Why it matters
The producer
Weingut Familie Allendorf is a family estate in Oestrich-Winkel whose vineyards reach from Winkel towards Rüdesheim and Assmannshausen. Riesling accounts for three quarters of the planting, so dry white wine supplies the estate’s main line; Spätburgunder provides a substantial red-wine counterpart. Ulrich Allendorf leads the business with his sister Christine Schönleber, while Max and Josef Schönleber are named as cellar masters. Since joining the VDP in 1999, the estate has worked within its vineyard classification system, including the Winkeler Hasensprung Riesling GG.
The family has lived in the Rheingau since the 13th century, and Philipp Anton Allendorf laid the foundation for the present estate in 1773. Its modern scale began with a much smaller holding. When Fritz Allendorf took over in 1955, the estate had 1.5 hectares; he began the expansion that created today’s business. The result is a producer large enough to work several Rheingau locations, while keeping a range in which Riesling remains the dominant grape and named places still carry increasing weight.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Allendorf works across several Rheingau addresses rather than treating one village as its whole world. Winkel supplies the village-labelled Riesling and the Hasensprung vineyard bottling, while Rüdesheim and Assmannshausen extend the estate’s growing territory along the Rhine. That spread matters on the label: an estate Riesling is the broadest expression, a Winkeler Riesling narrows the origin to one village, and Hasensprung names a particular vineyard within that village.
The vineyards extend over roughly 70–75 hectares and run across about 30 kilometres of the Rhine valley. That physical reach is the useful site fact here: Allendorf’s wines do not come from one uniform patch of ground, so the range moves from blended estate fruit towards wines carrying the more specific Winkeler and Hasensprung names. The estate’s site hierarchy is therefore visible before the bottle is opened.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The cellar work becomes more extended as the Riesling range becomes more specific. Winkeler Riesling trocken undergoes spontaneous fermentation, uses more than one vessel type and spends time on lees. Yeast lees can add breadth and a creamier texture while dry Riesling acidity keeps the palate moving.
At the Hasensprung level, the handling is more muscular: maceration, maturation in large cask and two years on full lees. The estate calls this GG its “weightlifter,” an apt description for a Riesling built for body and texture rather than a quick, light profile. Quercus Pinot Noir trocken follows a different route, with long maceration and maturation involving new oak; extraction supplies tannin and oak brings spice and savoury weight to the red fruit.
Wines to know
The range in view
The dry Riesling range begins with Riesling trocken, the estate-level bottle, and Save Water Drink Riesling dry, another current entry-level offering. These wines place fresh fruit, dry finish and Riesling acidity at the front of the estate’s range without asking the label to name a village or vineyard.
Winkeler Riesling trocken is the next step: the village name focuses the origin, while spontaneous fermentation and lees maturation bring more texture to the citrus-led Riesling fruit. Winkeler Hasensprung Riesling GG is the single-vineyard Riesling, with maceration, large-cask ageing and extended lees contact producing more body, grip and weight through the finish.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with Winkeler Riesling trocken. It sits between the straightforward estate Rieslings and the more demanding Hasensprung GG, so it shows both the importance of Winkel on the label and the estate’s cellar approach. Spontaneous fermentation, mixed vessels and lees maturation give dry Riesling citrus fruit a broader texture, while acidity keeps the finish clean. It is a useful first measure of how Allendorf moves from regional range to village detail.