The Wine Classification

The classification of wines is based on the principle that „the narrower the indication of origin on the label, the higher the quality of the wine“. The location of the vineyard, grape quality, and harvest quantity determine the taste profile of the grape and thus the quality of the wines. In the dry and off-dry range, this results in quality levels such as Estate Wine, Village Wine, and Single Vineyard Wine. The classic terms Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, and Trockenbeerenauslese are reserved exclusively for fruity-sweet wines of the Riesling grape variety from the slate slopes. This is ultimately the inherent approach of these designations.

The world of wine designations is complicated and not always understandable to the layman. In order to make the three-stage classification model of Estate, Village, and Single Vineyard Wines as a common guiding principle of quality winegrowers on the Mosel known, we have founded the association „Maxime Mosel“ with some colleagues. We aim to make wine designations clearer and more valuable through this voluntary initiative.

THE ESTATE WINES

The estate wines grow in the former riverbed of the Mosel, where glacial gravel deposits create a very favorable substrate for the vines. Already in the entry-level range, yields are significantly below the normal level of the region. This results in easily accessible, fruity wines with a lot of drinking flow but also with good structure.

Handwerk

To explore new paths and expand his potential as a winemaker, Thomas Ludwig has launched this line. This results in bold, angular, uncompromising wines crafted by hand that can be polarizing. Not a typical Ludwig, but entirely Thomas.

The Riesling in the GG style was aged in new tonneaux. The Pinot Blanc was fermented on the mash and aged in oak barrels. A mash-fermented Sauvignon Blanc completes the picture. „With the introduction of the new line „HANDWERK“, Thomas Ludwig now unleashes his full potential. The Riesling Thörnicher Ritsch HANDWERK and the Pinot Blanc HANDWERK by TL are among the new bold wines on the Mosel: fresh and crystal clear – Drink the Ritsch!“

Gourmetwelten.de

THE VILLAGE WINES

The entry into the world of Mosel slate. The village wines represent the new middle segment in the winery. They grow in the southwest-exposed areas of the Thörnicher Ritsch vineyard, characterized by deep slate soils. The limited yield per hectare allows us to produce wines that already possess a high level of complexity and fruitiness, paired with the fine minerality typical of the location.

The Single Vineyard Wines

Unique Rieslings with depth, richness, and tension. They grow under the extreme conditions of the south-facing slopes. Ancient vines transport the concentrated minerality from the slate into the grape.

In the fruit-sweet category, the steep slopes of the Mosel showcase their classical strengths. It’s extremely exciting to directly compare the characters of our two premium sites, Ritsch and Bruderschaft! In this category, the traditional wine designations Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, and TBA also come into play. This is where these terms originate, and here we aim to breathe new life into them:

Since the early 1980s, sparkling wines have been produced at Weingut Ludwig. From the outset, it was clear that only sparkling wines produced in the classical manner would come from Weingut Ludwig. All sparkling wines are therefore fermented in the bottle and aged on the lees for at least 12 months after bottling. Then, the yeast deposits are manually disgorged. All sparkling wines are produced in the ‚brut‘ style.

he theme of distillates has been completely redefined for our winery in recent years. Following the motto „new wine from new tubes,“ both the equipment and the contents have been renewed.