Sekt reborn
Though initially a luxury product, German sparkling wine experienced a downturn in quality that marred its reputation for years. Now, a renewed focus on traditional winemaking techniques is revitalising the category, says Anne Krebiehl MW
Anne Krebiehl MW
You can still be forgiven for turning your nose up at Sekt – German sparkling wine – in New York or London, but in Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, Sekt is the new ‘sexy’. About time too, since Germany has an illustrious but almost forgotten history when it comes to effervescence. In the 19th century, Sekt spelled pure luxury, but by the turn of the millennium, 20 years ago, it had become a byword for sweetish, mass-produced plonk. Sekt, which had lagged behind in Germany’s quality revolution, is the country’s latest category to experience a revival. It is back with a vengeance – and real quality.
Circuitous journey
When Georg Christian Kessler founded Germany’s first Sekt house in 1826, he was the disruptor of the day. Soon more Sektkellereien sprang up. Kessler had worked for BarbeNicole Clicquot Ponsardin in Reims, France – the widow herself – rising through the ranks to become partner in the Champagne house before founding his own business in Germany.
The Germans had experimented with making sparkling wines for a while, but
Napoleon’s occupation and annexation of the German territories on the left bank of the Rhine from the 1790s until 1814 had left a distinct fashion for that new-fangled, fizzing French wine which soon turned into serious business. Making sparkling wine was, after all, a way of adding value to the naturally acidic and slender German base wines.
By 1900, Germany produced more than 10 million bottles of Sekt. This roaring trade attracted taxation: in 1909, the Sektsteuer that had been introduced in 1902 to finance Kaiser Wilhelm’s navy started taxing Sekt according to price. This turned the tide against the best and most expensive Sekts and allowed Champagne to cement its place in the world. Two world wars did the rest.
Sekt’s fortunes only rose again in the 1950s, when big houses such as Henkell and Kessler introduced 20cl piccolo/pikkolo bottles that popularised the former luxury. By the late 1960s, most of the German Sekt houses had adopted cheaper, more efficient tank fermentation and turned German, then panEuropean base wines into easy-drinking, affordable Sekt. What had once been the preserve of the rich was democratised – but the art of bottle fermentation was almost lost.
In the late 1980s, it was once again taxation, or rather a technicality in its administration, that changed Sekt’s fortunes. Winemakers could now hold untaxed Sekt in bond in their own cellars: traditional-method Sekt became an option again. Experimentation duly started. Some made it their main business, others developed a sideline. The 1990s then saw the legal framework for quality Sekt expanded with the definition of the terms ‘Crémant’ and ‘Winzersekt’ (see box). Over the past decade, the once-demeaned term ‘Sekt’ has been revived and rehabilitated. In 2018, the VDP, Germany’s association of elite wine estates, published its own Sekt statute – signalling that Sekt has come full circle. Making Sekt is now a serious discipline with ambitious producers setting their sights on quality. Plots are dedicated to growing base wines for Sekt and are farmed accordingly, while quality notches higher.
The state of Sekt
In terms of grape varieties, Sekt is either classical or uniquely German. When made from Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay as single variety or blend, Sekt takes its place neatly alongside other traditional-method sparkling wines from around the world – benefiting from inherent freshness. More and more, Pinot Blanc also plays a role. But Germany’s unique proposition in the sparkling realm is Rieslingsekt. Natural lightness and acidity predestine Riesling for sparkling wine production, but its aromatic make-up, with notes of citrus, herbs and stone fruit, can result in distinctive Sekts.
Some producers aim for varietally pronounced Sekts, harvesting later to capture most of the aromatic development. Such Sekts illustrate the aromatic evolution of Riesling flavours. Rieslingsekts can become honeyed with post-disgorgement ageing, even when bone-dry, and some producers give it a greater varietal edge by adding a small dosage of a
‘Over the past decade, the once-demeaned term “Sekt” has been revived and rehabilitated’
mature sweet Riesling. Others bring out Riesling’s essential steeliness with long-aged, thrilling, zero-dosage Sekts that should carry the warning ‘for acid-loving adults only’. Rieslingsekt is a category to watch.
Niko Brandner, the winemaker at Griesel & Compagnie, who turned heads with his first releases in 2015, speaks of a ‘minimalist’ approach that the top estates adhere to: no filtration, no fining, no enzymes, little or no sulphur dioxide and enough time on lees for both base wine and Sekt. These producers try to make do with no or very low dosage to show off the wine’s purity. Brandner says: ‘Artisanalquality Sekt is experiencing a real upswing, and this affects all producers.’
While the production of premium-quality Sekt is still dwarfed by the vast production of tank-fermented Sekts, the Germans have upped their game over the past decade, and continue to do so – at a different level from the initial traditional-method Winzersekts of the late 1990s and 2000s. The best bottles are still slumbering in deep, cold cellars waiting to be disgorged. If you know where to look, there is much to look forward to.
‘Artisanal-quality Sekt is experiencing a real upswing and this affects all producers’
DNiko Brandner, Griesel & Compagnie (above)