It was love that brought him to the Palatinate. Haardt Hills stands for alcohol-free premium wines with genuine character: clear, precise, uncompromising.
Gregory Emmel founded the label in Gimmeldingen, at the foot of the Haardt mountains. His wines are made from grapes grown by family-run estates in the Mittelhaardt. Membrane technology combined with vacuum distillation gently removes the alcohol – preserving aroma and structure.
Riesling, Chardonnay (90 Pigott points) and Rosé: wines for moments of pure enjoyment.
More about Haardt Hills
Hear the name and you think of hills – and you would not be wrong. Die Haardt is the mountain range on the eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest, whose foothills run through the finest vineyard sites of the Palatinate. Gregory Emmel has made this name his mission: wines with origin, depth and precision – simply without alcohol.
The Munich native who married into the Palatinate
The story sounds like a romance set among the vines: Gregory Emmel left Munich to settle in Gimmeldingen – in the heart of the Mittelhaardt, surrounded by vineyards that have been yielding Riesling for centuries. His partner comes from one of the region’s most important winemaking families. Eight generations of viticulture shape the environment in which Haardt Hills was born. The biodynamic Weingut Christmann, also based in Gimmeldingen, shows just what level the region can reach.
Gregory himself does not come from a winemaking background – and that is precisely what makes his perspective so unprejudiced. He recognised early on that the technology for high-quality alcohol-free wine has long existed. What was missing was someone to combine it consistently with quality grapes.
Membrane technology meets Mittelhaardt terroir
At Haardt Hills, dealcoholisation combines membrane filtration with gentle vacuum distillation. At low temperatures, the alcohol molecules are separated out without destroying the volatile aromatic compounds. The result does not taste like juice or a substitute – but like exactly what it is: wine minus alcohol.
The grapes come from partner estates in the immediate vicinity: families who have tended their vineyards for generations and practise sustainable viticulture. The coloured sandstone soils of the Haardt, the mild climate with over 1,800 hours of sunshine and the protective flank of the Palatinate Forest create ideal conditions for aromatic, structured grapes.
Three wines, one promise
The range is deliberately focused: three grape varieties, three characters.
The Riesling 2025 displays classic Palatinate minerality – citrus, peach and a hint of wet limestone. The acidity remains precise, the finish is long. Anyone who knows good German Riesling will recognise it here.
The Chardonnay 2025 surprised even Stuart Pigott: the wine critic awarded it 90 points. Yellow apple, ripe pear, a touch of the exotic – and a creamy texture reminiscent of Burgundian models.
The Rosé 2024 brings strawberry and red berries to the glass, inviting and summery-fresh. A wine for an afternoon in the garden or for a business lunch where a clear head matters.
Home is where the Haardt is
The estate’s slogan plays on a double meaning – Haardt sounds like “heart”, and that is exactly the point: wines made with passion and a sense of home. Gregory Emmel does not see alcohol-free wine as a compromise or an alternative, but as a category in its own right. For everyone who wants to enjoy a drink with a clear head – whether out of conviction, because they are driving, or simply because the moment calls for it.
The Haardt Hills wines prove that character does not need alcohol. It needs good grapes, careful winemaking and someone who knows what really matters.