Andreas Bender, Riesling Brut Sekt, 2021

Born in Leiwen in the Mosel in 1980, Andreas Bender first learnt about soil, viticulture and terroir from his father, a vine propagator, and made his own wine when he was just thirteen years old. He knew from an early age that this is what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. Andreas went on to study at Geisenheim and spent a few years working for different wineries in Germany, France, Italy and the USA before starting his own project with his family’s vineyards in 2008. His philosophy is really quite unique in the world of German wine: instead of following the widely accepted German model whereby top single vineyards are vinified and bottled separately, he blends them according to three different styles: Dajoar, Paulessen and Hofpäsch. While on the one hand his ideas are very modern, when it comes to winemaking itself, Andreas is very committed to tradition: he believes careful cellar work, simple winemaking methods and natural fermentation.