GERMANY

A Quintessential Taste of the Nahe

Schlossgut Diel’s castle and vineyards are of great historical significance. The vineyards were purchased by the Diel family in 1802 from the then-owner Baron Dalberg, who managed to prevent confiscation by Napoleon’s troops in 1789. Today, the vineyard is owned by Armin Diel, well-regarded for his work in promoting German wine, whose daughter Caroline is now the winemaker and owner. Diel’s wines are a study in both terroir and differences in intensity achieved at various levels of ripeness, a testament to Caroline’s expertise in the vineyard and winery. Although the wines are not organically certified, they work according to organic methods as much as possible. The grapes are hand-picked in the vineyard with careful selection. The grapes are pressed in whole clusters, and fermentation takes place spontaneously in various sizes of neutral oak barrels, such as stuckfass, doppelstuck, and cement tanks for the white wines, and small barrels for the red wines. The combination of fantastic vineyards, dedicated vineyard work, and meticulous winemaking has led to the vineyard being praised year after year. The wines stand out, and although the style changes with each vintage, the wines are always brilliant, sophisticated, and balanced.