Winery J. Bettenheimer
Smokey, exotic, wild, but also classic - the wines of Jens Bettenheimer unmistakably resemble their creator. A winemaker, like a father or a mother, must educate and nurture the vine, so that it can flourish and bring its fruits to maturity, in order to find fulfillment in a great wine. Far away in far-away New Zealand, the young winemaker learned how to make individual wines and reinterpret classic grape varieties with cellar master Hätsch Kalberer. The journey is the goal: in meticulous and ambitious work, the numerous vineyards, over 30 years old, are nurtured before flowering, and every second shoot is removed from the branch. The interaction of the moon phases is taken into account in the vineyard work to guarantee an optimal leaf-fruit ratio. The grape harvest in small containers allows the grape processing without any pumping. Jens' heart is attached to the classic grape varieties, which are presented in a robe that you have never experieced before. Jens Bettenheimer consistently focuses on the slowest possible spontaneous fermentation and stores the wines gently until the bottling. Low temperatures on the yeast promote inner density and longevity. Without frills in the winemaking, he fills the wines on the bottle and tries to preserve the purist clarity. All red wines are stored on the mash after fermentation, exclusively in Rheinhessen oak wood barrel or in oak barrels. Smokey, powerful wines, far from the mainstream, are the result. The residual sweetness and the alcohol content should be as low as possible, depending on and specified for the vintage. Many of his wines are true time snails.
