Pinot Noir Andi Knauss 2021

Country: Germany

Region: Remstal

Grape: Pinot Noir

Volume: 75cl

ABV: 12.5%

Vintage: 2021

Suitable for Vegans: Yes 

Suitable for Vegetarians: Yes

Food pairing: Wild mushrooms cooked in garlic butter and thyme, served on toasted sourdough with a sprinkle of Grana Padano. Light lunch?

Andi Knauss, who now is in his early thirties, started to work together with his father at their family estate in the Remstal region, east of Stuttgart, in 2004 as the fourth generation. Vineyard land here is expensive, but Andi has slowly built up the estate parcel-by-parcel, sometimes just a row, and today he works 15 hectares of vineyards.

He was just out of wine school and had finished a short vineyard-practice in Austria, where he learnt how to work organically, before taking over the winery. He makes wine from over 18 different plots in Strümpfelbach (the village where the winery is located), Beutelsbach and Endersbach, in the hills around the river Rems.

The vineyards are situated at 300-400 metres above sea level and are composed of different types of limestone, basically layered on top of each other. The work in the vineyards has been naturally since he started and the winemaking careful and precise. Natural fermentations and minimal sulphur are the norm throughout the range and some wines see no sulphur at all – which is a bit of a rarity in Germany.