Summary
Dreissigacker in Bechtheim is today one of the defining names in Rheinhessen's organic movement. Across around 40 hectares in the Wonnegau it produces puristic, mineral wines – above all dry Rieslings, complemented by refined Pinots. What sets the estate apart is the combination of consistent organic work in the vineyard and a clear, modern cellar style that brings the limestone soils around Bechtheim and Westhofen into the glass. Under Jochen Dreissigacker, the family business has risen in just a few years from a classic winery to one of Rheinhessen's most talked-about producers.
History
The estate's roots reach far back – 1728 is often cited as the founding year, making Dreissigacker one of the long-established family businesses of the Wonnegau. For generations it was a classic Rheinhessen winery that sold part of its grapes to the cooperative or as bulk wine.
The decisive turn came with Jochen Dreissigacker. He bottled his first own wine around 2001 and took over responsibility in the business from about 2005 – initially together with his father Frieder. His training with renowned winemakers of the region shaped him. With great ambition, Jochen consistently reoriented the estate towards high-quality, dry wines and, in 2007, launched the conversion to organic viticulture, completed over several years. In a short time the tradition-rich family estate became a flagship of Rheinhessen's young, quality-driven generation of growers.
Location & Terroir
Dreissigacker lies in the Wonnegau, the southern part of Rheinhessen between Worms and Alzey – an area that ranks among the sources of some of Germany's best dry white wines. The climate is mild and comparatively dry, since Rheinhessen sits in the rain shadow of the Donnersberg and the Palatinate Forest.
Decisive is the subsoil: limestone shapes the best sites and gives the wines their salty minerality and taut core. The heart is the south-facing Bechtheim Geyersberg with weathered limestone soil, ideal for deep, structured Riesling. Added to this are parcels in further Bechtheim sites such as Hasensprung and Rosengarten, as well as in the famous Westhofen sites Kirchspiel, Aulerde and Morstein. This small-scale diversity allows the estate to draw a distinct character from each site.
Style & Philosophy
The core idea at Dreissigacker is purism: wines that show their origin as unadulterated as possible. The basis is organic, in part biodynamic work in the vineyard – healthy soils, cover crops, no chemical-synthetic sprays. In the cellar Jochen Dreissigacker relies on spontaneous fermentation, long lees ageing and a restrained use of wood, so that fruit, acidity and minerality stay in the foreground.
The result is dry Rieslings with clear fruit, salinity and fine structure – from the lively estate wine to the dense, long-lived single-site wine. The Pinots (Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay) have also become a hallmark: precise, mineral and without an opulent oak note. A small, refined range of sparkling wine rounds off the portfolio.
Notable Sites & Wines
The range is clearly tiered: from accessible estate and village wines through single-site wines to the top bottlings from the best limestone parcels. Among the most important sites and wines are:
- Bechtheim Geyersberg – the heart of the estate; the upper parcels are regarded as a grand site for Riesling
- Bechtheim Hasensprung and Rosengarten – classic village sites around Bechtheim
- Westhofen Kirchspiel, Aulerde and Morstein – famous limestone sites of the Wonnegau
- Estate and village wines as an accessible, dry entry into the estate's style
The single-site Rieslings, above all from the Geyersberg, regularly count among Rheinhessen's most noted dry white wines.
Awards
For years Dreissigacker has consistently gathered strong ratings in the leading wine guides. For the 2021 vintage the estate was recognised in the Eichelmann guide for the best white-wine collection; added to this are high scores from international critics for the single-site Rieslings from the Geyersberg and Westhofen. Alongside its organic certification, the estate also carries the FAIR'N GREEN sustainability label. Dreissigacker is thus today one of the faces of a modern, ecologically minded Rheinhessen – and has done much to win recognition for the Wonnegau as a source of top-quality dry wine.