“TRADITION BEATS ANY TREND.”
FRIEDRICH BECKER SPEAKS ABOUT HIS WINE AND WINE ESTATE IN SCHWEIGEN
Friedrich Becker
Hauptstraße 29
76889 Schweigen
Phone | +49 (0)6342/290 |
---|---|
Fax | +49 (0)6342/6148 |
wein@friedrichbecker.de |
Office Hours
Fr 14.00-16.00; Sa 12.00-16.00Owner
Friedrich Wilhelm Becker
Cellarmaster
Friedrich Wilhelm Becker
Member Since
2000
Wine Area
29,80 acres
Grape Variety
80% Burgundersorten sowie Riesling, Silvaner, Muskateller, Traminer
Geology
Kalkmergel, Muschelkalk und lehmig, tonige Böden, aber auch Sandstein und Sandsteinverwitterung
Growing Areas
Memberships
VDP: What is so special about your winery?
Friedrich Becker: Our focus on the Pinot grape varieties. This is also evident in our two monopole vineyards, both of which are planted with Pinot Noir. SANKT PAUL and HEYDENREICH are also both VDP.GROSSE LAGE® vineyards. Our border location is also special. Our vineyards are located in the Pfalz and in France. We have long winemaking tradition; the Becker family is already in its seventh generation of winegrowers!
VDP:What is your winery philosophy?
Friedrich Becker: I can tell you that in three sentences. First, making wine is and remains a matter of instinct. Second, experience is good support. And third, tradition beats every trend.
“OUR TOP RED WINES ARE USUALLY NOT SOLD UNTIL FOUR YEARS AFTER THE HARVEST.”
VDP:For what wine style do you strive?
Friedrich Becker: Our goal is drinking pleasure at a high quality level. Very important is the ageing potential, especially for our wines that are matured in small oak barrels. As a rule, our top red wines are not sold until four years after the harvest.
VDP:Do you have a favourite grape variety?
Friedrich Becker: Even two: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
La Belle Vue
Pinot Noir
VDP.GUTSWEIN
VDP:Which of your wines would you recommend to someone who doesn't yet know your winery – as an introduction, so to speak?
Friedrich Becker: Our VDP.ORTSWEIN wines, Schweigen Pinot Noir, Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris) Kalkmergel and Schweigen Chardonnay.
VDP:Of which wines are you particularly proud?
Friedrich Becker: Especially our Pinot Noirs from VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS® vineyards and the VDP.ORTSWEIN Chardonnay Mineral. Hopefully you will hear (and drink) a lot more about our new top wine ‘La Belle Vue’ Pinot Noir in the future.
VDP:Why did you become a vintner?
Friedrich Becker: It’s always been my dream job. And then my stays in Burgundy, New Zealand, California and the Wachau proved to me that the world of wine never gets boring.
VDP:Do you have role models?
Friedrich Becker: One or two top producers from Burgundy.
VDP:What are your next goals?
Friedrich Becker: To vinify world-class Chardonnays from our top vineyards.
VDP:How do you combine tradition and innovation?
Friedrich Becker: Every tradition was once an innovation. It only becomes dangerous when you get comfortable and stagnate. We attach great importance to manipulating the wine as little as possible, in the vineyard and in the cellar. The wine must show where it comes from.
VDP:Why should people visit your winery?
Friedrich Becker: Schweigen lies in a great area. The view from Sonnenberg to the Rhine Plain is unique. You can go for a walk in the Palatinate Forest and simply get away from it all. And the pretty town of Weissenburg in Alsace is just a stone’s throw away.
Fotos: © VDP.Weingut Friedrich Becker