Germany · Mosel

Weingut Schmitges

An Erden estate in the Central Moselle, Weingut Schmitges works mainly with Riesling from grey and red clay slate. Its dry Grauschiefer and feinherb Vom Berg show how cellar handling changes the grape’s shape.

The producer

Waltraud and Andreas Schmitges oversee a 24-hectare estate in Erden whose documented history begins in 1744. Riesling accounts for 85% of plantings, with Erdener Treppchen and Erdener Prälat among the key sites. Grey slate, steep slopes and deliberately low yields put acidity and fruit at the centre of the wines.

The range offers two useful Riesling expressions. Vom Berg 2023 is feinherb and aged on fine lees, combining fruit, gentle sweetness and a broader texture. Grauschiefer Riesling trocken 2023 is dry and matured in stainless steel, bringing firmer acidity, slate-associated mineral character and a clean finish without oak flavour.

Known for

Riesling from Erden’s steep slate vineyards, including Erdener Treppchen and Erdener Prälat.

Notable facts

The story

A record from 1744

The Schmitges estate dates its first documented mention to 1744. That entry is the earliest confirmed point in the recorded history of a winery now based in Erden, in the Central Moselle. Its present vineyards include Erdener Treppchen, where grey slate supports grafted vines alongside a small ungrafted section, and Erdener Prälat, whose slopes rise from 50% to 70% and include vines more than a century old. The historical date remains connected to a working 24-hectare estate whose plantings are now led by Riesling.

From the atlas

Weingut Schmitges

At A Glance

Weingut Schmitges is a 24-hectare estate in Erden, in Germany’s Central Moselle, where Riesling accounts for 85% of plantings. Waltraud and Andreas Schmitges are listed as its owners. The useful starting picture is steep slate, Riesling and two named Erdener sites: Treppchen and Prälat.

The Producer

The estate’s recorded history begins with a first mention in 1744, while its present-day work is rooted in Erden and its Riesling vineyards. With Riesling occupying most of the plantings, the grape is not a side note in the range: it is the line connecting the dry Grauschiefer Riesling trocken and the feinherb Vom Berg Riesling. Different cellar handling then changes the result from bottle to bottle.

Place

Erden sits in the Central Moselle, and the estate identifies Erdener Treppchen and Erdener Prälat as its leading sites. On these slopes, Riesling is the grape through which site differences become legible: a dry bottling can put acidity and slate-shaped texture in the foreground, while a feinherb wine can carry fruit with a softer sweep across the palate.

Soil And Site

Der Ring Mosel describes the estate’s ground as grey and red clay slate. Erdener Treppchen ranges from 10% to 65% inclination and includes grey slate, grafted vines and a small section of ungrafted vines. Erdener Prälat is steeper still, at 50% to 70%, and includes vines more than a century old. These are physical conditions rather than decorative names: steep ground and old vine material concentrate the conversation around grape fruit, acidity and texture.

Story

Schmitges joins a long documented history to practical vineyard choices. The estate links its quality work to deliberately low yields and ungrafted vines, decisions that limit crop and keep attention on the fruit from particular sites. In the cellar, the wines do not receive one uniform treatment: Vom Berg spends time on fine lees, while Grauschiefer is matured in stainless steel. The consequence is a range with distinct shapes rather than one repeated Riesling recipe.

Vineyards And Cellar

Low yields are intended to bring more material into the fruit, and the estate’s use of ungrafted vines is part of that vineyard focus. At Treppchen, the small ungrafted section sits alongside grafted vines on grey slate; at Prälat, vines over 100 years old stand on far steeper slopes. The vineyard facts matter most once the wine is made: fine-lees ageing can add texture to Vom Berg, whereas stainless steel keeps Grauschiefer’s dry fruit, acidity and slate character free of oak flavour.

Wines

The range can be approached through two 2023 Rieslings with clearly different jobs. Vom Berg is entirely Riesling and made in a feinherb style, with fine-lees ageing supporting its fruit and palate texture. It is the more yielding of the pair, where a touch of sweetness works with acidity rather than replacing it.

Grauschiefer Riesling trocken 2023 is the dry counterpoint. Its name points to grey slate, while stainless-steel maturation keeps the wine focused on Riesling fruit and mineral detail rather than oak. It is a bottle built around dry structure: acidity, a firmer texture and a clean finish.

In The Glass

Vom Berg 2023 brings Riesling fruit first, then a feinherb sweetness and fine-lees texture across the palate. Acidity keeps the fruit from becoming heavy, so the finish stays fresh rather than sugary. Its appeal is the meeting of fruit, soft texture and lift.

Grauschiefer 2023 moves in another direction. The dry palate puts citrus-like fruit and slate-associated mineral character ahead of sweetness, while stainless steel keeps the outline direct. Acidity supplies the line through the wine; the finish is dry, clean and more structural than Vom Berg’s.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Grauschiefer Riesling trocken 2023. It is a dry Riesling tied directly to the estate’s slate ground and matured in stainless steel, so its fruit, acidity and mineral texture arrive without oak in the way. The bottle makes the Erden-and-Riesling relationship easy to taste: dry fruit at the front, a firm middle, then a clean finish shaped by acidity.

Anecdote

The Schmitges estate dates its first documented mention to 1744. That is the earliest confirmed point in its recorded story, long before the current 24-hectare estate and the present range of Rieslings. The date remains attached to a working winery in Erden, where the named vineyards now include Erdener Treppchen and Erdener Prälat. Treppchen contains a small section of ungrafted vines among grafted plantings on grey slate; Prälat rises on slopes of 50% to 70% and includes vines more than 100 years old. The record begins with 1744, and the present estate still works vineyards above the Moselle under the Schmitges name.

Final Word

Schmitges is worth knowing through the contrast within its Riesling: feinherb Vom Berg uses fruit, acidity and lees texture for breadth, while dry Grauschiefer brings slate, stainless steel and a firmer finish into focus.

Sources

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