Our visit to winery Philipp Kuhn was quite impressive in several ways - how to build up something over such a long period of time, how to look into the future with all faith and how to respect nature with all your heart.

It’s not very hard to connect to this outstanding winemaker from the Pfalz. When we arrived at winery Philipp Kuhn it was the crazy time of Corona shutdowns and weird uncertainty, how things will develop for hotels, restaurants and wineries in Germany. But Philipp was smiling and joking from the first minute to the last. 

The thing that seemed to be most concerning to Philipp Kuhn was that he could not show us his great wines immediately. Just because we asked to see his beautiful vineyards first. When trying the wines later we understood: the wines tell you the whole story themselves.

A short remark regarding: Save the planet

One thing we have to emphasize: We did our tour through the vineyards in an electric vehicle. Philipp didn’t buy it last week. He has it since many years. Because he is convinced, that nature needs to be respected and everyone can do their part in protecting the world from climate change. An aspect that can not be underlined enough. It’s not about talking. It’s about setting examples.

Back to the vineyards

You understand quickly that every vine Philipp planted has a story to tell. He was forced to stand on his own two feet at a very young age. That defined him somehow. At the same time, he was celebrated as a shooting star and a very unique talent in trying new things - especially in the topic of red wines - also at a very young age. So the vines tell a story of trying new grape varieties, having success and developing it further or the other way around - having no success and trying something new. But that was the young Philipp.

The Philipp of 2020 seems to be a very balanced person. He has achieved a lot and he knows that. Even though times are difficult because of pandemic shutdowns, his very loyal customers come into the winery and leave it with plenty of wine boxes and a big smile. That makes life as a winemaker a little easier.

What to do when inheriting a winery at the age of 20

The conversation gets even more interesting while we speak about the transition from his father 

Philipp Kuhn took over the full responsibility for the winery at the age of only 20 years. Today, most wineries would chose a smooth transition and also in 1992 there was no specific pressure to hand over the responsibility all at once. But still Philipp’s father decided to do it like that. Maybe, because he had a lot of faith in his son. Maybe, because he had nothing to lose. 

The winery that Philipp inherited had 8 ha of vineyards, was focussed on making semi-dry red and white wines from it. It was the time of the “Glykolskandal”. 1985 was the year when the wine adulteration was a topic in the media for weeks and seriously damaged the reputation of Austrian and German viticulture. It was a long way of recovery from that serious mess.

Not the best time to take over a winery in the Palatinate region. But young Philipp was convinced to be able to make a change and he did. Looking back, he calls it naive. The transition happened step by step, but it happened. He took over a winery that was just about to collapse and turned it into a success story. 

More red varieties, more dry wines, more foreign grape varieties, small steps, but towards a clear target. And definitely towards more success. He made his first barrel of Kirschgarten Pinot Noir in a barrique that he got as a Christmas present. And next month he was listed as a top ten red wine maker by a famous German wine magazine.

We love to read in old wine guides - like the Gault Millau. In 2000, winery Philipp Kuhn had one star and was mentioned for it’s interesting dry whites. In 2006, it reads like „now the reds belong to the very best in Palatinate“ and „the Pinots and Cabernets have class and personality, hardly any weaknesses at all“. That tells the story very well.

Late love for Rieslings

Philipp says he discovered his love for Riesling at a very late stage. But then he did like a true Hero of Riesling. If you want to experience this love, you have to stop by the winery and do a tasting. Each of his GG Rieslings shows a clear expression of the vineyard. All of them are dry and all of them are super precise. His favorite remains the Kirschgarten, he says. This is where it all began, the vineyard in the backyard of the winery.

We can only say, we have been big fans of the wines of Philipp Kuhn, but now we are also big fans of the man who makes them. 

If you want to read some of the tasting notes - just read our tasting notes HERE.

And further impressions of our visit:

Weingut Philipp Kuhn
Großkarlbacher Str. 20
67229 Laumersheim
Germany

Visit website of winemaker Philipp Kuhn.