Andi Weigand
WINEMAKERS
Andi Weigand
Type of agriculture
Organic, biodynamic principles
VINEYARD
9.5 hectares
COUNTRY, REGION, SUBREGION
Andi Weigand is part of the new wave of "college-escapee" winemakers sweeping Germany, overturning old expectations of his homeland's wine, but with a definite sense of place.
We were introduced by 2Naturkinder : being practically neighbours, they share ideas and also joint custody of Nick Hanel’s vineyards. The second generation of his family to make wine, Andi was inspired by visits to natural winemakers with his college mates.
Vineyards are mostly on or around the Iphöfer Kronsberg, a hill which rises precipitously from the plain below. Unique Keuper soils give the wines power without high alcohol. Andi works on the sides or lower down the hill to achieve more subtlety in his wines compared to other area producers, whose steep south-facing slopes now receive much more sunshine – perhaps climate-change induced.
Mixing tradition with progress Andi uses an 80-year-old basket press and vinifies in large German oak. He also experiments with maceration in qvevri.
"My dad was the first in our family to start making wines, and I took over in 2015. We converted to organic winemaking with the first natural vintage coming out in 2018. I am really lucky to have parents who are open-minded enough and had confidence in the future of natural wines, as most people around here were still more inclined towards commercial wines. But they acknowledged my passion and drive and let me go ahead with it, and we are all pretty happy with the results.
"Today, my dad and I work together: I am the head behind the production and he works in the background and lets me lead the way.
"Right now, there is a clear natural winemaking trend happening in Germany. People are turning away from commercially made products full of pesticides. I am happy to have good friends in the industry such as 2Naturkinder and the Brand Brothers amongst many others - we all help and motivate each other. It's great to be part of this group as we all grow together.
"At the moment I am quite happy with the development of our vineyard. We are paying great attention to the care of the old vines, which if maintained well, can flourish for another 60 years. The next future project would be making wines biodynamically - we have already started making first steps in this direction!"
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Wines
The 2020 harvest was obliterated by frosts, but somehow yielded great quality. Direct press and transferred to large German oak for 9 months before bottling.