For a lifetime this amazing man and his wonderful wife Rita convinced people that it’s necessary to go other ways in winemaking. Today, they have proven right in every direction. What they have created is an example for many. Also for their son Johannes.
When visiting the beautiful village of Pünderich at the river Moselle, you get into a nature loving feeling. Can’t help it. The beauty of the place is just overwhelming. The river does a nice turn in this area. Looking to the other side of the river you see the beautiful Marienburg vineyard and all the nice rocks around it. So, we took a lot of time to walk through the vineyards. We also met Rita’s goats on top of the Marienburg and fed them together. It seems quite natural that we spend most of our time there talking about our love for nature.
We have been looking forward to this visit for a long time. For us, Clemens Busch is the one iconic figure when it comes to organic and biodynamic winemaking. A true pioneer in Germany. Of course, there are many others. But he was one of the very first. And he did it at the Moselle. Where vineyards are steep and very rocky. It’s not easy to climb up and down these hills - doing everything by hand without machines - and then to say: We will not use any pesticides, fungicides and herbicides anymore. You have to have a strong will. Maybe even be a bit stubborn.
Pioneer for life
When you enter the beautiful winery house of Clemens Busch at the river, you are reminded that nature has also quite often revenged itself to the people living here. The markings on the wall prove the water levels of different floods in the recent years. Two have happened this year already. One of them quite surprising due to heavy rainfalls. Although it wasn’t that bad at the Moselle, pictures from the Ahr come to mind. A good place to talk about what we can do for nature.
In our conversations with Clemens Busch, we never had the feeling that he needs to prove anything to anyone anymore. Maybe simply because he has proven his ideas for a lifetime. And that must have been one hell of a ride.
When people were struggling to make money with winemaking at the Moselle, he came up with the first ideas of biodynamic winemaking there. An idea that seems quite obvious today, after many people finally understood that our beautiful planet really needs saving.
But for the winemakers of the Moselle that must have been like talking to an alien. That was the decision to make his work harder and invest even more time and work into each vine. Hoping that there is a target group willing to pay extra for this.
What biodynamic means at the Moselle
Let’s imagine an example: It’s 2021 and the spring was really rainy. You have basically two effects: some of the vineyards are too dangerous to climb because the wet rocks make it super hard. And your vines are threatened by Peronospora, a fungal infestation that will destroy the leaves of the vine and make sure that there are no usable grapes.
If you go through the vineyards once and bring out some fungicides, things are fine. But you are destroying nature. If you want to avoid that and decide to go biodynamic, you will have to walk through the vineyards again and again to bring out some baking powder. But once is not enough. After you finished on the one side of the vineyard you can start right over again on the other side. With all the danger of climbing on the wet rocks.
Who pays for that?
One of the main uncertainties must have been, whether anyone is willing to pay extra for that. Today, we know yes. Many are. But back in the days you had to do a lot of convincing and explaining. Clemens has done that for a lifetime and that deserves a ton of respect. Because when he started is was definitely not clear that he will prove right.
What you will get when you buy a Clemens Busch Riesling is very clear: RESPECT and TIME filled into bottles. RESPECT for the quality of the vineyard, respect for the plants and animals all around it, and all the hard work that is necessary to harvest beautiful ripe grapes under this circumstances. And TIME in terms of spontaneous fermentations, long yeast contact and traditional Fuder barrels. The result are elegant and highly concentrated Rieslings that show where they come from and that can aged for decades.
What’s the next step?
What Clemens has achieved is a healthy winery and a proof that his approach is right. That is a great accomplishment. That is why for a long time already, his son Johannes has taken over responsibility for the vineyards. Comparing the two - father and son - you couldn’t say who loves nature more. And it won’t be long that Johannes will take over the full responsibility for the winery. Everything seems to be prepared.
We will definitely remain big fans of the Rieslings of Clemens Busch!
One more thing: tourists
This is a special addition to this blog article: During our visit at Clemens Busch, we have been shocked how people behave in the vineyards at the Moselle. Driving through the vineyards with their E-Bikes, insulting the winemakers that try to work there. Feeling as kings and queens, just because they are tourists and „bring some money to this region“. And finally walking through the vineyards eating all the ripe grapes.
Please support us in being a good example and saying something when you see this kind of behavior!
Weingut Clemens Busch
Kirchstraße 37
56862 Pünderich
Germany
Visit website of winemaker Clemens Busch.