September 30th: Dr. Bürklin-Wolf with Fabian Fleckenstein
At Vinonueva | 5145 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL, 33137 | 7:00 pm-8:30 pm
Click HERE to get tickets
With a history dating back to 1597, Dr. Bürklin-Wolf is one of the historic estates of the Pfalz and has long held an important place in German viticulture. Based in Wachenheim, it was traditionally counted among the “Three Bs of the Pfalz,” alongside Bassermann-Jordan and von Buhl — three estates closely associated with the region’s history and reputation for fine wine.
More than four centuries of family history have shaped the vineyards Bürklin-Wolf works with today, but the estate’s modern identity took a decisive turn in 1990, when Bettina Bürklin-von Guradze assumed leadership of the family estate.
At the center of it all is Riesling. For Bürklin-Wolf, the variety has a particular ability to transmit the differences between sites, making it the vehicle through which the estate explores the character of its vineyards and its understanding of terroir.
This Walkthrough tasting is an opportunity to explore Bürklin-Wolf through that lens — not simply as a tasting of German Riesling, but as a look at how centuries of history, vineyard classification, farming and individual sites come together within one estate in the Mittelhaardt.
Joining us directly from the Dr. Bürklin-Wolf team is Fabian Fleckenstein, the estate’s Export Manager, who will lead us through the tasting and share the wines and vineyards from the perspective of the estate itself.
BACKGROUND
Dr. Bürklin-Wolf is one of Germany’s historic wine estates, with a family tradition in Wachenheim that dates back to 1597. Today, the estate works with an important collection of vineyards across the Mittelhaardt, including sites in Wachenheim, Forst, Deidesheim and Ruppertsberg, with a focus on dry Riesling and the expression of individual vineyard sites.
The story begins with Bernhard Bürklin, town clerk and later mayor of Wachenheim, who acquired agricultural land and vineyards between 1580 and 1636, establishing the Bürklin family’s viticultural roots in the area. The family’s history becomes more difficult to trace during the Wars of Succession, before the name reappears some two centuries later.
Another important part of the estate’s history came through Johann Ludwig Wolf, one of the richest men in the Pfalz. Wolf lived from 1777 to 1840 and owned significant vineyards in Wachenheim, Forst, Deidesheim and Ruppertsberg. These holdings would eventually become central to the estate we know today.
The name Dr. Bürklin-Wolf came together through the 1875 marriage of Luise Wolf and Dr. Albert Bürklin. Luise brought the Wolf family’s valuable vineyard holdings into their joint ownership, while Dr. Albert Bürklin expanded the estate and developed it as a model for quality wine production. Beyond wine, he was an important public and cultural figure.
In 1924, the great-nephew of the same name, Dr. Albert Bürklin, inherited the entire property and later helped rebuild agriculture and viticulture in the Pfalz after World War II. During his tenure, he continued to acquire vineyards, systematically expanded the estate’s cellar facilities, and maintained a clear focus on producing, marketing, and distributing top-quality wines. Under his stewardship, Bürklin-Wolf flourished once again, expanding its presence both within Germany and internationally.
After his death in 1979, his wife, Jutta Bürklin, managed the winery through a period of significant change in German viticulture. In 1990, she handed the family estate to her eldest daughter, Bettina Bürklin-von Guradze.
A NEW DIRECTION
Bettina’s arrival marked an important turning point for Bürklin-Wolf. Together with Christian von Guradze, she began looking closely at how the estate’s individual vineyards could be understood, classified, and ultimately expressed through the wines.
Beginning in 1990, Bürklin-Wolf developed its own vineyard classification based on geological and climatic factors. The system was inspired by two important references: the Royal Bavarian vineyard classification of 1828 and the hierarchy used in Burgundy.
The connection to Burgundy was not simply about borrowing terminology. The estate saw parallels between the geographical structure of the Mittelhaardt and the Côte d’Or and adopted the idea that individual vineyard sites could be understood through a hierarchy based on their potential and character.
At the top of Bürklin-Wolf’s classification are its G.C. wines, which the estate considers comparable to Burgundy's Grands Crus. These come from its most highly regarded individual sites.
The P.C. wines correspond to the idea of Premier Cru vineyards. They combine the character of the wider region with the particular expression of an individual site.
Below these are the estate’s village Rieslings, produced exclusively from classified vineyards within Forst, Deidesheim, Ruppertsberg and Wachenheim. The estate Riesling brings together Riesling from sites across these four villages, offering a broader expression of the Mittelhaardt.
For Bürklin-Wolf, this hierarchy ultimately comes down to origin. The estate uses the term “appellations” for the origins reserved for its most valuable wines, but its idea of an appellation extends beyond a geographical boundary. It includes the geology, climate, and other conditions of a particular site and how those factors are ultimately expressed in the wine.
FROM TERROIR TO BIODYNAMICS
As Bürklin-Wolf became increasingly focused on the identity of individual vineyards, another question emerged: how could the estate farm these sites in a way that would allow their differences to come through more clearly while preserving the vineyards for future generations?
The move toward biodynamics developed gradually. During travels in the United States, the family encountered Nicolas Joly’s book ‘Biodynamic Wine, Demystified’, which introduced them more deeply to biodynamic viticulture. They then spoke with growers already working this way, including French producer Marc Kreydenweiss, who became a trusted adviser to the estate.
For Bürklin-Wolf, the interest in biodynamics became closely connected to its interest in terroir. The estate had come to believe that greater site expression would not simply come through changes or innovations in the cellar. Attention had to begin in the vineyard.
In 2005, Bürklin-Wolf converted the entire estate to biodynamic viticulture.
The estate sees this approach as a way to maintain the long-term health of its soils and vines while allowing the individuality of its vineyards to emerge more clearly in the wines. It describes the soils as more vital, the vines as more resistant, and the resulting wines as more individual since making the transition.
Check out the lineup for this tasting:
- Riesling Trocken ‘Domaine' 2023
- Riesling Estate Trocken 2024
- Riesling Wachenheim 'R' Trocken 2021
- Riesling Wachenheim 2024
- Riesling Gaisböhl Monopole Trocken Grand Cru 2024
Photo credits: Dr. Bürklin-Wolf