11th July, 2016 by Darren Smith
15. Tobias Knewitz – Weingut Knewitz, Rheinhessen
Honoured as ‘Talent of the Year’ by leading German wine magazine Falstaff in 2014, Appenheim winemaker Tobias Knewitz is also a firm favourite of German wine aficionado Stuart Pigott.
Tobias is certainly precocious. He made his first wine in 2005 at the absurdly young age of 14. Tobias’s winemaking talents also earned his first ‘Grape’ from the German Gault & Millau wine guide six years ago, when he was just 19 years old.
From 2007-10, Tobias gained experience as an apprentice at the celebrated Pfalz wineries of Philipp Kuhn and Herbert Meßmer. Then came wine studies at Geisenheim, followed by a six-month internship at Weingut Philipp Wittmann in Rheinhessen. Tobias has also completed traineeships in Burgundy, Champagne, Bordeaux and South Africa.
The 2010 vintage was his first in overall charge at the 20ha Weingut Knewitz, located between Appenheim and Nieder-Hilbershiem. Since then, focusing on traditional local grape varieties, principally Riesling, Weißburgunder and Silvaner, he has been making wine which reflect the origin of the grapes in their taste.
His single-vineyard Riesling from the Hundertgulden vineyard site in Appenheim could be considered his calling card. ….