Almost 250 German sparkling wine producers took part in the Meininger’s Deutscher Sektpreis (for German sparkling wines from traditional bottle fermentation only), which took place for the eighth time in 2022.  The best collection was provided by the Sekthaus Raumland, which represents the benchmark for German  sparkling wine  with eleven award-winning sparkling wines and an average score of almost 93.

The topic of German sparkling wine from traditional bottle fermentation has once again gained significant momentum in recent years. More and more German wineries produce their own sparkling wine and in more than remarkable qualities.  German premium sparkling wine is characterized not only in terms of its high qualities, but also by the variety of grape varieties used, different styles and also the variety of suitable opportunities to enjoy them. Many sparkling wines are not only suitable as a classic aperitif, but also very well as a menu companion.

For the competition, 570 sparkling wines were tasted over three days in seven categories. A total of 43 experts for German sparkling wine evaluated the sparkling wines individually and blindly, i.e. without knowing the producer, on the basis of the internationally recognized 100-point scheme.

In the afternoon, the best six sparkling wines per category then faced the direct comparison to determine the places 1 to 3. New this year was the category of the Premium Riesling sparkling wine, which, analogous to the category Premium Burgundy sparkling wine, have been on the yeast for at least 36 months.

Riesling sparkling wine

In the category of Riesling sparkling wine, this year the winery Prinz von Hessen from Johannisberg (Rheingau) wins with their 2016 Winkeler Hasensprung Riesling Sekt brut.  Second place went to the Sekthaus Krack from Deidesheim in the Palatinate, which has already attracted attention in recent years. Third place goes to the Kiefer-Seufert winery from Ballrechten-Dottingen (Baden).

Premium Riesling sparkling wine

In the category of the Premium Riesling sparkling wine (at least 36 months on the yeast), the 2012 avec pläsier Le Grand Riesling brut from the winery Schloss Sommerhausen from Franconia convinced with the first place. The second place goes to the winery Geheimer Rat Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan, Deidesheim (Pfalz), followed by the Sekthaus Raumland (Rheinhessen) in third place.

Burgundy sparkling wines

In the category of the Burgundy sparkling wines, which lay on the yeast for less than 36 months, the winery Klostermühlenhof from Hahnheim (Rheinhessen) wins with its Pinot brut nature.  In second place and third place follows last year’s winner of this category, Griesel Sekt from Hessische Bergstraße.

Prestige Burgundy sparkling wines

The victory in the category of the Prestige Burgundy sparkling wines (at least 36 months on the yeast) this year goes to a sparkling wine from a winery that  has already won this category in 2017: the winery Aldinger from Fellbach (Württemberg) with its Aldinger brut nature.  Second place goes to last year’s winner Sekthaus Raumland, followed by Oliver Zeter from Neustadt (Pfalz).

Rosé sparkling wines

In the category of rosé sparkling wines, Griesel Sekt defends its victory from the previous year with the 2018 Rosé extra brut Prestige. Second place goes to the Andres winery from Deidesheim (Palatinate), followed by a cooperation: the 2014 Rosé Réserve brut nature BASF Exklusiv from Sekthaus Raumland.

Variety category

In the variety category, after winning in 2017 and 2019, Schloss Vaux from the Rheingau with its 2019 Grüner Veltliner brut will once again make it this year.  The winning trio is completed by the Hubertus M. Apel winery from Nittel (Moselle) and the Friedrich Kiefer winery from Eichstetten (Baden).

Dry sparkling wines, more rs

In the category of dry sparkling wine, which has more residual sweetness than the sparkling wine of the taste brut, this year the winery Franz Xaver from Waldkirch-Buchholz (Baden)  wins with its Gelber Muskateller sparkling wine dry. Second place was shared by Bergsträsser Winzer eG (Hessische Bergstraße) and Weingut Albert Lambrich from Oberwesel-Dellhofen (Mittelrhein).

Best collection of the competition

After Griesel Sekt presented the best collection of the competition for the first time last year,  in 2022 the Sekthaus Raumland achieves the best overall result with a total of eleven excellent sparkling wines and an average rating of almost 93 points  and after a one-year break brings the award “Sparkling wine collection of the year 2022” back to Flörsheim-Dahlsheim .

Quality throughout Germany

Also in 2022, the competition confirms the quality aspirations of a whole series of sparkling wine producers throughout Germany.  Top ratings for their sparkling wines, at least three awarded sparkling wines in the competition and an average result of at least 90 points were achieved this year in addition to Raumland and Griesel, among others Oliver Zeter (Pfalz), Sekthaus Burkhardt Schür (Franconia), Sektkellerei Fitz (Pfalz), Weingut Klostermühlenhof (Rheinhessen), Weingut Bergdolt Klostergut St. Lambrecht (Pfalz), Sektmanufaktur Schloss Vaux (Rheingau),  Privat-Sektkellerei Reinecker (Baden), Wein- und Sektgut Barth (Rheingau), Sekthaus Krack (Pfalz), Weingut Braunewell (Rheinhessen), Weingut am Nil, Weingut Bernhard Koch, Weingut Borell-Diehl, Weingut Jülg und Weingut Reinhardt (all Pfalz) as well as the Weingut Meine Freiheit (Rheingau).

The renewed increase in the quality of the sparkling wines in the competition is underlined  by the new record of 146 sparklings, which were rated with 90 or more points.

Christian Wolf, Director Degustation at Meininger Verlag: “It was three highly exciting tasting days, not only for our experts, but also for ourselves. In the end, to see which sparkling wines made it to the final in a close decision and then to the winner’s podium was very exciting to watch. Overall, I can say that we have never been able to taste such a wide range of great German sparkling wines. German sparkling wine has more than earned its place in the league of top sparkling wines from all over the world.”

All awarded sparkling wines as well as further information on the eighth Meiningers Deutscher Sektpreis can be found at: www.meininger.de.

Meiningers Weinwelt will present  the first place winners as well as the top 100 of the best German sparkling wine from traditional bottle fermentation in the next issue, which will be published in mid-September.

The category winners of Meininger’s Deutscher Sektpreis 2022 at a glance:

Category I – Riesling sparkling wine

1st place   
2016 Winkler Hasensprung Riesling Sekt brut

Weingut Prinz von Hessen, Geisenheim Johannisberg (Rheingau)

92 points, 15,90 Euro

2nd place 
2019 Riesling extra brut

Sekthaus Krack, Deidesheim (Pfalz)

92 points, 18,00 Euro

3rd place
2019 Riesling Sparkling Wine Zero Dosage

Weingut Kiefer-Seufert, Ballrechten-Dottingen (Baden)

91 points, 17,00 Euro

Category I. I – Prestige Riesling sparkling wine

1st place 
2012 avec pläsier Le Grand Riesling brut

Weingut Schloss Sommerhausen, Sommerhausen (Franconia)

94 points, 29,00 Euro

2nd place
2016 Riesling brut nature

Weingut Geheimer Rat Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan, Deidesheim (Pfalz)

94 points, 26,50 Euro

3rd place
2018 Riesling Brut

Sekthaus Raumland, Flörsheim-Dalsheim (Rheinhessen)

94 points, 22,00 Euro

Category II – Burgundy sparkling wine

1st place 
Pinot brut nature

Weingut Klostermühlenhof, Hahnheim (Rheinhessen)

94 points, 11,50 Euro

2nd place
2018 Pinot Noir Brut Nature Prestige

Griesel Sekt – Sekthaus Streit, Bensheim (Hessische Bergstraße)

94 points, 26,00 Euro

3rd place  
2019 Blanc de Blancs Brut Tradition

Griesel Sekt – Sekthaus Streit, Bensheim (Hessische Bergstraße)

93 points, 17,70 Euro

Category III – Prestige Burgundy sparkling wine (min. 36 months yeast storage)

1st place
Aldinger Brut Nature

Weingut Aldinger, Fellbach (Württemberg)
94 points, 50,00 Euro

2nd place
2013 Pinot Blanc de Noirs Réserve

Sekthaus Raumland, Flörsheim-Dalsheim (RheinhesseN)
94 points, 36,00 Euro

3rd place
Zeró 100 Grande Cuvée Réserve Brut Nature

                        Oliver Zeter, Neustadt-Haardt, (Palatinate)

94 points, 48,00 Euro

Category IV – Rosé Sparkling Wine

1st place
2018 Rosé Extra Brut Prestige

                        Griesel Sekt – Sekthaus Streit, Bensheim (Hessische Bergstraße)

                        93 points, 2 5,00 Euro

2nd place     
2019 6670 Rosé brut

                        Weingut Andres, Deidesheim (Pfalz)

                        93 points, 15,00 Euro

3rd place 
2014 Rosé Réserve Brut Nature BASF Exklusiv

                        BASF Weinkeller, Sekthaus Raumland

                        93 points, 24,50 Euro

Category V – Variety of sparkling wine 

1st place  
2019 Grüner Veltliner brut

                        Sektmanufaktur Schloss Vaux, Eltville (Rheingau)

                        90 points, 22,00 Euro

2nd place
Elbling – Extra Brut

Winery Hubertus M. Apel Inh. Harald & Hubert Apel, Nittel (Mosel)

                        90 points, 10,50 Euro

3rd place 
Sauvignon Blanc Sekt Brut

                        Friedrich Kiefer KG Privatkellerei – Winery, Eichstetten (Baden)

                        90 points, 12,00 Euro

Category VI – Sparkling wine dry

1st place
Yellow Muscat sparkling wine dry

Weingut Franz Xaver, Waldkirch-Buchholz (Baden)

                        90 points, 10,90 Euro

2nd place   
2020 Goldmuskateller Sekt

Bergsträsser Winzer eG, Heppenheim (Hessische Bergstraße)

90 points, 12,50 Euro

2nd place 
2018 Winzersekt Riesling dry

                        Weingut Albert Lambrich, Oberwesel-Dellhofen (Middle Rhine)

                        90 points, 9,90 Euro

Special award

Sparkling wine collection of the year 2022

Sekthaus Raumland, Flörsheim-Dalsheim (Rheinhessen)

About Meininger’s German Sparkling Wine Award

Since 2015, a selected jury of sparkling wine experts  has come together in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Germany, every year to taste and evaluate around 600 sparkling wines using the internationally recognized 100-point scheme blind. The organizer of  the competition, which is recognized by the ministry of Rheinland-Pfalz, is Meininger Verlag, founded in 1903 in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, one of the oldest German specialist publishers and managed in the fourth generation by Andrea Meininger-Apfel and Christoph Meininger. The media company specialises in the wine and beverage industry in particular and is unique in Europe with its portfolio. In addition to well-known trade journals, Meininger organizes trade fairs, industry events and specialist congresses. Meininger Verlag has made a successful name for itself internationally with the Great International Wine Award MUNDUS VINI.

Source: press release

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