Winemaker: Siblings Pauline & Carl Baumberger together with their Mother, Birgit and Father, Marcus
Where: Mandel, Nahe, Germany
Size: 14,5 ha Main
Varieties: Riesling, Pinot Noir, Weissburgunder, Scheurebe, Bacchus, Müller-Thurgau, Regent, St. Laurent, Muskateller, Dornfelder, Portugieser, Kerner & Sauvignon Blanc
Certifications: Organic Certified with ABCERT AG Quick note: Zero sulphur, cold macerations and early bottling
Siblings Pauline & Carl Baumberger, together with their parents Birgit & Marcus, are making wines in the wavy hills of Mandel, in the Nahe region of Germany. The Baumberger family planted their first vines in 1855, and now several generations later their vineyards cover 14,5 hectares. All their vineyards are grown organically and have a diverse terroir with 280 different types of soil! The region Nahe is known for a lot of sun and a little but just about enough rain. They cultivate a bunch of different varieties such as Riesling, Muskateller, Scheurebe, Müller-Thurgau, Bacchus, Spätburgunder, Dornfelder and Regent to name a few!
Pauline left Mandel after school to study Communications & Design in Haag, and spent time in Berlin and Paris, before deciding to move back and start her own project Glow Glow in 2019, which her younger brother Carl later joined in 2020. Originally Pauline used grapes from the classic family ‘Baumberger’ winery, but in 2024 Birgit and Marcus made the decision to work together with Pauline and Carl, and convert the entire ‘Weingut Baumberger’ into Glow Glow, also choosing to convert all vineyards to organic. For us the Baumberger family is an amazing example of a traditional winery building upon the classical practices of the region, but at the same time putting faith in a younger generation’s, modern and more low intervention approach to winemaking.
All grapes are hand-harvested, and are aimed at picking earlier or on ripeness, so the ABV are usually around 10-11,5%. Vinification is via spontaneous fermentation, unfiltered, without added sulphur, and with a combination of carbonic-, short- and cold macerations. This results in wines with a lot of vibrancy, liveliness and energy. Bottling happens in late winter/early spring while the wines still have a slight CO2 left from the malolactic fermentation, which leaves a slight effervescence that uplifts the freshness and drinkability.
Over time, as their experience builds, they have found some wines to benefit from longer bottle ageing, and so release wines to the market when they are ready to be drunk. The enticing energy and charm of the wines is easily relatable to their creators, as Pauline & Carl, as well as their parents, have an immediacy about them, a natural way of how things are, a forever charming energy and rather importantly they are a lot of fun to be around! We’re very excited to see what the future brings and proud to be part of their journey!
