Summary
Weingut Kopp in Sinzheim-Ebenung near Baden-Baden is one of the most exciting young addresses in the Ortenau. What Ewald Kopp began in 1996 with a single hectare, his son Johannes Kopp has run since 2012 as a biodynamic estate with today around 32 hectares in the best sites around the Fremersberg. The focus is on Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) and Riesling, complemented by Chardonnay and the white Pinot varieties – wines meant to reflect the varied soils of the northern Ortenau, from red sandstone to porphyry. Demeter certification, the estate's own Highland cattle, a cellar of old vintages and the restaurant EBANAT, opened in 2022, make the business a complete concept that goes far beyond wine.
History
The Kopp family has been involved in viticulture since the years after the First World War, though for a long time only as grape suppliers. It was not until 1996 that Ewald Kopp took the step towards an estate of his own: with just one hectare of vines he made his first wine himself. In the years that followed, the business grew bit by bit as the family added parcels in the best sites around Sinzheim, Varnhalt and Baden-Baden.
The decisive turning point came early and unexpectedly: Johannes Kopp lost his father during his training. In 2012, at just 21 years of age, he took on sole responsibility for the estate. He was nonetheless well prepared – a cooper-and-cellar apprenticeship was followed by stints at renowned estates such as Dr. Bürklin-Wolf in the Pfalz and Bleasdale in Australia. Rather than simply managing his inheritance, he repositioned the estate: from 2013 he did without mineral fertilisers, shortly afterwards without herbicides, and converted the whole property to biodynamics. Kopp has been a Demeter member since November 2021, and the wines are Demeter-certified from the 2022 vintage.
With the purchase of the Balzenberg site in Baden-Baden (2017) and the construction of a new winery building with restaurant, event rooms and a large glass façade (2022), Kopp has developed within a single generation from a one-hectare operation into one of the defining estates of the Ortenau. Today Johannes Kopp runs the estate together with Alina Kopp.
Location & Terroir
Ebenung lies at the foot of the Fremersberg, around five kilometres from Baden-Baden, in the northern part of the Ortenau. Here the vineyards climb from the Rhine valley into the first slopes of the Black Forest – with views across the Rhine plain as far as Strasbourg Cathedral. The climate is warm and sunny, while cool air from the Black Forest valleys and the elevation of the steep slopes preserve freshness and acidity.
The diversity of soils is defining: in the Feigenwäldchen, Buntsandstein (red sandstone) dominates, while the steep sites of Varnhalt feature weathered primary-rock soils such as porphyry, which give the Spätburgunders spice and minerality. These very differences form the foundation of the Kopp philosophy – Pinot and Riesling did not become the lead varieties by chance, but because they translate the different subsoils of the Ortenau most clearly.
The centrepiece is the monopole site Kloster Fremersberger Feigenwäldchen: around 4.8 hectares, facing due south, partly terraced and planted with old Riesling vines. The site once belonged to the monastery estate on the Fremersberg, founded in 1426, whose wines were marketed under the VDP eagle until the 1960s.
Style & Philosophy
Johannes Kopp sees the estate as a closed cycle. The biodynamic work covers composting and preparations, cover crops, the renunciation of synthetic inputs – and a herd of Scottish Highland cattle used for landscape management, whose meat ends up on the plate at the restaurant EBANAT. The estate's own water spring supplies the property in dry years.
In the cellar the rule is: as little intervention as necessary. The estate's wines are structured in three tiers:
- Estate wines (Gutsweine): variety-driven, mostly aged in stainless steel, sometimes with small barrique-aged portions
- Terroir wines: more powerful and fuller-bodied, matured in wooden casks
- Single-vineyard wines (Erste Lage and Große Lage): the top of the range – red single-vineyard wines spend at least two years in barrique, whites around one year
The Rieslings from the Feigenwäldchen show the signature particularly clearly: the Riesling Buntsandstein is aged in stainless steel, while the Riesling Terrassen ferments spontaneously in Pfalz oak casks and stays on the lees for up to a year. These are joined by traditional-method sparkling wines, including a Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut with several years on the lees, a Feigenwäldchen Riesling sparkling wine and the Grande Cuvée.
The Cellar of Rarities
Since the first vintage in 1996 the family has set aside bottles of every wine. The resulting cellar of rarities documents the estate's development and shows how well Ortenau Pinots and Rieslings age.
Notable Sites & Wines
Kopp farms parcels in several top sites of the northern Ortenau, including steep slopes that can only be tended by hand:
- Kloster Fremersberger Feigenwäldchen – the estate's monopole, Riesling on red sandstone, source of the Rieslings Buntsandstein and Terrassen
- Balzenberg in Baden-Baden – owned by the family since 2017
- Sommerhalde and Klosterbergfelsen in Varnhalt – steep sites, home of the great Spätburgunders
- Varnhalter Sonnenberg and Altenberg – further Pinot and Riesling sites
Among the best-known wines is the Spätburgunder Roter Porphyr, which carries the spicy, mineral character of the porphyry soils, as well as the barrel-aged Chardonnays and Weißburgunders. The full range extends from approachable estate wines through terroir wines to the long-lived single-vineyard Spätburgunders and the sparkling wines.
Awards
Weingut Kopp is listed in the Gault&Millau wine guide with three red grapes, and individual Spätburgunders have reached up to 92 points there. The estate has also been honoured at the Deutscher Rotweinpreis (German Red Wine Award). In 2017 the magazine Vinum counted Johannes Kopp among the eight winemakers of Germany's Pinot Noir elite and rated the 2014 Spätburgunder Roter Porphyr 17 out of 20 points. Beyond wine ratings, Kopp is regularly cited as a model estate for biodynamic viticulture and for combining winery, farming and gastronomy – most recently as an example of how a young business meets the wine crisis with innovation.
