Germany · Rheinhessen

Weingut Eckehart Gröhl

A thirteenth-generation Weinolsheim estate where Spätburgunder becomes either a wood-aged red or a pale, stainless-steel Blanc de Noir.

The producer

Weingut Eckehart Gröhl has cultivated vines in Weinolsheim, Rheinhessen, since 1625, and Johannes and Franziska Gröhl represent the family’s thirteenth generation from 2020. Its most revealing bottles are two dry Spätburgunders: the 2021 Dalheimer Alte Reben is fermented on skins and aged for 24 months in Stückfass and barrique, producing a ruby-red wine with dark berries, herbs, earth and tannin; the 2023 Blanc de Noir is pressed immediately, so it keeps a light salmon colour, juicy berry fruit and brisk acidity.

Organic conversion began in 2022, bringing cover crops, handwork and lower yields into the vineyards. In the cellar, spontaneous fermentation, steel, large casks and barriques let each wine take a different shape: the Alte Reben has savoury weight and light smoke from skin contact and wood, while the Blanc de Noir stays lighter in body and dry on the finish because it avoids pigment extraction and matures in stainless steel.

Known for

Dry Spätburgunder in two forms: a long-aged, savoury red and a pale Blanc de Noir.

Notable facts

The story

Four centuries, then a farming change

In 2025, the Gröhl family marked 400 years of winegrowing in Weinolsheim, tracing the estate’s history to Paul Kröllen in 1625. The anniversary came during the thirteenth generation’s early years: Johannes and Franziska had represented the family since 2020, and Johannes, then 27, was converting the business to organic farming while setting a new direction for the wines. Cover crops, more handwork and lower yields entered the vineyard work. The old family chronology already included Karl Gröhl’s press house and vaulted cellar of 1898, estate bottling from 1960, and a modern press house with separate white- and red-wine cellars added in 2003.

From the atlas

Weingut Eckehart Gröhl

In Weinolsheim, Rheinhessen, thirteen generations of family winegrowing meet organic conversion and two sharply different expressions of Spätburgunder.

At A Glance

The Producer

Weingut Eckehart Gröhl is a family estate in Weinolsheim in Rheinhessen, where the Gröhl family has cultivated wine since 1625. The current chapter includes Johannes and Franziska Gröhl, the thirteenth generation from 2020, and the bottles place Riesling alongside Spätburgunder. The red grape is especially revealing here: a dry Dalheimer Spätburgunder uses long skin fermentation and wood ageing for a dark-fruited red, while a pale Blanc de Noir presses the same grape straight away for a lighter, fresh-fruited wine.

The estate’s 2025 anniversary material puts the vineyard area at around 40 hectares, including sites along the Rheinfront. That scale supports a wider grape selection, but the clearest documented contrast lies in the two Spätburgunder Ortsweine: one is built around depth, tannin and oak, the other around acidity, berry fruit and stainless-steel freshness.

Place

Weinolsheim lies in Rheinhessen, Germany’s largest wine region, and the estate’s holdings include Rheinfront sites. On Gröhl’s Ortswein labels, the locality is part of the wine’s frame rather than decoration: the 2021 Dalheimer Spätburgunder identifies a place of origin alongside the grape, then carries its soil mix and cellar treatment into the glass. The 2023 Blanc de Noir is also an Ortswein, although its fruit came from trusted local growers rather than the estate’s own vineyards.

Rheinhessen is not presented here as a single taste. The two documented wines show why locality and method need to be read together: Spätburgunder from the Dalheimer bottling becomes a ruby-red, wood-aged wine, while immediately pressed Spätburgunder becomes a salmon-coloured white wine with more apparent lift from its 6.2 g/l acidity.

Soil And Site

The 2021 Dalheimer Spätburgunder Alte Reben comes from Muschelkalk, clay-marl and loess. Limestone-rich Muschelkalk, clay-marl and wind-blown loess bring different physical conditions to the vines; in this bottle, the result is not a simple soil slogan but a red with dark berry fruit, earth, dried herbs and a firm dry shape. Spontaneous fermentation and two years in wood add further weight, so the ground is one part of a fuller construction.

The estate has also introduced cover crops as part of its organic conversion. Living growth between the rows is used to build humus and support soil structure, while lower yields and handwork concentrate attention on the fruit arriving at harvest. Those vineyard choices lead naturally into selective picking and a cellar programme that can keep fruit, acidity and texture distinct rather than flattening them into one house flavour.

Story

The winery’s buildings trace the shift from family farming to estate bottles. Karl Gröhl built a new winery with a press house and vaulted cellar in 1898; Ernst Gröhl began estate bottling in 1960, putting the family name on wine rather than leaving its work only in the vineyard. Angela and Eckehart Gröhl carried the estate into the next generation in 1994, and a modern press house with separate white- and red-wine cellars followed in 2003. Separate spaces suit a range where red Spätburgunder can stay on skins and age in cask while pale Blanc de Noir is handled gently and kept in stainless steel.

Vineyards And Cellar

Organic conversion began in 2022, with cover crops, handwork, reduced yields and late selective harvesting documented in the vineyards. Later harvesting can bring riper fruit into the cellar, while selection avoids asking every bunch to play the same role. The estate also uses sedimentation, spontaneous fermentation, stainless steel, large wooden casks, barriques and extended ageing on fine lees, choosing the vessel and duration according to the wine rather than forcing Riesling and Spätburgunder into one texture.

The 2021 Alte Reben shows the wood-led end of that work: it fermented spontaneously on skins, then spent 24 months in Stückfass and barrique. Skin contact draws colour and tannin from Spätburgunder; the large cask and smaller barrique add texture and light smoke around its dark fruit. The 2023 Blanc de Noir takes the opposite route, with immediate gentle pressing after harvest to avoid pigment extraction, followed by stainless-steel ageing that keeps its colour pale and its berry fruit direct.

Wines

The documented range includes Riesling and Spätburgunder, with the two Ortsweine offering a useful split in colour, structure and cellar method. The dry 2021 Dalheimer Spätburgunder Alte Reben is a single-variety red at 12.5% alcohol, with no residual sugar, 5.3 g/l acidity and 24 months in wood. Its light ruby colour, tannin and savoury earth place it at the slower, more structured end of the range.

The dry 2023 Blanc de Noir is also entirely Spätburgunder, but it is a pale wine made without skin-colour extraction. At 11.5% alcohol, 6.2 g/l acidity and 4.1 g/l residual sugar, it has less weight than the red and a juicier profile. Stainless steel preserves fresh berry fruit and a lively mineral edge, while the absence of oak leaves the wine’s light salmon colour and brisk texture in view.

In The Glass

The Alte Reben opens with dark forest berries, blackberry and cherry, then moves toward chocolate, dried herbs, almond, earth and a little smoke. On the palate, dry fruit meets moderate body, tannin and wood-derived texture; spontaneous skin fermentation and extended ageing help explain why the wine feels more savoury than a simple berry-led red. The finish is long, with the earthy and herbal notes staying after the fruit.

The Blanc de Noir begins with fresh fruit and juicy berries rather than dark spice. Its light salmon colour follows from the immediate pressing of red-skinned grapes, and its higher acidity brings a more lively mouthfeel than the red. The finish is dry, light-bodied and mineral-tinged, with fruit rather than oak carrying the last impression.

A Bottle To Understand It

Choose the 2021 Dalheimer Spätburgunder Alte Reben trocken. It is a dry, single-variety Spätburgunder Ortswein from Muschelkalk, clay-marl and loess, fermented spontaneously on skins and matured for 24 months in Stückfass and barrique. Dark berries, cherry, dried herbs, earth and light smoke sit over a dry palate with tannin, moderate body and a long savoury finish. This bottle brings vineyard ground, spontaneous fermentation and long wood ageing into one clearly documented red-wine style.

Anecdote

In 2025, the Gröhl family marked 400 years of winegrowing in Weinolsheim, a history the estate traces back to Paul Kröllen in 1625. The anniversary arrived during a generational change: 27-year-old Johannes Gröhl was converting the business to organic farming and directing a complete change of style for the wines. In the vineyards, the shift included more handwork, cover crops and lower yields; in the cellar, the range could move between spontaneous fermentation and wood for the Alte Reben red, or immediate pressing and stainless steel for Blanc de Noir. Johannes and Franziska had represented the thirteenth generation since 2020, and the 2025 anniversary placed that new farming work beside four centuries of family cultivation.

Final Word

Gröhl’s useful contrast is not historical length alone, but what happens when Spätburgunder is handled two ways: dark, dry and wood-aged in the Dalheimer Alte Reben; pale, juicy and stainless-steel-aged in Blanc de Noir. Weinolsheim, organic vineyard work and the cellar’s separate routes remain visible in the bottles.

Sources

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