Stefan Meyer Silvaner Liter

With a history in their village going back to the 1700s, Stefan Meyer’s family is as much a part of the terroir of Rhodt unter Reitburg as the clay and loam soils their vines are planted to. These vines, which lie along the border of the Palatinate forest, cover 16 ha distributed among 70 different small plots. Considering that Stefan’s grandfather Karl Hermann Meyer started the estate with 4 ha in 1954, it’s clear that growth here is done in a measured and thoughtful way, only adding the best plots available and never choosing quantity over quality.

Stefan, who took over the estate from his father Willi in 2011 after apprenticing at Bassermann Jordan, continues to innovate at the estate while maintaining what he calls the “powerful tradition”of his grandfather. This innovation includes harvesting and sorting all the fruit by hand, and eliminating the use of any chemicals in their vineyards. Currently the estate is in the process of being certified organic by Ecovin. The results of this natural approach can be seen easily when walking in the vines bordering their “conventional” neighbors. Where the spaces between vines in Stefan’s vineyards are alive with natural grasses and cover crops, the next row over is desiccated and gray. And of course the proof is also in the bottle, and Stefan’s are some of the best wines (and best  values) coming out of the Pfalz today Along with the traditional Riesling, Stefan is farming the local red varieties Portugieser, Sankt Laurent, and Dornfelder for his cuvée Ein Liter Rhodt, a pun on the grape color and the village name. He also has some Kerner and Chardonnay. But perhaps Stefan’s most delicious killer value comes from his old vines Silvaner, some of which are over 40 years old. Fermented spontaneously in stainless steel and bottled in liters, this is a vibrant, fresh wine that tastes of its loam soils and projects Stefan’s youthful energy.