Germany · Rheinhessen

Weingut Dreissigacker

A Bechtheim estate in Rheinhessen’s Wonnegau, led by Jochen Dreissigacker and centred on dry Riesling shaped by manual vineyard work, gravity handling and lees ageing.

The producer

Weingut Dreissigacker works vineyards around Bechtheim and Westhofen, with Riesling at the heart of the range and Weissburgunder offering a more savoury white-wine alternative. The estate follows organic-viticulture rules and has followed biodynamic rules since 2020; compost, species-rich cover and reduced plant protection support fertile vineyard ground, while almost 1,000 hours of manual work per hectare concentrate attention on the fruit before it reaches the cellar.

Dreissigacker Riesling 2024 translates that work into a dry, fresh wine: spontaneous fermentation, some whole berries, mostly stainless-steel ageing and time on gross and fine lees bring citrus, spice, acidity and a textured mid-palate. Weissburgunder 2024 moves towards stone, herbs, tart stone fruit and saline mineral notes, with a light creamy weight and bitter-herbal finish. For a more unusual Riesling, Vintages Edition V blends separately matured wines from seven harvests between 2017 and 2023.

Known for

Dry Rheinhessen Riesling with fresh acidity, citrus-and-spice fruit and lees-built texture.

Notable facts

The story

Seven Harvests, One Riesling

For Vintages Edition V, Dreissigacker did not bottle a single Riesling harvest on its own. The cellar kept Riesling parcels and vintages from 2017 through 2023 separate as they matured, then brought seven wines together for the final blend. The components were chosen for different material: 2017 contributed juiciness and developed flavours, 2020 supplied mineral freshness, and 2021 added balanced fruitiness. The finished wine is therefore built from different years with distinct roles, rather than from one growing season alone. Its bottle joins older flavours and younger fruit in a single dry Riesling assembled after years of separate cellar work.

From the atlas

Weingut Dreissigacker

At A Glance

Weingut Dreissigacker is a Bechtheim estate in Rheinhessen’s Wonnegau area, run by Jochen Dreissigacker. Riesling sits at the centre of the documented range, with Weissburgunder providing a broader, creamier white-wine shape. Wein.plus lists the estate’s foundation year as 1728; Jochen Dreissigacker and Achim Bicking are named as its winemakers.

The working premise is hands in the vineyard and measured handling in the cellar. The estate says it spends almost 1,000 hours of manual labour on each hectare annually, farms organically and biodynamically, moves wine by gravity, and uses lees ageing to build texture in its dry Riesling.

The Producer

Jochen Dreissigacker leads an old Bechtheim estate whose wines are rooted in Rheinhessen rather than a single advertised flagship. The vineyards around Bechtheim and Westhofen supply dry Riesling and Weissburgunder, while the cellar turns that fruit into wines with fresh acidity, lees-derived weight and restrained oak influence. Biodynamic rules have been followed since 2020, extending the estate’s longer-established organic approach.

Place

Bechtheim lies in Wonnegau, within Rheinhessen, and Dreissigacker also works vineyards around nearby Westhofen. Those two places matter because they supply the fruit for the estate’s dry, place-led Rieslings rather than functioning merely as addresses on a label. The regional focus carries through from the estate Riesling to more elaborate blends such as Vintages Edition V, assembled from separately matured Riesling components.

Soil And Site

The supplied evidence does not name a soil type, so the physical story begins with how the ground is managed. Species-rich vineyard cover, compost fertilisation and reduced plant protection are used to maintain soil fertility and biodiversity. Nearly 1,000 hours of hand work per hectare makes this a labour-heavy approach, with vine rows and soil treated as working parts of the finished wine rather than as a backdrop to it.

Story

The estate’s timeline reaches back to 1728, while its present-day direction is led by Jochen Dreissigacker. Organic practice has long formed part of the work, and biodynamic rules joined it in 2020. In the winery, the same patience appears in spontaneous fermentation, separate maturation of different Riesling lots, and time on lees. The consequence is not a uniform recipe: an everyday dry Riesling and a seven-vintage cuvée can share a house approach while arriving at different textures and flavours.

Vineyards And Cellar

Dreissigacker’s vineyard work combines compost, cover crops and minimal plant protection with extensive manual labour. The aim is living, fertile ground and healthy vines, which places more emphasis on the fruit arriving in sound condition. Once picked, wine is moved by gravity rather than pumps, avoiding an extra mechanical stage before fermentation and ageing.

Dreissigacker Riesling 2024 shows the cellar detail clearly. It ferments spontaneously, with some whole berries included, then spends six months on gross lees and further time on fine lees. Ninety percent matures in stainless steel and ten percent in Doppelstück cask, a large traditional barrel. Stainless steel preserves a direct citrus-and-acidity line; lees supply mid-palate texture; the small cask share adds shape without turning the wine into an oak-driven Riesling.

Wines

The core range begins with dry Riesling, where freshness, spice and fine mineral character meet lees texture. Dreissigacker Riesling 2024 is the clearest example of the estate’s cellar method: mostly stainless steel for bright fruit and acidity, with a small barrel component and extended lees contact for body and a longer finish.

Weissburgunder 2024 changes the register. It is analytically dry, with 2.8 g/l residual sugar and 5.9 g/l acidity, and its profile is stony, herbal and saline rather than overtly fruity. A touch of creamy weight sits alongside tart stone fruit and bitter-herbal notes, making it a useful contrast to Riesling’s citrus-and-spice profile.

Vintages Edition V is a Riesling assembled from seven harvests, 2017 through 2023, whose parcels and vintages mature separately before blending. The 2017 element contributes juicy, developed flavour; 2020 brings mineral freshness; 2021 brings balanced fruit. Vintages Red also appears in the range, though the supplied material does not establish its grape composition or taste.

In The Glass

Start with the estate Riesling’s fresh, dry profile: citrus-led fruit, spice and fine mineral notes ride on lively acidity. Whole-berry fermentation and time on gross and fine lees bring more texture through the centre of the palate, while the largely stainless-steel élevage keeps the finish clean rather than woody.

The Weissburgunder is cooler and more savoury in expression. Its nose moves through stone, herbs and restrained fruit; the palate has a compact body, saline mineral character and a light creamy layer. Candied pineapple, tart stone fruit, dried flowers and bitter herbs emerge towards the finish, so its dryness feels firm and food-minded rather than severe.

A Bottle To Understand It

Choose Dreissigacker Riesling 2024 first. It is dry Riesling made with spontaneous fermentation, some whole berries, a 90/10 split between stainless steel and Doppelstück cask, then gross- and fine-lees ageing. In the glass, expect fresh acidity, citrus fruit, spice and mineral notes, with enough lees texture to give the palate weight before a clean finish. It puts the estate’s grape, vineyard work and cellar method in one readily legible bottle.

Anecdote

For Vintages Edition V, Dreissigacker did not select one harvest and bottle it alone. The wine brings together seven separately matured Riesling vintages from 2017 to 2023. Each component had a stated task before the final blend: 2017 supplied juiciness and developed flavours, 2020 mineral freshness, and 2021 balanced fruitiness. The blend therefore joins wines of different ages rather than smoothing them into a single-vintage style. Its bottle records a sequence of harvests held apart in the cellar before they were brought together as one Riesling.

Final Word

Dreissigacker is most clearly understood through dry white wines shaped by Bechtheim and Westhofen fruit, intensive vineyard work and a cellar that uses gravity, vessel choice and lees contact to build freshness, texture and finish.

Sources

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