From the atlas
Weingut Gerhard Deim
At A Glance
Weingut Gerhard Deim works from Schönberg at the northern end of Kamptal in Lower Austria, with Grüner Veltliner and Riesling at the centre of its still wines. Named-vineyard Grüner Veltliner from Ried Bernthal brings barrel-aged yellow fruit and spice, while 50:50 places sparkling wine alongside the regional whites.
The Producer
Gerhard Deim senior and Gerhard Deim junior run a family estate built around cross-generational work: established methods remain in use while younger experimentation enters the cellar and vineyards. That approach appears in a range rooted in Kamptal’s Grüner Veltliner and Riesling, then widened by site-named wines and sparkling bottles.
The estate measures work across its wine hierarchy through attention to individual vines. A named wine such as Ried Bernthal therefore starts with a particular vineyard rather than a broad regional blend, before its élevage adds another layer to the bottle.
Place
Schönberg sits in a basin near Kamptal’s northern end, where hot days are followed by especially cool nights. Daytime warmth can bring grapes to ripeness, while the night air helps retain freshness; in Deim’s Grüner Veltliner, that combination suits a palate with ripe yellow fruit rather than weight alone.
Kamptal’s regional strengths, Grüner Veltliner and Riesling, set the estate’s frame. Grüner Veltliner provides the clearest documented route into named sites such as Bernthal, while Riesling keeps the range connected to the same cool-night setting.
Soil And Site
Ried Bernthal is a single vineyard linking Schönberg and Mollands. Its southeast-facing terraces receive morning sun, which helps grapes dry quickly during autumn; the practical consequence is fruit from a defined slope, available for a separate Grüner Veltliner rather than being absorbed into a general bottling.
No packet-backed soil description is available for Bernthal, so the vineyard is best understood here through exposure and position. The Bernthal name on the wine directs attention to that terrace setting, while the barrel maturation determines much of the wine’s later aromatic shape.
Story
The Deim family’s current story is not one of a handover from past to present, but of two generations working at once. Gerhard Deim senior and junior combine established practice with younger experimentation, so the cellar does not treat every Kamptal grape in the same way: a vineyard Grüner Veltliner can take large oak and acacia casks, while sparkling wine remains part of the estate’s offer.
That choice of formats keeps the estate close to its regional grapes without narrowing the outcome to one texture. The Bernthal bottle uses a site name and long-lived vessels; 50:50 shows that the same producer also makes wine with mousse and a different drinking rhythm.
Vineyards And Cellar
Care for individual vines is the estate’s stated starting point, and Ried Bernthal shows how that work continues after harvest. The Grüner Veltliner matures in 500-litre oak and acacia barrels, large enough for the wine’s yellow fruit to remain present while vanilla, marzipan, tobacco and aniseed appear around it.
Those vessels matter because the documented 2020 Bernthal tastes juicy rather than simply woody. Oak and acacia frame apricot, yellow apple and orange zest, while subtle acidity keeps the mouthfeel moving into a fruity finish.
Wines
Deim’s range has three useful shapes. Grüner Veltliner and Riesling provide the regional still-wine base; Ried Bernthal and Ried Kalvarienberg bring named-vineyard bottlings into view; and 50:50 occupies the sparkling category. The result is not a ladder of status but a choice between still or sparkling texture, and between regional grape character and a particular site name.
Ried Bernthal Grüner Veltliner is the most detailed bottle in the available record. Its 500-litre oak and acacia maturation accompanies yellow apple, apricot, orange zest, tobacco, aniseed and vanilla, with juicy fruit and discreet acidity. Ried Kalvarienberg is another vineyard wine, documented through its 2022 vintage and a 2024 IWSC Wine Trophy.
In The Glass
In the 2020 Ried Bernthal Grüner Veltliner, the first notes move from marzipan, tobacco and aniseed toward yellow apple and orange zest. The palate is juicy and yellow-fruited, with apricot at its centre; subtle acidity prevents the fruit from becoming heavy, and vanilla sits as a soft barrel-derived accent rather than taking over.
The finish is fruity, with a lightly sweet impression in the published tasting material. This is Grüner Veltliner with body and texture from large oak and acacia vessels, but enough acidity to carry the spice and fruit through the finish.
A Bottle To Understand It
Start with Ried Bernthal Grüner Veltliner. It joins the essential parts of Deim’s work in one bottle: a southeast-facing Schönberg-area vineyard, Grüner Veltliner as a Kamptal grape, and maturation in 500-litre oak and acacia barrels. Expect juicy apricot and yellow apple, orange-zest lift, savoury tobacco and aniseed, a rounded texture and subtle acidity. It comes first because its site, cellar treatment and sensory character are all clearly documented.
Anecdote
In 2024, Deim’s 2022 Ried Kalvarienberg received an IWSC Wine Trophy. The wine joins a fixed vintage date, 2022, to a later result, 2024, and the trophy belongs to the named-vineyard Kalvarienberg wine rather than to an unnamed estate blend. It was a result for a bottle made within the Schönberg estate’s Kamptal range, where Gerhard Deim senior and Gerhard Deim junior work across generations. Ried Bernthal and 50:50 sparkling wine sit elsewhere in that range, but the award named Kalvarienberg alone: 2022 Ried Kalvarienberg, an IWSC Wine Trophy, awarded in 2024.
Final Word
Seek Deim out for Kamptal whites whose place and cellar choices remain visible in the glass. Schönberg’s warm days and cool nights, a terrace wine such as Bernthal, and large oak and acacia barrels lead to Grüner Veltliner with yellow fruit, spice, texture and a fresh line through the finish.
Sources
- https://www.gerharddeim.at/en/
- https://www.gerharddeim.at/en/familie/
- https://www.gerharddeim.at/en/rieden/
- https://www.weinkultur-kamptal.at/winzer/gerhard-deim/
- https://www.vinaria.at/weinguide/wein?category=&grapeVariety=&oderByDirection=desc&orderBy=rating&priceCategory=&rating=5®ion=2&year=
- https://www.gerharddeim.at/en/bernthalgv/
- https://www.gerharddeim.at/en/50-50/
- https://www.gerharddeim.at/en/weine/
- https://www.falstaff.com/en/wines/weingut-gerhard-deim-2020-gruener-veltliner-kamptal-dac-schoenberg-ried-bernthal