Gesine Roll, Weingut Weedenborn: You have to feel the vineyard

And on the subject of "wine is made in the vineyard, we don't do anything in the cellar" - nobody really wants to drink that. Of course, a lot of attention to detail also goes into the cellar work, because which barrel (wood? steel) and many other questions have to be carefully considered. The estate wine, the foundation of the Weedenborn collection, is made from more than twenty individual lots. Different sites, microclimates and clones are harvested and matured separately before being brought together in a complex cuvée. The variety of containers - from 2,000 to 6,000 liters - allows a differentiated development of the wines. The more differentiated the material available, the more precisely the desired style can be composed.

Precise wines

This approach is also evident in the higher-quality wines. The local wine "Terra Rossa" is characterized by calcareous soils rich in iron oxide and displays a mineral style designed for longevity. Partly matured in large oak barrels and with an extended maturation period, it develops a calm, staggered power. The reserve wines from the Westhofener Morstein go one step further: longer use of wood, more time, more depth. They are designed as "long-distance runners", wines that only fully develop their quality over a period of years.

Gesine Roll makes the decisive cuvees alone. All batches are tasted, evaluated and brought together in several stages. Intuition and taste play a major role, but are supplemented by analytical data when it comes to fine-tuning. She sees intervention as necessary, but as minimal as possible - as much as necessary, as little as possible.

The farm itself has grown organically over the years, from 15 hectares (as stated in the 2013 article) to around 25 hectares today. Despite this expansion, the estate's approach is still based on craftsmanship. Eleven permanent employees support the winery, whose focus today is clearly on Sauvignon Blanc, which accounts for over 50 percent of the vineyard area. The changing climate plays into the hands of this development. Conditions that were previously considered too cool now allow for stable ripening. At the same time, the increasing weather dynamics - from heavy rain to periods of heat - require a high degree of adaptability. Roll counters this with precise vineyard work and a consistent focus on organic cultivation, which has been practiced on the estate for years.

In addition to Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and, to a lesser extent, Riesling (from the Westhofener Kirchspiel vineyard) complete the portfolio. The fact that these wines find their way to the end consumer via the restaurant trade is part of the strategy. "Top gastronomy and trendy restaurants are great showcases for the winery," says Gesine - referring to the long-standing partnership with Stefan Hermann and Jens Pietzonka. She is convinced that the personal experience on site creates a more lasting bond than any anonymous marketing. And those who visit the winery also understand more quickly what characterizes the wines: limestone, altitude and the will to precision. If you can't make it to the tranquil Monzernheim on the hill, just come to the concert venue in Dresden, which is just as high up as the winery.

At the Winemaker in Focus evening (€99), Stefan Hermann and his team provided a finely tuned menu, which - no surprise! - mainly Sauvignon Blanc, from sparkling wine to Grande Réserve. But, and this is the beauty of such evenings, mainly means: not only. There were two wines for each course - one was a Chardonnay in direct comparison to the Sauvignon Blanc, the other was Chardonnay in different quality levels. "So she can do Chardonnay too!", as the guests at my table commented approvingly...

Menu and wine pairing

• 2021 Sauvignon Blanc brut nature sparkling wine
• Salade niçoise of char with fine beans and small artichokes
  2025 Sauvignon Blanc
  2025 Chardonnay
• Ray wings in nut butter with capers and salted lemon
  2024 Sauvignon Blanc Terra Rossa
  2023 Sauvignon Blanc RÉSERVE
• Fine guinea fowl with Leipziger Allerlei
  2024 Grand Village
  2022 Grande Réserve
• Warm semolina dumplings with strawberry and rhubarb soupRhubarb soup
  2024 Chardonnay Westhofen
  2023 Chardonnay RÉSERVE

Winery Weedenborn
Am Römer 4-6
55234 Monzernheim

Tel. +49 6244 - 387
weedenborn.de

[Recorded on April 17, 2026]