Julia Bertram-Baltes, Pinot Noir Queen.

Julia Bertram, the hidden wine gem of the Ahr

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

Julia Bertram and Benedikt Baltes strive to let both the terroir and that elegance speak. From 2019 they have worked organically. The Ahr is one of Germany's most northerly wine regions, yet it is best known for red wine from Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir). It is warm enough here to achieve fully ripe grapes.

Stodden, Meyer-Näkel, Adeneuer

Of course there are others in the Ahr with a big reputation — Stodden, Adeneuer, and Meyer-Näkel among them. But I find Julia Bertram stands out above them all. She also manages to keep alcohol levels classically low, which in this era of climate change is an impressive feat.

Wine Queen 2012 with great talent

Julia Bertram (born Christmas Eve 1989, Dernau) is a lucky one. From her grandparents, aunt, father, and mother she was able to take over beautiful vineyard parcels in the finest Lagen of the Ahr — many of them in the family for over 100 years. Famous names such as the Grosses Gewächse sites Sonnenberg, Hardtberg, Rosenthal, Forstberg, Schieferlay, and Goldkaul.

In total she now works 11 vineyards along the river Ahr, making a separate red wine from each. She also makes a beautiful blanc de noir. Her vineyards have old vines with low yields. View the wines of Julia Bertram-Baltes here: https://lekkersapje.nl/collections/alle-wijnen?filter.p.m.customAttributes.land=Duitsland&page=2&sort_by=price-ascending

The Ahr flows from southwest to northeast, creating many south-facing slopes. The often steep hillsides rise from 100 to 260 metres, with soils consisting mainly of slate and Grauwacke. These dark soils absorb heat and radiate it back at night, protecting the vineyards from cold, frost, and botrytis. All of this makes the Ahr a unique wine region in Germany and the world.

Organic vinification

Everything is harvested by hand — often slightly earlier than others, to retain enough acidity in the must and keep alcohol lower by harvesting at lower sugar levels. She allows the must to ferment spontaneously into wine, then gives the new wine a long ageing in old, large barrels. So expect no vanilla or heavy smoky notes. What instead? Complexity, elegance, and a richly layered structure. Julia Bertram learned her craft under Werner Näkel and studied at the prestigious wine university in Geisenheim (Rheingau) near Bingen.

Rare clones

Another stroke of luck: the vines are not only old but consist of rare clones from the Ahr itself, as well as 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 grey sandstone, hard and full of quartz, feldspar, mica, and rock fragments.

The Ahr and wine

The Ahr wine region covers just 560 hectares and lies at the very limit of where wine can be made (50° north latitude). The river Ahr flows into the Rhine and has carved out a deep valley that creates a unique microclimate — relatively warm, sunny, and dry

Frühburgunder

It is believed that various blue grape varieties were first planted in the Middle Ages. Pinot varieties came later, after the Thirty Years' War in the 19th century. Today almost only Pinot Noir / Spätburgunder remains, along with the very interesting Frühburgunder (aka Pinot Madeleine).

Due to political and economic instability, plus the vine louse Phylloxera imported from the US, the wine region shrank dramatically in the late 19th century — many winemakers emigrated and between 1883 and 1925 the vineyard area halved. After land consolidation (Flurbereinigung) in 1950 and the planting of high-yielding Pinot clones, the Ahr grew again as a wine region.

History of the Julia Bertram estate

Her great-grandfather started in 1910 with 2 hectares on steep slate slopes. From 2014 Julia Bertram began working in the winery. In 2017 she took over the business from her mother and aunt. Her husband Benedikt Baltes helps with the winemaking — himself a great wine talent, also from the Ahr. Until recently he made wine in Franconia at Weingut Stad Klingenberg near Churfranken, where Julia's wines are also fermented. Now a modern wine cellar is under construction in Dernau and Benedikt works exclusively there.

Organic viticulture

Julia Bertram-Baltes has farmed her vineyards organically since 2019. Between the vine rows grow cover crops that have seeded themselves naturally. The training system is mainly Guyot, with some bush vines planted freely, and a trial with Gobelet pruning. Julia pays close attention to each microterroir and tries to get the best from her Spätburgunder in every parcel.

Because the slopes are steep, everything is done by hand — giving the best possible contact with the vineyard. Old vines are carefully tended, yields are kept low, and harvest is earlier than most, all to preserve freshness, acidity, and low alcohol. With climate change, more measures are needed: active canopy management means she leaves the leaf canopy on the sunny side to shade the grapes.

"My wine is made in the vineyard."

In the cellar, Julia and Benedikt do as little as possible. "My wine is made in the vineyard." In the cellar the goal is to preserve complexity and elegance — handling the grapes and must gently, using no additives, letting the wine do everything itself. Every wine is made the same way: three to four days of cold maceration followed by spontaneous fermentation with the skins in stainless steel or open wooden vats, lasting around 10 days, followed by gentle pressing. The wine then moves by gravity (no pump) into barrel, where it ages for at least 12 months.

The Handwerk wines then age a further six months on fine lees in stainless steel. The Dernauer and Ahrweiler Spätburgunders age 75% in neutral wood (300–500L) and 25% in new and second-year barrels. The wood comes from Churfranken and Julia selects it herself. "The wood is only a tool, not a flavour-maker. Pinot from slate is very critical when it comes to oak."

Juiciness 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. They often have fine, almost floral notes and an elegant minerality with coolness, juice, and sensuality. Real wines for ageing. The closer you stay to the origin, the higher the quality. That's why we use 1er Lage (Premier Cru) and Grosse Lage (GG, Grand Cru) on the label — even though we are not members of the VDP." In short: Julia Bertram-Baltes, brilliant winemaker from the Ahr.

More about German wine: https://www.duitsewijn.nl/