Weingut Huff

The Huff operation is a family affair, and has been for many generations.  Dieter Huff works with his wife Helga and sons Daniel and Stefan in the cellar, in the office, and in the vines.  When he needs council, he can turn to his parents who managed the estate before he did and live close by. It is a tightly run, family owned and operated, ship.

Grape varieties grown at Weingut Huff:

• 24% Riesling
• 15% Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir)
• 12% Dornfelder
• 8% Müller-Thurgau
• 8% Portugieser
• 5% Chardonnay
• 5% Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris)
• 5% Weißburgunder (Pinot Blanc)
• 18% other varieties

Source Weinkenner.de

The Huff’s have grown grapes and made wine at the estate for more than 300 years, which means that they have been witness to the rises and falls of the reputation of the Rheinhessen. 1757 marks the year the family began making wine.

Nierstein sits on the banks of the Rhine river, in the northern-most part of the Rheinhessen.  The area is marked by the distinct soils that comprise the “Roter-Hang” or Red Slopes where the Hipping and Pettehthal vineyards are located.  As in most of Germany’s prestigious regions, the river’s effect – warming in the cold and cooling in the heat – plays a key role in the even ripening of grapes.

The Huff Kerner Halbtrocken intrigued us first, and then it seduced us. We met the Huff’s via this bottle and thought that the combination of fruit, acidity and a suggestion of sparkle was delicious and fascinating, but come on now… It’s Kerner. From the Rheinhessen… a grape and a region that few people know of and if they do, they probably think cheap, sweet and boring. But as the bottle sat open for a few days, all of what we loved seemed to remain while more and more minerality crept to the surface, and we were hooked.

Turns out that this Kerner is from a vineyard just above the slopes of the Hipping site and the vines are older than most in the region, which gives this inexpensive wine added layers of interest and flavors. Yes, it is an off dry wine, but the boost of acidity and CO2 makes for a bottle unlike others we’ve known. A few years after we met, we worked with the Huff’s to redesign the label: Our customers had come to simply ask for “more Huff”, so we put the family front and center, right where they deserve to be.

Work in the vineyard, from pruning to harvest is done by hand.  Timing of the harvest is critical as one of Huff’s prized bottlings is the Riesling Spatlese Trocken – picked at an elevated level of ripeness (Spatlese) but then vinified dry (Trocken). This is a delicate balance that requires acidity and sugars to be elevated.  The resulting wine is a testament to skill in the winery and the vineyard.