Christmann & Kauffmann

From Champagne Master to Palatinate Pioneer

When Mathieu Kauffmann sent Steffen Christmann a spontaneous email in 2019, nobody anticipated the wave it would set in motion. The Alsatian had just left his position at Reichsrat von Buhl – after years in which he had proven that German sparkling wines can stand shoulder to shoulder with great Champagnes. Before that? Thirteen years as Chef de Cave at Bollinger, where he learned what makes timeless sparkling wines enduring. Christmann, an eighth-generation vintner and VDP President, had just acquired twelve hectares from his neighbour Mugler – too much for his existing estate, perfect for a new project. Sophie Christmann, his daughter and partner in the Riesling-focused family winery, completed the trio.

The Numbering System: Clarity Instead of Marketing

The sparkling wine system follows a disarmingly simple logic: all 100-series numbers are single-varietal Rieslings, all 200-series numbers are Burgundy cuvées from Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. The final digit documents each new disgorgement – transparency as principle. So the connoisseur knows immediately with Cuvée No. 104: fourth disgorgement, pure Riesling. The Cuvée No. 204, by contrast, unites the elegance of the Burgundy varieties – creamy, with fine yeast notes and vibrant acidity.

Biodynamics Without Compromise

Christmann & Kauffmann is Germany's first purely biodynamic sparkling wine estate and respekt-BIODYN member. In the vineyards on limestone and bunter sandstone of the Mittelhaardt, work follows Demeter principles – no concessions to efficiency, full concentration on living soils. What begins in the vineyard continues in the cellar: spontaneous fermentation in large wooden barrels, at least 31 months on the lees, zero dosage. No sulphur, no fining. The planned vineyard site sparkling wines from Gimmeldinger Biengarten and Königsbacher Heidböhl will rest for five to eight years on the lees. Unprecedented by German standards – and a statement: here sparkling wine is created that could not have developed anywhere else.

Terroir Instead of Technique

"We want to make a sparkling wine that could only have grown in the Palatinate," Kauffmann formulates the creed. The cool nights flowing down from the Palatinate Forest gift the grapes that acidity freshness which great sparkling wines need. Hand harvesting takes place in 8-kilo crates; from grape to press no more than thirteen minutes elapse. With an initial production of 10,000 bottles and a target of 80,000, the trio demonstrates good judgement. The holy grail will be a sparkling wine from Christmann's most renowned vineyard site, the Idig – with up to eight years of lees ageing. Until then, the cuvées already provide the proof: the Palatinate plays in the Champagne league. Anyone who knows the sparkling wine estate Andres & Mugler knows: things are bubbling in Gimmeldingen and the surrounding area.