Odinstal

Meet Odinstal

The Odinstal Estate was established back in 1802 by the Mayor of Wachenheim who was on the hunt for a unique plot of land to plant a special vineyard. The tiny 5.5 hectare parcel is planted on a number of different soil types - basalt, calcareous clay, shell limestone and red sandstone. This diversity of soils is highly unusual for the Pfalz region.

Odinstal is one of Germany’s most unique vineyards. All of the treatments and preparations for the soils are produced on site, showing a remarkable commitment to biodynamic principles and sustainable farming. The land has been farmed organically since the 90s and biodynamically since 2006. When walking through the vineyards there is a special energy that surrounds these vineyards that are completely apart from any other farm or vineyard in the entire area. The ripeness (due to the unsual high altitude) is achieved much later than the region's average, allowing the grapes to develop a slower and more concentrated flavour. Winemaker Andreas Schumann, the mastermind behind the success of the estate, also keeps his influence in the cellar to a minimum, using only native yeasts and ageing the wines for a prolonged period of time on the lees. The wines are then aged in the bottle for 4-6 months until the wine is ready to be released.

Do not be fooled by the rather classical labels - the amount of risk the team at Odinstal has taken in the recent years is nothing short of inspiring. Especially from the 2018 vintage, where the wines are surrounded by a certain tension not achieved in previous years when the estate still added SO2 at bottling. Their standout wine has to be ‘Terrassen Nakt' - a blend of three vintages and three extreme projects that come from a vineyard hardly touched and sprayed throughout the year.