Stein

“Dr. Ulrich Stein is infamous for such lost causes as the reclamation of abandoned, frighteningly steep sites; and battling the entrenched 1971 German Wine Law. It seems, though, that he is more a David than a Don Quixote, because he has won them all.” – David Schildknecht, The Wine Advocate

No one – NO ONE – has met Dr. Ulrich Stein ( “Ulli”) without at least developing a slight crush on him. He is brilliant, passionate, incredibly fun, perhaps a bit manic and does nothing… nothing, that is easy or obvious.

Ulli is a true bohemian who lives in a beautiful 19th century inn – Haus Waldfrieden, photographed to the right from an old postcard – on the top of a mountain overlooking the Mosel. Ulli owns the inn; it is his home. While the inn doesn’t really function as an inn (you can’t actually book rooms there, unless you’re a friend) it is always filled with people, with a random assortment of thoughtful eccentrics, famous musicians and artists, a couple just back from photographing Jewish delis in New York, a family making a month-long sojourn from Berlin down to Sicily and back. The common thread? They all love Stein wine; they all love Ulli.

In my first profile of Stein, from ten years ago, I wrote the following line, which is fascinating as a document of a time since past: “Ulli’s wines are not widely known in the U.S.”

The fact that now, a decade later, Stein’s wines have never been more coveted and appreciated, is deeply rewarding to us. After a half-century of producing unflinchingly mineral wines, Ulli deserves the touch of stardom he is now receiving. Like Hofgut Falkenstein, another grower that consistently championed ruthlessly dry wines when the only avenue of commercial success seemed to be to make wines with a bit more schmalz and sugar, Stein has gone from near-total obscurity to some degree of fame.

Ulli specializes in the absurd and the sublime. He farms meaningful parcels of land (like the awesome Palmberg-Terrassen, photographed above) that have a few important things in common: They are not easy to work. They are commercially unknown and therefore (most likely) barely financially viable. Finally, and most importantly: Ulli has to love them.

In fact, as alluded to by Schildknecht’s quote above, Stein is more than a winemaker – he is a passionate advocate for the traditional, steep, slate vineyards of the Mosel. In 2010 Ulli published a manifesto warning of the threats to the region’s 2000-year-old viticultural tradition. Dan Melia wrote a beautiful summary of Stein’s manifesto for Edward Behr’s The Art of Eating. The article is reproduced in full, with the kind permission of Edward Behr and Dan Melia: please click the link to the right.

To some extent perhaps Ulli’s manifesto struck a chord somewhere. Or, maybe more likely, the magic of the Mosel simply cannot be denied. It is not for everyone, this is certain; but this fact is part and parcel of why it is truly so magical. Regardless, it is impossible to deny the inexplicable situation here: a veritable cornucopia of Grand Cru sites, riddled in history, one of the last remaining regions with a plethora of ungrafted vines, an invaluable connection to a genetic history that is disappearing. And all this for cents on the dollar. The only catch? You have to work your *** off.

Yet in the past ten years a young generation of growers have come to the Mosel. They are investing their blood, sweat and tears. They are in many ways saving the Mosel.

There is no denying Stein has been an inspiration: where many have gone to the flatlands, or for the steep vineyards that can be mechanized, Stein has gone to the terraces. There are no machines that can work these vineyards. There can only be a human, on her or his feet.

There are three key vineyards for Stein (please take the Google Earth tour below where we go through everything – it only takes 55 seconds).

At the center of everything is the Palmberg-Terrassen, a terraced vineyard full of ungrafted vines 100 years and older. The “baby” Grand Cru is a site just downstream, the Himmelreich of St. Aldegund; this site is deceptively steep, awash in blue slate with tiny terraces at the upper reaches. Finally, there is the “1900” vineyard; this is the second-oldest producing vineyard of the Mosel, planted with ungrafted vines from the year 1900. This is one of the great wines of the Mosel.

It’s perhaps difficult to speak of an overarching “style” at Stein; or maybe it’s that the word, the concept, just doesn’t feel right.

Winemaking with Ulli is refreshingly light on “style;” on some idea projected into the vineyards, and more about what the vineyards say to him. Certainly there is a focus on wines that are dry; lightness and zip are more important than gobs of fruit. Complexity is good, but not at the expense of the whole – better to be simple and well done than overdone and, well, a mess. Cut is more important than size.

In this regard, Stein has rarely made Auslesen. “If I say I value racy wines, why would I make an Auslese?” says Stein.

In general, one finds Kabinetts the focus of the estate up to delicate off-dry Spätlesen if the vintage allows it. And just to confuse you all even more, some of the best Pinot Noirs and without a doubt the best Cabernet Sauvignon from the Mosel come from this cellar.

Finally, the video below was made by our friend @ravingcave in 2015 – ten years ago I can’t believe it. We hope to have some more videos soon.