Winemaker: Johannes Aufricht
Where: Meersburg, Bodensee, Germany
Size: 2 ha
Main Varieties: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay & Completer
Viticulture: Organic farming
Quick notes: 500m altitude vineyards, larger family estate and modern Burgundian influence including newly planted DRC clonal vines
Johannes and his wines first came to us through our good friend Marcel Mühlberger, someone with both his finger firmly on the pulse of modern German winemaking and impeccable taste, so we jumped at the chance to begin working with Johannes. The iconic pink crêpe-paper Sekt closure, somewhere between a shower cap and a turkey leg, is already a perfect indication of the personality behind the wines.
Coming from a well-established family winery on the shores of the Bodensee, Johannes initially set out to study engineering, but the temptation to work with his hands, and with a material that changes once a year, eventually won. He spent years travelling through Europe, working harvests and tasting widely, before returning home with a clearer sense of direction and style.
The family vineyards are located along the Meersburg nature reserve on the Bodensee (Lake Constance), Germany’s southernmost wine-growing region, with a direct view across the lake to the Swiss Alps. Despite the already elevated landscape, many of Johannes’ vineyards sit around 450m above sea level. The lake and Alpine weather systems bring significant rainfall, around 1000mm annually, making vineyard work both challenging and rewarding. Soils are dominated by yellow marl, with granite and quartz pebbles deposited by the glacier that formed the Bodensee. Vineyard work focuses on low yields and concentration, with tall cover crops and naturally managed canopies.
So far, Johannes has focused on a small and precise range of wines: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir (Krähen), and a Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Sekt from Chardonnay. From the 2023 vintage, Johannes has also released a cuvée of Completer, an ancient local variety with remarkable intensity and character. His 2024 Chardonnay release was delivered over three wines: a Village, 1.Cru Van Hauen and Grand Cru Austernacker.
Oak influence is kept quite subtle overall, the wines may briefly see new barrels before moving into custom stainless-steel vessels sized like barriques. Johannes is clearly in the fortunate position of having a supportive and generous family behind him, allowing him to replant key vineyard sites with carefully selected genetics of DRC clone Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Completer, invest in a vertical Champagne press, Stockinger barrels and maintain meticulous vineyard work throughout the season. That said, the wines speak clearly of Johannes’ own work ethic, the research, patience, curiosity and dedication he brings to the winery translates entirely into the wines.
There is currently quite a lot of attention around Johannes and his wines. Quantities remain extremely small and demand is already high, and for good reason, the quality is striking, and the wines feel unlike anything else we’ve encountered in Germany.
