesling

Riesling Sekt trocken

Thanisch, Lieser

Germany

Lot number DRP 907 133 • 12 % vol alcohol

13🯅🕓

Tasted on 14 May 2026 by Werner Elflein

Symbols
🯅The rating of the wine is based on a single taster. The taster is named in the context of the rating. The tasting was either open or blind. In case of a blind tasting, it is explicitly labelled as such.
🯅🯅The rating of the wine is based on two tasters. The tasters are named in the context of the rating. The tasting was carried out according to the four-eyes principle, in which both tasters agree on a joint rating.
🯅🯅🯅The rating is based on a tasting by our jury and indicates the Mean value calculated by us from the individual ratings of the tasters. Our mean value is based on the median.
⚖The wine was evaluated in a blind tasting. We have strict rules for blind tastings. The tasters do not receive any information that would allow them to identify the wines. The tasters are only given access to further information that goes beyond the subject matter if it is absolutely necessary for understanding the wines.
🕓We only had limited time to taste the wine  - typically during an open tasting event, such as a wine fair. It was therefore not possible to observe the development of the wine in the glass over a longer period of time. The informative value of our rating may therefore be limited under certain circumstances.
⛬The wine was tasted as a barrel sample or before an official test number (Amtliche Prüfungsnummer or Staatliche Prüfnummer) was issued. We only accept samples of unfilled wines in exceptional cases, and then only if we can assume sufficient stability in the bottle for a period of at least three months.
▲During our tasting, the wine showed conspicuous sensory characteristics. This does not necessarily have to be a wine fault. We categorise the quality and quantity of the abnormality and include it in the rating. Wine faults such as cork taint or an atypical ageing generally lead to a complete rejection.
Tastings that refer to the same bottle of a wine are visually summarised by a dotted line.

Our Latest Posts

Satire

Wellness for the Vineyards

Massage Techniques for Vines are Revolutionising Viticulture
Image: weinfreaks.de
In spring, even before the vines begin to bud, the first seasonal workers are already busy tending the vines in the Saar vineyards. At the famous Scharzhofberg, the focus is not on pruning or tilling the soil. Instead, you see the workers bent over the vines, massaging the wood with their hands just a few centimetres above the root zone.
Facts

The Rescue of Moselle Apollo and Steep-Slope Viticulture

Melanargia and Deutsche Umwelthilfe Have Lost at the Court, Rescue Measures for the Moselle Apollo are Effective
Image: Detlef Mader
At the end of 2023, we reported for the first time on the serious threat to the Moselle Apollo butterfly. In April 2025, a report was published on the feared imminent extinction of the unique knight butterfly and the absurd lawsuit brought by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Melanargia – Rheinisch-Westfälischer Lepidopterologen (AGL) and the Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) for a ban on helicopter spraying in steep-slope viticulture on the Moselle, which has since been rejected by the administrative courts in four rulings. Therefore, there are now renewed hope.
Facts

When Wine Disappears

On the Erosion of a Culture of Enjoyment
Image: Pixabay
Wine is more than just a matter of taste or fashion. It is a structural element of everyday life and has long been embedded in social rituals and cultural habits. In the post-war period, especially from the 1950s onwards, wine became a symbol of stability, routine and prosperity. The integration of wine into everyday life was not a luxury phenomenon, but rather an expression of the social and economic conditions of the time, which were characterised by predictable career paths, stable incomes and clear social milieus.
Comment

Dry January

Moral Imperative or Cultureless Dogmatism?
Image: Pixabay
At the beginning of each year, the collective abstinence parade known as Dry January begins anew. A whole month without alcohol, marketed as an act of self-control, as a contribution to physical regeneration, as a signal of a “sensible lifestyle”. Those who opt out of this ritual quickly find themselves under pressure to justify their decision. What appears to be a voluntary health initiative, however, on closer inspection turns out to be a media-driven standardisation project that suppresses enjoyment, culture and differentiation in favour of simple messages.
Obituary

Remembering Hans-Günter Schwarz

On the Death of the Legendary Winemaker
Image: Wikipedia
Germany's wine world is in mourning. Hans-Günter Schwarz passed away on 21 November 2025 at the age of 84. For decades, Schwarz was arguably the most prominent figure in the German wine scene. He established the international reputation of the Müller-Catoir winery and trained many young winemakers to become top producers. His achievements remain unrivalled to this day.
Comment

Terroir and Misunderstanding

Why the Grape Variety Matters
Image: weinfreaks.de
“A spectre is haunting the world of wine. Its name is terroir.” [translated] With these words, Reinhard Löwenstein once opened his famous essay “Vom Öchsle zum Terroir” (From Oechsle to Terroir), published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in October 2003. The article was preceded by years of discussion that had shaped the German wine scene since at least the late 1990s. Löwenstein's essay was of enormous importance to the discourse at the time. In many respects, it is still highly topical. Nevertheless, the headline itself contains a serious misunderstanding.
Tasting

Bordeaux: 2022 a Vintage of the Century?

Great Wines despite Great Drought
Image: weinfreaks.de
Apostrophising a vintage as the vintage of the century even before a centenary has passed may seem premature. However, with regard to the 2022s from the Bordeaux region, the assessment that exceptional wines were produced in that year is undoubtedly anything but bold. Of course, not all châteaux were able to triumph. Moreover, the 2022 was anything but a sure-fire success. The course of the vintage presented the winemakers with major challenges. However, in many cases, the result in the bottle can be downright inspiring. We tasted a cross-section of the vintage on the occasion of the presentation of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux at this year's ProWein.
Comment

ProWein in Decline

Large Drop in Exhibitors and Visitors at the International Wine Fair in Düsseldorf
Image: Messe Düsseldorf
In its press release, Messe Düsseldorf celebrates ProWein 2025 (16–18 March) as a success. However, the facts speak a different language. Only 4200 exhibitors, 20 per cent fewer than last year, were spread across the eleven exhibition halls. The number of visitors also fell, by a good ten per cent to 42000 compared to 2024. While the trade fair continues to emphasise the outstanding importance of ProWein for the international wine industry, the exodus of German wine producers in particular has reached a new dimension. Only around 900 exhibitors came from Germany in 2025.

A selection of our previous posts

Tasting

Innovation Grauburgunder

100 Years of Bickensohl Weinvogtei
Image: weinfreaks.de
Until the 1980s, Pinot Gris was still known exclusively as Ruländer in Germany. The grapes produce mostly sweet, opulent white wines. When the demand for dry wines increased, many German winegrowers changed their harvesting strategy. They now harvested the Ruländer grapes earlier and in a healthy, botrytis-free state. In order to leave the image of the chubby Ruländer behind them, they named the grape variety Grauburgunder on their bottle labels from then on. The first Ruländer to be marketed as Grauburgunder was bottled by the Bickensohl winegrowers' cooperative.
Tasting

Stylistic Device Reduction

Playing with the Fire
Image: Pixabay
Reduction occurs during fermentation as a result of a stress situation for the yeasts, primarily due to a lack of oxygen or nitrogen. It manifests itself in the wine as a sulfurous odour reminiscent of burnt matches, flint or flintstone. Reduction must be differentiated from the related mercaptan sulfurous off-flavour, which can produce unpleasant odours of rotten eggs, among other things, and is a serious wine defect. Because some reduction notes are perceived as quite pleasant, many winemakers try to bring them out in the wine.
Tasting

On the Trail of the Romans

The Resurrection of the Vinum Hadrianum
Image: Vinum Hadrianum
It was his grandfather who once awakened Piero Pavone's fascination for Roman history. In Pavone's hometown, the small town of Atri at the foot of the Abruzzi, the ancient Hadria, this history is still omnipresent and alive today. As a young man, Piero Pavone was initially drawn away from Atri to the big city. But twenty years later he returned to his roots, with the idea of reviving the Vinum Hadrianum, the wine from Roman times.
Tasting

Foam from the Shore of Lake Garda

Four Remarkable Sparkling Wines from Northern Italy
Image: Pixabay
Lake Garda is the largest inland lake in Italy. While it is surrounded to the north, west and east by the foothills of the Alps, which reach up to 2000 metres, the southern shore already lies in the lowlands of the Po. Three wine-growing regions border the lake, and sparkling wine production has a long tradition in all of them. We present four sparkling wines for everyday domestic use. Three rosés and one single-varietal Chardonnay. From extra dry to extra brut.
Tasting

Germany's first “Climate Vintner”

Our Discovery in the Kraichgau: David Klenert
Image: Pixabay
David Klenert is Germany's first “climate vintner”. His winery in Kraichtal-Münzesheim, founded in 2015, is not only certified organic, the young winemaker even goes one step further. His approach to improving the quality of the soil and thus helping to reduce global CO2 consumption initially led him to a farmer friend. From there he adopted ideas from regenerative agriculture, with the aim of gradually increasing the natural humus content of his vineyard soils from the current 1.5 to up to four percent. Depending on the soil type, this corresponds to a binding of an additional 70 to 130 tonnes of CO2 per hectare.
Tasting

Martin Gerlach's Restart on the Lower Moselle

A First Stocktaking After the Merger of Gerlachs Mühle and Von Schleinitz
Image: Pixabay
Martin Gerlach was and is the owner of the Gerlachs Mühle winery on the Lower Moselle. When the possibility of a merger with the traditional von Schleinitz estate presented itself to him two years ago, he jumped at the chance. The “merger on trial” planned for the first few years, however, already promises to be a complete success. With the first vintage of the two united wineries, Martin Gerlach has already made a remarkable new start.
Tasting

25 Vintages Estate Riesling

Robert Weil Impresses with a Vertical of a Special Kind
Image: weinfreaks.de
In case of the Robert Weil estate, most wine journalists agree: it is one of the best Riesling producers in Germany. However, there was and is not only praise in the wine scene. Especially in the area of litre wines and estate Rieslings, there is always criticism of fillings that do not meet the high standards of the house. An on-site tasting in August 2018 at least answered the question of what excellence the winery is capable of.
Tasting

90 Percent Riesling

The Ruwer Trumps
Image: Deutsches Weininstitut
The vineyards in the Ruwer valley belong to the Moselle wine-growing region, which was still called Mosel-Saar-Ruwer until the law was changed in 2006. Riesling dominates the steep slopes. A proud 90 percent of the area is planted with the noble white wine grape. Nowhere else is the proportion of Riesling in the grape variety list higher. Although the filigree and subtle Rieslings from the Ruwer are very similar to those from the Moselle and Saar, they have their own distinctive character. As a result of a longer growing season and lower average temperatures compared to the Moselle Valley, the Ruwer Rieslings are much more acidic and have a pronounced green herbaceous aroma, especially in cooler years.