This wine was, is, or will be the the greatest Dornfelder you’ve ever had. Which maybe isn’t saying much as Dornfelder is a grape that usually gets over-cropped and added to other anemic red wines to bolster the color – a natural omega purple if you will.* Here, with the Brand “Cuvée Flora,” we have an old-vine Dornfelder vineyard (about an acre and a half in size) planted a half-century ago by Daniel and Jonas’ grandfather, and worked by the grandfather and his beloved horse, Flora. The horse was necessary given the soil: This is one of the most brutal parcels they have, dense with limestone boulders seemingly bubbling up from the ground. The vineyard is at the top of the Sonnenberg mountain and thus is ravished by wind and experiences extreme temperature shifts between day and night. The site produces very low yields, and thus a singular Dornfelder of ravishing complexity. If this wine tasted exactly the same and wasn’t Dornfelder and wasn’t from Germany, it’d be three times the price. While the wine has the signature inky darkness, it is not a rich or heavy wine. In fact, it is energized, quite lively on the palate with a mineral and citrus-driven acidity reminiscent of white wine. There is something of the Loire Valley here, like Cabernet Franc gone Cabernet Deutsch. Dark fruited, brambly, herbal, the wine is textural yet very fresh on the palate, multifaceted and complex.

The family owned winery Brand in the Palatinate has been producing wines with an individual personality for five generations since 1891. In 2014 sons Daniel & Jonas took over the winery from their father Jürgen. They consistently focus on an ecological cultivation of the vineyards, “Working in nature and with nature” – this is their conviction.

The logo represents two things: you can find the hand taking an oath on the keystone of St. Martin’s Church in our village of Bockenheim and therefore it represents our emotional relationship to our region. On the other hand, the hand is a symbol for quality in the bottle and our close connection to nature.

They entirely refuse to use mineral fertilizers or pesticides. Instead they use the power of nature: plant-based remedies such as herbal extracts or teas strengthen their vines. More biodiversity helps to keep the vineyards vital and the soils healthy. Therefore they plant clover and wild herbs on their cultivated areas to attract more bees and other beneficial insects.
Together with the ideal climatic conditions, healthy and juicy grapes can grow in a natural balance and good wine can be produced in truly organic quality.