Julia Bertram, the beautiful wine secret of the Ahr

Winemaker Julia Bertram was once (in 2012) the wine queen of all of Germany. Now she is one of the best - if not the best - winemakers from the Ahr. Together with her husband Benedikt Baltes. Their wines are crystal clear and clean, with finesse and incredible elegance. When you taste their wines, you will notice that signature immediately. In short, Julia Bertram-Baltes, a brilliant winemaker from the Ahr.

Julia Bertam and Benedikt Baltes strive to let both the terroir and that elegance speak. As of 2019, they work organically. The Ahr is one of the northernmost wine regions of Germany and yet it is best known for the red wine of Spätburgunder (Pinot noir). So it is warm enough here to get ripe grapes.

Stodden, Meyer-Näkel, Adeneuer

Of course there are others in the Ahr who have the name, such as Stodden, Adeneuer and Meyer-Näkel. But I think Julia Bertram stands out. Julia also manages to keep the alcohol percentages classically low, for example. In this time of global warming that is extra impressive.

Wine Queen 2012 with great wine talent

Julia Bertram (Christmas Eve 1989, Dernau) is a lucky bird. She was able to take over the most beautiful vineyards of the Ahr from her grandparents, aunt father and mother. The vineyards have often been in the family for more than 100 years. Famous names such as the Grosses Gewächs Lagen Sonnenberg, Hardtberg, Rosenthal, Forstberg, Schieferlay, Goldkaul.

In total there are now 11 located along the river Ahr. From each vineyard she makes a separate red wine. She also makes a nice blanc de noir . Her vineyards have old vines with low yields. View the wines of Julia Bertam-Baltes here

Organic vinification

Everything is picked by hand. Often a little earlier so that there is enough acidity in the must. And the alcohol remains lower because the sugars are lower. She lets the must ferment spontaneously into wine. And gives the new wine a long maturation on old and large wood. So don't expect vanilla or thick smoke tones. What then? Complexity, elegance and a richly layered structure. Julia Bertram learned the trade from Werner Näkel and studied at the prestigious wine university in Geisenheim (Rheingau) near Bingen.

Rare clones

Another lucky thing: the vines are not only old but consist of old and rare clones from the Ahr itself, but also from Switzerland and France. Add to this that the soils are generally very poor and varied. From more fertile loess and loam to slate and Grauwacke, a mineral-rich, gray sandstone, hard and full of quartz, feldspar or mica and rock fragments.

The Ahr and wine

The Ahr wine region is only 560 ha. And is located on the border of where you can make wine (50° north latitude). The river Ahr flows into the Rhine and has carved out a deep valley. That valley provides a unique climate; quite warm with lots of sun and dry.

The Ahr flows from southwest to northeast. This results in many slopes facing south. The often steep hills have heights of 100 to 260 meters and the soils consist mainly of slate and greywacke. These dark soils absorb heat and radiate it again at night. This protects the vineyard from cold, frost and noble rot (Botrytis). All this makes the Ahr a unique wine region in Germany and the world.

Frühburgunder

It is believed that various red grape varieties were first planted in the Middle Ages. Pinot varieties came even later, after the Thirty Years' War in the 19th century. Now there is actually only Pinot noir / Spätburgunder and also the very interesting Frühburgunder aka Pinot Madeleine.

Due to political and economic instability, plus the grape louse Phylloxera, brought over from the USA, the wine region shrank in the late 19th century. Because many winemakers emigrated and between 1883 and 1925 the wine area halved. After Flurbereinigung , land consolidation, in 1950 and the planting of high-yielding Pinot clones, the Ahr grew again as a wine region.

History of the Julia Bertram winery

Her great-grandfather started in 1910 with 2 ha on steep slate slopes. From 2014 Julia Bertram started helping with the winemaking. In 2017 she took over the winery from her mother and aunt. Her husband, Benedikt Baltes, helps with the winemaking. Benedikt Baltes is a great wine talent himself and also comes from the Ahr. Until recently he made wine in Franconia, at the Stad Klingenberg winery near Churfranken. Julia's wines were also fermented there. Now the construction of a modern wine cellar has started in Dernau and Benedikt only works in Dernau.

Organic viticulture

Julia Bertram-Baltes, a brilliant winemaker from the Ahr, has been cultivating her vineyards organically since 2019. Ground covers that have blown in naturally are planted between the rows of grapes. The planting method is mainly Guyot , a part is 'bush vine' so loosely planted. There is also a trial with Gobelet as a pruning method. Julia pays a lot of attention to each microterroir and tries to get the best out of her Spätburgunder from each plot.

Because the slopes are steep, everything is done by hand. This also gives you the best contact with the vineyard. Old vines are well cared for, the yield is kept low and the harvest is earlier than others. Everything to maintain freshness and acidity and low alcohol. With global warming, more measures are needed. For example, there is active 'canopy management': on the sunny side she leaves the canopy for shade on the grapes.

“My wine is made in the vineyard.”

In the wine cellar, Julia and Benedikt do as little as possible. "My wine is made in the vineyard." So in the cellar, it's all about preserving complexity and elegance. That means: careful handling of the grapes and the must. And they don't use additives; the wine does everything itself. Each wine is made in the same way. Three to four days of cold maceration followed by spontaneous fermentation with the skins in stainless steel or open wooden barrels. This takes about 10 days, after which a soft pressing follows. Then the wine goes into barrels via gravity (so without a pump). The wine matures there for at least 12 months.

For the Handwerk wines, another half year of maturation follows on the fine yeast (lees) on stainless steel. The Dernauer and Ahrweiler Spätburgunder mature for 75% on neutral wood (300 - 500l) and 25% on new and 2nd year wood. The wood comes from Churfranken and Julia selects it herself. "The wood is only a means, not a flavouring. Pinot from slate is very critical when it comes to wood use."

Juice and sensuality from the Ahr

Julia: "The diverse soils of the Ahr Valley, especially the various forms of slate, determine the specific style of my wines. And often the wines have fine, almost floral notes and an elegant minerality with coolness, juice and sensuality. Real wines for keeping. The closer you stay to the origin, the higher the quality. That is why we use 1e Lage (Premier Cru) and Grosse Lage (GG, Grand Cru) on the label. Even though we are not a member of the VDP". In short: Julia Bertram-Baltes, brilliant winemaker from the Ahr.

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