Others like mixed drinks with wine, but in the Markgräflerland the rule is: it should be a sparkling wine. There are several culprits (which is too harsh a word in this context, as you will see) - one of them is the winegrowers of the cooperative in Britzingen. Their sparkling wines have been around forever (since 1979, to be precise), but for the past three years they have been accepted into the Olympus of German traditional sparkling wine making - as the only winegrowers' cooperative among many individual sparkling wine makers. But in Britzingen, they don't just make sparkling wine (which now accounts for a 20% share, and rising), they also make normal wines. Chasselas, the bread-and-butter wine of Markgräflerland, of course, but also Burgundy - both white and red. Matthias Gräfe (Wein & fein) and Ulrich van Stipriaan (STIPvisiten) talk about all this (and much more...) with Armin Imgraben, winegrower and chairman of the board of the Britzingen winegrowers' cooperative.
Armin Imgraben is one of around 45 winegrowers in the cooperative, which is one of the smaller ones in Baden. Together with his family, he cultivates around six hectares of vines, including in Muggardt - the best site, which lay fallow for a long time and now provides the basis for the finest Pinot Noir through the joint efforts of four winegrowers. But as being a winegrower and chairman of the board does not keep Armin Imgraben busy, he is also active in other areas - for example in local politics or at the village shop cooperative. Imgraben describes himself as a "freelance artist" and says in conversation that he likes to enjoy a wine or two on the terrace in the evening...
