Weingut Sonnenberg

About the winery

Weingut Sonnenberg Speeter is a family winery in Neuleiningen, in the Pfalz. It is owned by Moritz, Christian and Maximilian Speeter; Moritz also runs the estate day to day, and Robin Bergelt is our cellar master. We keep the operation small enough to know every wine, and we sell directly rather than through wholesalers. Our home is the Sonnenberg, a south-facing hill at around 300 metres above sea level with limestone soils, including shell limestone (Muschelkalk). Up on the hill temperatures are slightly cooler, while the southern exposure brings plenty of sun, and we find that this combination shows in the wines as freshness and a fine mineral line. Our Riesling and Spätburgunder labelled Vom Muschelkalk come from those limestone parcels. White grapes lead: Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Auxerrois, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Scheurebe and Huxelrebe, made dry, off-dry (feinherb) and in fruity sweet styles. Our Sauvignon Blanc from the Neuleininger Sonnenberg carries a light touch of oak, and a Schlossberg Chardonnay Reserve is aged in wooden casks. Reds include Spätburgunder, Schwarzriesling from old vines, Dornfelder and Acolon, as well as a blend of Spätburgunder, Acolon and Schwarzriesling fermented on the skins in steel and then aged in barrique. We make traditional method sekt from Auxerrois and from Chardonnay, the latter a brut nature with no residual sugar, alongside a Riesling sekt and several alcohol-free drinks.