Summary
Weingut Rings in Freinsheim is one of the celebrated rising stars of the Pfalz. Run by brothers Steffen and Andreas Rings, the family estate has worked its way into the top tier of the German wine world in just a few years. Across around 45 hectares it produces two wine types at the highest level: powerful, mineral, dry Rieslings as Grosses Gewächs (grand cru dry wines) and an internationally acclaimed Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir). Rings has been a VDP member since 2015 and certified organic since 2017. The respected wine guide Eichelmann describes the wines as "world class".
History
The estate's roots reach back to 1960. It has carried the Rings name since 1976, when Traudel and Willi Rings took over the operation and, alongside the vines, initially also ran fruit orchards. The real ascent began with the next generation: from 1993 the first wines were marketed under the estate's own label.
The decisive turning point came with Steffen Rings, who took over management in 2001 and, with solid oenological training and great ambition, was able to vinify his first vintage that year. In the same year he launched the "Kreuz" project, a homage to the great red wines of Bordeaux. In 2008 his brother Andreas Rings joined the estate, strengthening in particular the work in the vineyard. Together the brothers shaped the estate into an address that now regularly takes top places – for example at the German Red Wine Prize. Admission to the VDP in 2015 confirmed this rise.
Location & Terroir
Rings is based in Freinsheim in the northern Mittelhaardt, the heartland of the Pfalz that produces some of Germany's finest dry wines. The climate is mild and sun-blessed; the Haardt ridge, the eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest, shelters the vines from weather extremes and gives them long, warm ripening periods.
The diversity of the soils is decisive. Alongside loess and loam, the best sites are shaped above all by limestone and limestone marl, together with sandy gravel and red sandstone. The famous Kallstadter Saumagen, for instance, sits on limestone-rich ground that gives the Rieslings power, salinity and a taut structure. This small-scale geological variety allows the estate to draw both mineral white wines and dense, profound Pinot Noirs from the sites that suit each best.
Style & Philosophy
The brothers Rings aim to bring the origin of each individual site into the wine as clearly as possible. The foundation for this is work in the vineyard: since 2017 the estate has been farmed organically, with healthy soils, low yields and careful hand-harvesting. In the cellar the Rings rely on spontaneous fermentation, long lees ageing and a restrained approach that does not mask the fruit.
For Riesling this produces dry wines with a dense body, fine minerality and great ageing potential. For Spätburgunder – the German name for Pinot Noir – the brothers work in a Burgundian-inspired way: whole-bunch portions and ageing in oak casks and barriques yield dense, elegant reds with fine tannins. The range is rounded out by Weißburgunder (Pinot Blanc) and by Bordeaux-inspired blends around the "Kreuz" project, into which Cabernet Sauvignon also flows.
Notable Vineyards & Wines
The range is clearly tiered: from accessible estate wines through village wines to the Grosses Gewächs from the VDP.Grosse Lage sites. The estate's most important vineyards include:
- Kallstadter Saumagen – legendary limestone site, the basis for some of the estate's finest dry Rieslings
- Ungsteiner Weilberg – clear, precise Riesling with citrus notes and great length
- Kallstadter Annaberg – grand cru site for Riesling and Spätburgunder
- Felsenberg in Leistadt – grand cru site with distinctive minerality
- Forster Ungeheuer – powerful and spicy
- Steinacker, Nußriegel and Leistadter Kalkofen – premier cru sites, among others for Spätburgunder
These wines regularly rank among the highest-rated of the Pfalz – for both Riesling and red wine.
Awards
Since the change of generation, Rings has consistently earned top marks in the leading wine guides (Eichelmann, Falstaff, Gault&Millau). The Eichelmann guide describes the estate as "world class", and at the German Red Wine Prize the brothers regularly take top places with their Pinot Noirs. Rings thus stands today as an example of the Pfalz's new generation: a family estate that brings both dry Riesling and German Pinot Noir to world level.