Germany’s Mosel: on the Brink of Superstardom Again?
- wineminx
- Oct 7
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 16
Take breathtakingly steep riverside vineyards, add 2,000 years of world-famous winemaking history, mix in a grape variety that may help save viticulture from climate change, and combine it all with small, family-run producers devoted to quality. A perfect recipe for world-class wine? Perhaps—but not without challenges.
On a recent trip to the Mosel River in western Germany, I was repeatedly awed by the impossible steepness of the vineyards, the crystalline purity of the wines, and the down-to-earth hospitality of the people who make them. Most are small, family operations straddling tradition and modernity, striving to let their wines and terroir shine.
Vineyards That Defy Gravity
The precipitous vineyards lining the Mosel are truly astonishing. If you’re lucky enough to have Johannes Selbach drive you high into his middle Mosel parcels, you’ll sway with vertigo and worry about taking a disastrous tumble. These slopes can’t be mechanized; the workers who tend them must be part mountain goat.
It’s impossible to capture the teetering terrain in photographs—you have to see it with your own eyes. Even on a gray winter day, the views take your breath away.
Riesling Rules the River
In the Mosel, Riesling is king. Savvy wine lovers know its versatility: producing sparkling wines, feather-light to weighty dry wines, and a range of styles with residual sugar—from just a touch, all the way to luscious, hedonistic dessert wines affected by the “noble rot” botrytis. Yet for newer consumers, Riesling can be intimidating—its piercing acidity, bold (often pungent) aromatics, and uncertain sweetness levels can hinder exploration.
A journey through the Mosel, however, shows why Riesling has been revered for centuries. Two thousand years ago, the Romans brought viticulture north of the Alps, planting vines along the Mosel to supply their garrisons—creating Germany’s first wine region. For centuries, Mosel wines were prized by monarchs, monks, merchants, and statesmen. As with many beloved wines, success eventually led to overproduction, favoring quantity over quality. It wasn’t long ago that watery Liebfraumilch defined German wine in the public imagination.
Happily, that era has passed, and the Mosel today is reclaiming its place among the world’s great wine regions. But in the modern age, can even a well-regarded region muscle its way to the very top?
The Passionate Revival
Roman Niewodniczanski, visionary owner of Van Volxem (located on the Mosel’s southern tributary, the Saar,) eagerly shows visitors numerous historic wine lists where Mosel Rieslings once sold for more than Burgundy and Bordeaux combined. His mission to restore that reputation borders on evangelical.
Other producers I met with—such as Andreas Adam, Christoph Schaefer, Katharina Lauer, and the revered Dr. Ulrich (Ulli) Stein—all speak passionately about Riesling’s ability to reflect terroir and adapt to diverse ripeness levels. They point out that Riesling retains acidity and concentration without gaining excessive alcohol even as temperatures rise from global warming, making it a grape uniquely suited to thrive amid climate change.
These wines also show incredible capability to age. When tasting the 2023 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett, winemaker Christoph Schaefer shook his head, remarking, “Domprobst needs more time to show its potential,” implying we were tasting this vineyard bottling far too early—a reminder that patience is often rewarded in the Mosel. Andreas Adam shared a ten-year-old Spätlese with me that was just starting to hit its stride. Yet these wines taste so delicious upon release, it's hard to be patient!
So, Why Aren’t We Drinking More Mosel Riesling?
Some blame the complex German labels—but if Burgundy lovers can decode Corton-Charlemagne and Chambolle-Musigny, Mosel’s vineyards shouldn’t be too daunting. Sweetness is another hurdle—trocken (“dry”) wines may still retain a hint of residual sugar, while the Prädikat designations (Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese) range from lightly sweet to decadent dessert styles. Some categories may overlap; it's difficult to tell from the label. Yet even the richest Mosel Rieslings balance sweetness with signature electric acidity, resulting in wines that are not cloying, but captivating.
Perhaps the greatest obstacle is the producers’ quiet humility. With the exception of the exuberant Niewodniczanski, most are content to let their wines do the talking. Their understated pride is admirable, yet it may also keep the region under the radar. As these vintners craft wines of extraordinary purity and precision, their restraint risks leaving the Mosel in the shadows. Without a unified effort to amplify its brilliance—Mosel’s history, resilience, and unmatched expression of Riesling—the region may remain overshadowed by louder, flashier names on our shelves.
Tasting Highlights: The Mosel in Five Glasses
Over the course of my visit, I sampled over a hundred different wines. In no particular order, these are some of my personal standouts. Note that vintages available in the marketplace may differ.
2022 Stein Palmberg Riesling Alte Reben Kabinett Trocken ~$37
Gorgeous nose of green plum, quince, and minerality. Excellent grip—powerful yet sinewy, like a marathon runner.
(NB: When Prädikat names like “Kabinett” are paired with “trocken,” or dry, this means the grapes reached the ripeness level for the Prädikat but were vinified without typical corresponding higher residual sugar.)
2022 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Feinherb “Ur” Alte Reben ~$45 Steely, smoky, gardenia and citrus aromas. Intense, complex, and stunningly bold yet classy—an incredible ride.
2015 A.J. Adam Hofberg Riesling Spätlese — ($N/A, recent vintages ~$50)
Meyer lemon, pine butter, smoky slate, apricot jam, tarragon, and umami earthiness. Balanced and complete across all elements.
2022 Peter Lauer Fass 17 Neuenberg Riesling Grosse Lage ~$55
Melon cream, caramel, spiced peach yogurt. Soft and luxurious, yet clean, with a zippy, refreshing finish.
2023 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett ~$50
Lean, savory, and coiled—ready to spring. Bright and nervy now, destined to gain elegance and charm with age.
Other recommended producers: Van Volxem, Karthauserhof, Maximin Grunhaus, Falkenstein, Weiser-Künstler, Julian Haart.
The Takeaway
For wine lovers, Mosel Rieslings offer complexity, longevity, food-friendliness, and fascination—and for now, they remain relative bargains. But perhaps not for long. Once the world takes another long look at those dizzying slopes and the brilliance they yield, the Mosel’s renaissance will be complete.
Do you have additional favorite Mosel producers? Have you teetered atop these slopes? I'd love to know! Comment below.
Cheers.
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All photos by Annie Edgerton ©2025 Wine Minx Media
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