Discover the unique depth and complexity of Weingut Messmer Riesling vom Schiefer einzig & artig. Sourced from grey slate soils, this fine Riesling boasts notes of slate, green apple, and citrus, with a pithy acidity that lends great length to the palate. Perfect for pairing with Asian dishes featuring pork or chicken.

About the Producer

Weingut Messmer, in the Pfalz region, was founded by Herbert and Elizabeth Messmer in 1960. It’s situated in Burrweiler, in the south-west of Germany, less than 50 miles from the border with France and to the north-west of Stuttgart. The yellow sandstone buildings had already been home to winemaking for around 250 years before they arrived. Today their son Martin Meßmer and winemaker, Jonas Bosch, are responsible for the wines. The vineyards cover 30 hectares, with around two thirds of the area planted with white varieties Riesling, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc and the rest with red varieties, including Pinot Noir.

The terroir is made up of seven different soil types: slate, red sandstone, granite, limestone, loam, sand and ‘muschelkalk’ - a calcareous soil with substantial deposits of fossilised mussel shells. In the winery fermentations are cool, slow and small batch; grapes are only ever partially de-stemmed; and wines are bottled without fining and with only the gentlest filtration.

Vineyard and Winery

Grapes are sourced from Riesling vines cultivated in the Burrweiler Schawer, which has steep slopes and grey slate soils. Slate is unusual in the Pfalz region and only extends around 6 hectares in total. On the south-east slopes it stores the sun's heat, and at night this is passed to the vine roots. After hand-harvesting and selection spontaneous fermentation occurs and the wine spends 2 years on lees.