Knipser Winery – Marsannier – from Experimental Cultivation

The Marsannier 2022 is a dry, powerful cuvée made from the Marsanne and Viognier grape varieties by Knipser Winery from Laumersheim in the Palatinate. The Knipser Marsannier displays juicy fruit wonderfully balanced by a piquant acidity.

On the nose, it reveals fruity notes of red apples and yellow pear, joined by juicy peach and ripe apricot, as well as slight bitter notes of grapefruit, all framed by well-integrated wood. The wine shows power and richness, and despite the ripe grapes, a lively acidity, making it an excellent food companion. It pairs well with rich sauces, pasta with cream sauces and mushrooms, smoked bacon, and even the sweetness of seafood.

This is the seventh vintage of Marsannier, which is not vinified as a dry variant every year.

Winemaking – Knipser Winery

The vines for this Marsannier grow in plots dominated by calcareous marl at the Knipser Winery. It was not until the early 90s that the Knipser brothers planted the two white grape varieties Marsanne and Viognier, both originating from the Rhône, in experimental cultivation. Experimental cultivation because these two French grape varieties are not included or prescribed in the Palatinate's grape variety catalog, meaning that despite the wine's high quality, it cannot be designated as a quality wine. This, however, was irrelevant to the Knipsers. They seized the opportunity offered by the EU to import plant material from other European countries into Germany and to plant these very grape varieties to see what could come of them, also with regard to climate change.

The selective hand-picking of the grapes in autumn usually takes place in several passes to harvest optimally ripe fruit. At the winery, all grapes are destemmed, meaning freed from their stalks. The resulting mash is gently pressed in a tank press. Fermentation occurs spontaneously in new barriques from Burgundy, where the long aging on the fine lees also takes place until bottling in late summer 2024.

Marsannier – A Wine and Its Values

• Origin Germany
• Growing region Palatinate
• Grape variety: Marsanne, Viognier
• 13.5 % vol alcohol
• 7.0 g/l acidity
• 5.9 g/l residual sugar