GFor many years now, the Becker estate located in Schweigen, very far south of the Pfalz on the border of Alsace, has been one of the top Pfalz producers in Germany.

Winemaker: Fritz Wilhelm Becker (7th Generation!)
Farming: Sustainable
Variety: Pinot Gris (pours slightly copper to the pink tones of Pinot Gris skins)
Terroir: Grown on rare limestone soil with heavy topsoil of loam and clay. The vines are 15 to 39 years old and do grow low yields around 45 to 65 hl per hectare. It is a curious fact, that most of the wines are located on today’s French side of the border but we are still allowed to produce German wine there as the family owns the vineyards for many generations already. (Almost 70% of their vineyards are located in Alsace!)
Vinification: The grapes were hand-harvested and destammed. Before pressing, the grapes were macerating for 12 to 24 hours days to extract all the flavors and aromas from the grape-skins into the juice. The juice was fermented in stainless steel tanks and 2400 liter oak-barrels and afterwards let on lees for almost 5 months after fermentation to gain even more flavor and complexity trough the lees-contact.
Tasting Note: Orchard fruit with cherry blossoms.

From our July 2022 Explorer Club Notes:

Friedrich Becker Familie | Pinot Gris | Pfalz, Germany | 2019

Fritz Wilhelm Becker is the seventh generation to work his family’s mixed-use farmland in the southern Palatinate, also known as Pfalz, but the eponymous estate has only been a dedicated winery since 1973 when Friedrich Becker Sr. bottled his first wines with the frisky little fox on the label.

Pfalz is an interesting region. It is the second-largest growing region in Germany, the sunniest, driest, and one of the warmest. Pinot Gris (aka Grauburgunder), Riesling, and Pinot Noir are the stars of Pfalz, and Fritz makes amazing versions of each. Interestingly, Pfalz shares a border with Alsace, France, and many producers, including Becker, have vineyards on both sides of the border (the land was planted long before modern political borders were codified). More than half of Becker’s vineyards are technically on the French side, but after 200+ years of family cultivation, the wine industry bureaucrats are a little forgiving. This particular wine, the Familie Pinot Gris, is sourced from sustainable vineyards Fritz doesn’t own outright but does farm and harvest. These Pinot Gris vines are up to 40 years old and are grown in a rare patch of limestone (most of the region is typically loamy) resulting in low-yielding, concentrated fruit. Fritz hand-harvests the grapes and before pressing, lets them macerate for up to 24 hours with the skins, extracting major aromatics, texture, and that lovely light copper color you see in your glass. He ferments in a mix of stainless steel and 2400L neutral oak barrels, and then ages the wines for five months on their lees, pulling even more complexity, flavor, and texture during maturation.

It’s a wine that tastes like summertime in the mountains and I recommend you pack this bottle on your summer trip to Tahoe. This wine is all about beautiful orchard fruit. Grill some nectarines, and chicken breast, and mix with little gem lettuce and some chevré, and thank me later. —Cara Patricia

White Wine