23/05/2026
Competition Creates Focus
Maybe you didn’t know this yet — now you do.
After many conversations, observations and inspirations around planting density, competition and balance in the vineyard, we planted a high-density Riesling plot in April 2024 in the Appenheimer Hundertgulden.
20,000 vines per hectare.
The parcel is located in the “Oberer Aufland” section — the highest part of the Hundertgulden. Poor limestone soils, plenty of wind, plenty of tension. A place that has fascinated us for a long time.
Why plant this densely in the first place?
Quite simply: competition creates focus.
Each individual vine has to cope with less space, less water and fewer nutrients. As a result, the vine naturally finds more balance, roots deeper and puts its energy not into mass, but into smaller, more concentrated grapes.
Less yield per vine.
More expression per grape.
Another important point: with higher planting density, the soil surface gets shaded earlier, which can help retain moisture during dry years. At the same time, this kind of viticulture forces us to work even more precisely and consistently — almost everything here is done by hand.
In 2026, we’ll be allowed to harvest the first small crop. So far, everything looks beautiful. The rain in May gave the young vines a huge push, everything is standing in lush green, and with the warmer days ahead, growth is about to take off.
It remains an experiment.
But these are exactly the kind of projects we love. Because they challenge us. And because they might show what great Riesling can look like in the future.
