Why it matters
The producer
Hanspeter and Edeltraud Ziereisen run the estate with Ida and Johann at Markgrafenstrasse 17 in Efringen-Kirchen. The producer’s history dates the winery to 1991, when Hanspeter, trained as a carpenter, began building a wine business with Edeltraud; the estate says it grew to 21 hectares. That family work now appears in bottles labelled from individual varieties through site-led premium wines and Jaspis selections.
The Ziereisen family has lived in Efringen-Kirchen since 1734, but the present winery began with a change of trade. Hanspeter brought a carpenter’s background to a parents’ farm that he and Edeltraud converted into a wine-growing business. Their first bottled vintage followed in 1993, shifting the family’s work from farm production to named estate bottles: Gutedel, Burgundian varieties, rosé, sparkling wine and red blends could carry the Ziereisen name from the village cellar.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Efringen-Kirchen lies in Baden, in Germany’s warm southern corner, where the estate’s slopes are described as steep and south-facing. Most Ziereisen vineyards sit in the Efringer Ölberg, so the wines begin from a concentrated local area rather than a scattered collection of distant parcels. Spätburgunder and Gutedel form the core of the planting, while Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Muskat, Gewürztraminer and Syrah widen the cellar’s palette.
The documented ground beneath TAL 23 is Muschelkalk, a shell limestone, with a loess covering. In this dry Spätburgunder, that setting accompanies a firm, chalky, salty finish rather than a broad, sweet-fruited Pinot Noir. The wider estate also works limestone soils on warm slopes, a combination that supports ripe grapes while leaving room for herbs, smoke and savoury detail in the finished wines.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Nearly all vine work, including harvest, is done by hand, and the estate describes its farming as close to nature and sustainable; German Wine USA reports no chemical fertilisers or chemical sprays in the vineyards. Healthy, ripe berries are selected before spontaneous fermentation, which lets each lot begin without a cultured yeast recipe. The result is not a claim of uniform flavour, but a method that keeps fruit, herb and earth notes connected to the grapes that arrived from the slope.
Wood is central after harvest. The estate uses vessels from 225 to 4,000 litres, and wines can remain on lees for as long as 24 months. Estate wines spend roughly six to ten months on lees in wood, varietal wines at least ten months, and premium wines 12 to 22 months before bottling without fining or filtration. For reds such as TAL 23, selective hand harvest, spontaneous fermentation, about four weeks on skins and large-cask ageing build tannin and weight while keeping oak in the background.
Wines to know
The range in view
The entry range includes Heugumber Gutedel, Schmätterling rosé, Marienchäfer Regent and Ohrechübler sparkling wine. These wines are spontaneously fermented and spend six to ten months on lees in wood, so the rosé and white wines are framed by texture as well as fruit. The varietal line then brings Gutedel, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Muskateller, Gewürztraminer and Blauer Spätburgunder into view, each with at least ten months in wooden casks.
Premium wines narrow the focus to a named growing place: Steingrüble Gutedel, Lügle Pinot Blanc, Musbrugger Pinot Gris, Hard Chardonnay, and reds including Tschuppen, Talrain, Schulen, Rhini and Gestad. The Jaspis wines sit above them as occasional bottlings from the estate’s oldest vines and selected parcels; they include Grauer Burgunder, Chardonnay, Gutedel 10⁴, Pinot Noir, Spätburgunder and Syrah. Across these levels, the structural thread is dry fruit, lees contact and oak vessels, not a single grape or colour.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with TAL 23 Blauer Spätburgunder, a dry 2023 Badischer Landwein from the Oberrhein. It is Spätburgunder from shell limestone with loess, fermented spontaneously, held on skins for about four weeks, matured for at least 24 months in large traditional wooden casks and bottled unfiltered. Mulberry, black cherry, cassis, pepper and herbs lead into fresh acidity, velvet-textured tannin and a chalky finish. It brings place, hand selection, wood ageing and the estate’s preference for Landwein onto one label without asking for a Jaspis bottle first.