Summary
Weingut Georg Mosbacher in Forst an der Weinstraße is one of the most reliable Riesling addresses in the Pfalz. Family-owned since 1921 and today run by the third generation, Sabine Mosbacher-Düringer and Jürgen Düringer, the VDP estate farms around 23 hectares in the famous sites of Forst, Deidesheim, Wachenheim and Ruppertsberg. About 80% of that is planted with Riesling. The estate has worked organically since 2012, and all wines have been certified organic since 2019. Stylistically, Mosbacher stands for clear, dry, precise Rieslings that bring the terroir of the Mittelhaardt into the bottle without any cellar theatrics – from the estate wine up to the Großes Gewächs wines from Ungeheuer, Pechstein and Freundstück.
History
The story of the estate begins in 1921, when the Mosbacher family founded its own winery in Forst. Forst was already a big name at the time: since the 19th century the village's vineyards had been regarded as the best in the Pfalz, and many of the great Deidesheim and Forst houses held their top parcels here. The young family business grew into this environment and, according to the VDP, was admitted to the association of Prädikat wine estates as early as 1928.
The decisive leap in quality came under Richard Mosbacher, who ran the estate from the mid-1960s together with his wife Hildegard. With great skill in the cellar he built the estate's reputation far beyond the Pfalz, and he still advises the winery today.
Since the early 1990s the third generation has been in charge. Sabine Mosbacher-Düringer studied viticulture in Geisenheim, worked for several years in the international wine trade and joined her parents' business in 1991; in 2004 she also earned the Diploma of Wines and Spirits. Her husband Jürgen Düringer, who comes from a winegrowing family in Ihringen on the Kaiserstuhl, took over the vineyard and cellar in 1992. Under the two of them the estate was systematically converted to organic viticulture – a process that began in 2012 and was completed with the organic certification of all wines from 2019.
Location & Terroir
The estate sits right on the German Wine Route in the centre of Forst, a small wine village between Deidesheim and Wachenheim. Forst is the heart of the Mittelhaardt: the Haardt ridge shields the vineyards from wind and weather from the west, the climate is mild and sunny, and the growing season is long enough to ripen Riesling fully without losing its acidity.
What makes Forst unique is its basalt. The dark volcanic rock was once quarried at the Pechsteinkopf above the village and spread into the vineyards over the centuries. Basalt stores warmth, releases potassium and gives the wines a smoky, mineral edge – most pronounced in sites such as Pechstein and Ungeheuer. Elsewhere, coloured sandstone, limestone, loam and sand shape the parcels in Deidesheim, Wachenheim and Ruppertsberg. This small-scale diversity allows Mosbacher to craft a distinctive Riesling from each site.
The roughly 23 hectares are spread across about 20 single vineyards. Since 2012 they have been farmed according to organic rules: cover crops, no synthetic pesticides, plenty of manual work and selective harvesting ensure healthy, ripe grapes.
Style & Philosophy
Mosbacher sees itself as a classic Riesling estate. Around 80% of the vineyard area belongs to the variety, and the aim is not a flashy cellar style but clarity: the wines should taste of where they come from. The grapes are hand-selected, the musts pressed gently and the wines aged in stainless steel and traditional wooden casks. Too much new oak is avoided so that fruit, acidity and minerality stay in the foreground.
The result is dry Rieslings with taut structure, precise fruit and the smoky, salty note that is typical of Forst. The wines are approachable when young but gain considerable depth with a few years in bottle. The range is rounded out by Weißburgunder, Grauburgunder and a fresh Sauvignon Blanc, a small share of Spätburgunder and estate sparkling wine – the winery is one of the producers of VDP.Sekt.Prestige.
Sustainability here is more than a label: in addition to EU organic certification, the estate has been certified under the FairChoice standard since early 2024, which assesses ecological, social and economic criteria together. The motto 'hand in hand' describes both the teamwork of family and staff and the way the vineyards are treated.
Notable Sites & Wines
The range follows the VDP pyramid: estate wines, village wines from Forst and Deidesheim, wines from VDP.Erste Lagen (premier cru) and, at the top, the Großes Gewächs wines. Mosbacher owns parcels in seven grand cru sites:
- Forster Ungeheuer – the flagship of the house: powerful, spicy, with basalt smoke and a long finish
- Forster Pechstein – taut, mineral and darkly smoky on black basalt
- Forster Freundstück – a small site right next to Kirchenstück and Jesuitengarten, fine-boned and elegant
- Forster Jesuitengarten – full of finesse, with ripe fruit and fine acidity
- Deidesheimer Kieselberg – on pebbly soil, playful and fruit-driven
- Deidesheimer Kalkofen – limestone-driven, dense and creamy
- Deidesheimer Langenmorgen – warm and round, with yellow fruit
They are joined by around eleven premier cru sites, including Forster Stift, Elster and Musenhang, Deidesheimer Mäushöhle, Herrgottsacker, Leinhöhle and Paradiesgarten, Wachenheimer Altenburg, Gerümpel and Goldbächel as well as Ruppertsberger Reiterpfad. These wines in particular are an insider tip: they show the Forst character at a much friendlier price than the Großes Gewächs bottlings.
Awards
Weingut Georg Mosbacher has been listed in the major German wine guides for years and is regularly honoured. In the Eichelmann guide 2018 the estate received four and a half stars, and the Ungeheuer Riesling GG was named 'Classic of the Year'. The Gault&Millau wine guide rated the estate three grapes in the same year, and at Falstaff and Vinum the Großes Gewächs wines from Ungeheuer, Pechstein and Kieselberg keep appearing in the leading group of the Pfalz. Since converting to organic farming, Mosbacher has also become one of the most distinctive organically run VDP estates of the Mittelhaardt – proof that classic Forst Riesling and modern, sustainable viticulture go together perfectly.
