Weingut Rings produces organic wine in Freinsheim in the Palatinate
Weingut Rings is a VDP winery in Freinsheim on the Mittelhaardt, managed by brothers Steffen and Andreas Rings. Spread over 44 hectares around Freinsheim, Kallstadt, Ungstein, and Leistadt, they primarily grow Riesling and Pinot Noir, which have been certified organic since 2016. In the cellar, they use spontaneous fermentation and minimal intervention.
Weingut Rings is a family winery in Freinsheim in the Palatinate that has been a member of the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates (VDP) since 2015 and has been certified organic since 2016 (organic control number DE-ÖKO-022). Steffen and Andreas Rings manage 44 hectares across four districts of the Mittelhaardt. Their work is guided by a motto they follow themselves: evolution instead of tradition.
From fruit and bulk wine to a VDP winery
Their parents operated a mixed agricultural business in Freinsheim producing fruit and bulk wine, meaning a farm that sold wine in quantity to cooperatives rather than bottling it themselves.
In the early 2000s, Steffen Rings systematically shifted the business toward quality wine. This involved reorganizing their vineyard holdings from the ground up, which could not be done without painful losses. "With total consistency: vineyards were sold, traded, and whenever possible, purchased in the best locations," is how Steffen describes those years.
As early as the mid-1990s, the first Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot were planted, at a time when that was still considered crazy in the Palatinate.
His brother Andreas—known as Andi—trained at the Wagner-Stempel winery in Rheinhessen and returned to Freinsheim in 2007. The two have been running the winery together since 2008, and their sister, Simone, is responsible for communication and sales. In 2018, a new building was added, about 70 percent of which is located underground, providing the cellar with constant temperatures without the need for air conditioning.
Riesling and Pinot Noir on limestone, sand, and loam
About a quarter of the vineyard area is planted with Riesling, another quarter with Pinot Noir, plus about ten percent each of Pinot Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon.
The soils vary significantly across the four districts: loess and loam, sandy gravel, red soil, limestone rock, and limestone marl. Kallstadt provides the cool, limestone-influenced sites; Freinsheim, the warmer sand and gravel soils; and Ungstein, the colored sandstone subsoil. It is precisely this range that defines their portfolio, as the same winemaker can produce a lean, salty Riesling and a dense Cabernet blend without having to change location.
Four VDP.Große Lagen (Grand Crus) are part of the estate: the Kallstadter Saumagen and Annaberg, the Ungsteiner Weilberg, and the Leistadter Felsenberg. These are complemented by the VDP.Erste Lagen (Premier Crus) Kallstadter Steinacker, Ungsteiner Nußriegel, and Leistadter Kalkofen. At 151 hectares, the Steinacker is the largest of these and has been documented since 1270, making it older than the more famous Saumagen.
From Gutswein to Große Gewächse
The portfolio follows the VDP pyramid, applying the same manual labor from the bottom to the top, as selective hand-harvesting applies even to the entry-level tier.
This pyramid has four levels, each bound by clear rules: the Gutswein (estate wine) shows the signature of the grape variety, the Ortswein (village wine) that of the village, and the Erste Lage and Große Gewächs those of an individual vineyard. The higher a wine is in the hierarchy, the more strictly its origin is defined and the lower the permitted yield.
The Gutsweine include Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, the fragrant Muscat, and the Fleur de Rosé. One tier up are the Ortsweine from Kallstadt, including the Kallstadt Riesling. The Erste Lage tier is represented by the Steinacker and Nußriegel, while the Große Gewächse from the Saumagen sit at the top.
In addition, there are wines that don't fit into any category. The white Pinot blend Kalk & Stein brings together Chardonnay from limestone and Pinot Blanc from sandstone, and is bottled unfined and unfiltered.
The Portugieser Sand & Kiesel comes from 40- to 60-year-old vines that had lain fallow for a time and were subsequently rediscovered; it matures in wooden barrels or concrete eggs depending on the vintage. The red wine blends "Das Kreuz" and "Das kleine Kreuz" come from the hottest Freinsheim site, the Schwarzes Kreuz.
Syrah is not bottled every year because the Rhône variety does not achieve the necessary ripeness every year, even in warm Freinsheim. As a sparkling wine producer, the house belongs to VDP.SEKT.PRESTIGE; the Calcaire Blanc de Noirs spends 36 months on the lees. You can see what is currently in stock in the grid below.
Buckwheat between the vines, spontaneous fermentation in the cellar
At Rings, organic viticulture starts in the soil, long before a single grape hangs on the vine.
Buckwheat, clover, and radish are sown between the vine rows, which prevents erosion, attracts beneficial insects, and retains moisture in the soil, while horse manure is used as fertilizer. In the canopy, double shoots are removed by hand, and leaf plucking and shoot thinning are performed depending on the weather to ensure air reaches the grapes. Yields are low, at just 2,200 liters per hectare in the Saumagen.
In the cellar, they use spontaneous fermentation, meaning they rely on the yeasts that come in from the vineyard rather than using purchased cultured yeasts. "This allows the individual character of each wine to emerge, and the wines gain finesse and depth," says Andi about this process. Many wines remain on the fine lees for a long time, are neither fined nor filtered, and are bottled with minimal sulfur. In addition to the EU organic label, the estate holds the Fair'n Green sustainability certification.
Five stars from Eichelmann, four grapes in Gault Millau
The Eichelmann wine guide awards Weingut Rings five stars, placing it among the few top estates in the entire Palatinate.
The Vinum wine guide awards 4.5 stars, the German edition of Falstaff awards four stars, and Gault Millau awards four grapes. They already held four grapes and four stars from Eichelmann in 2017, and things have only gone up since then. Their admission to the VDP in 2015 is the most significant accolade, as it does not evaluate a single vintage but the entire operation.
What is remarkable is not so much the score, but the speed. There are not even two generations between the parents' bulk wine business and the five-star rating—just over twenty years and two brothers.
This also explains why wine guides often mention the estate in the same breath as the old names of the Mittelhaardt. Anyone admitted to the VDP only in 2015 who achieves top ratings just a few years later has not inherited their path, but forged it.
Which bottle for which evening
If you want to get to know the house, start with the wines that show its signature most clearly—and these aren't necessarily the most expensive ones.
The Kallstadt Riesling is the shortest path to the Rings style, as it is cool, lean, and mineral, showcasing exactly what the brothers are appreciated for. If you prefer red, take the Pfalz Pinot Noir as an introduction to the house's second major variety. For a long evening for two, there is the Kalk & Stein vertical, featuring three vintages side by side. And if you want to give a gift, reach for the Große Gewächse from the Saumagen, which bring with them a decade of aging potential.
The vinotheque in Freinsheim is open Monday to Friday from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM and Saturday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. If you aren't traveling to the Palatinate, you can find other German estates of this style at Sekthaus Raumland in Rheinhessen. And if you simply want to try your way through the tiers, start at the bottom and work your way up.
