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Julia Bertram

Julia Bertram crafts taut, elegant Burgundy wines in the Ahr Valley, characterised by clear fruit and minerality.

julia bertram winzerin im keller

«At home, I’m in the Ahr Valley.»

Julia grew up in Dernau, a small wine village in the Ahr Valley. Here, almost everything revolves around wine. Spätburgunder from steep slate vineyards, to be precise.

As German Wine Queen, Julia travelled extensively and was able to experience all facets of German wine and carry them out into the world. The oenologist who studied in Geisenheim describes her time as a representative of German wine today as a unique experience.

All photographs © by Julia Bertram.

The different soils of the Ahr Valley, above all the slate in all its manifestations, define the distinctive style of my wines.

Slate sets the theme

Julia Bertram focuses on her wines, as is customary in the Ahr, on red Burgundy varieties – Spätburgunder and Frühburgunder – and can draw on a treasure of old vines that was already cultivated by her mother and aunt. She has a particular sensitivity in coaxing aromatic finesse and mineral elegance from the steep Ahr vineyard sites. The wines have a cool acidity, which contributes to their longevity and also to their drinkability.

mayschoss ahrtal bertram wein
sonnenberg julia bertram profil

Soil, weather, work

My wines should inspire through their authenticity. In the vineyard, the story of a vintage and a part of my personality are later revealed in the glass. That’s why I focus my efforts on working the steep slopes. From distinctive vineyard sites, old vines and plenty of manual labour, characterful and long-lived Burgundies emerge here. The quality achieved in the vineyard I try to preserve in the cellar through gentle handling.

Wooden barrel – a means to an end

Wooden barrels, also called barrique, have a long tradition in the Ahr. Winemakers such as Stodden and Mayer-Näkel were pioneers in the use of small French barrels.
Bertram sees the wooden barrel as one stylistic element, but one that must never be dominant. The delicate Burgundy aromas and the slate terroir should not be obscured. Julia works with barrels of different sizes, which she sources from coopers she knows personally.

spätburgunder trauben hand

The Vineyard Sites of Julia Bertram on the Ahr

Mayschosser Mönchberg

The terraces of the steep vineyard site “Mayschosser Mönchberg” are not only among the most spectacular but also the most highly regarded top sites in the upper Ahr Valley. Rocks, walls and very stony slate weathering soils store solar radiation and create an optimal microclimate. Here in the terraced vineyards, which cannot be worked with machinery, complex Pinot Noirs develop with fine structure.

mayschoss moenchberg
dernauer pfarrwingert julia bertram

Dernauer Pfarrwingert

The Pfarrwingert is the Bertrams’ home vineyard. Directly behind the family winery extends the south-facing steep slope with its easily warmed soils. Slate and greywacke dominate the soil composition here. This granular detrital sediment promotes fine wines with elegant fruit and spicy minerality.

Dernauer Hardtberg

The undulating hills of the Dernauer Hardtberg with south-south-easterly exposure characterise the townscape of Dernau. Through unweathered Devonian rock and greywacke, very elegant Burgundy wines are produced here.

dernauer hardtberg julia bertram
dernauer schieferlay

Dernauer Schieferlay

Lay means rock. The name is programme here. Above the viaduct of a never-completed railway line, delicate and fine-structured wines grow on greywacke and slate.

Dernauer Burggarten

The name Dernauer Burggarten refers to the location of a former castle and features both flat and sloping vineyard sites. Over several thousand years, the finest Ahr sediment and Ahr gravel have settled here above the loess loam soil. The wines typically present pronounced youthful fruit and a pleasant freshness.

Dernauer Goldkaul

Through the small, very narrow side valley and the south-facing orientation, the vineyard site gets its name: Goldkaul, which could also mean goldmine. Below Dernau’s landmark, the Krausberg Tower, lie the mostly terraced steep and very steep vineyard sites. The not yet consolidated vineyards are characterised by a very fine conglomerate of slate and greywacke. Pinot Noirs from the Goldkaul fascinate with their fine fruit combined with the spice of slate.

Marienthaler Trotzenberg

The Marienthaler Trotzenberg resembles a parabolic mirror and faces south-west. The vineyard site is located in one of the narrowest sections of the entire river valley, and the narrow valley basin creates an extremely steep slope. The vines grow directly above a slate rock face, so the high proportion of stone produces very mineral wines with a fine acidity.

Ahrweiler Daubhaus

At the transition from Ahrweiler to Neuenahr district lies the vineyard site Daubhaus. According to local accounts, it takes its name from a former barrel stave manufactory nearby. On loess loam and loess, very full-bodied and fruit-driven wines are produced here.

Ahrweiler Rosenthal

Directly parallel to the medieval town centre of Ahrweiler lies the Ahrweiler Rosenthal with the distinctive feature of bridge pillars from an unfinished railway line. The soils are characterised by loess loam and greywacke. Wines from the Rosenthal possess a particularly pronounced bouquet and display their origin with character.

Ahrweiler Forstberg

Bounded by Rosenthal and Daubhaus lies the Ahrweiler Forstberg. With south-westerly exposure into the Elig valley and a sandstone-loess mixture, optimal conditions exist here for very delicate and elegant wines.

Neuenahrer Kirchtürmchen

The somewhat cooler, higher-altitude vineyard site Kirchtürmchen is separated from the Ahrweiler Daubhaus and the adjacent arable land of the Grafschaft only by a motorway slip road. It displays a mixture of the most varied soil types. Both slope loam and loess soils as well as a loamy slate soil are found here.

Neuenahrer Sonnenberg

The Neuenahrer Sonnenberg is one of the preferred vineyard sites in the lower Ahr valley due to its slope gradient and southern exposure. The soil consists of a skeleton-rich conglomerate of greywacke with a high clay content, which gives the wines grown here strength. In a small side valley of the Sonnenberg also stand the Frühburgunder vines of the Bertrams, which are among the oldest in the Ahr valley.

All wines from Julia Bertram / Ahr

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