Beyond its long-standing reputation as the land of Riesling and other white grapes, Germany has rapidly become one of the world’s most compelling sources of Pinot Noir—known locally as Spätburgunder. As of 2021, Germany had 11,602 hectares of Pinot Noir, ranking third globally, behind only France and the United States.
Over the past two decades, the variety has steadily expanded its footprint in the country, now accounting for around 11.2% of all plantings in German vineyards. In 2020, it surpassed Müller-Thurgau to become the country’s second most planted grape. Climate change—bringing with it warmer summers, longer growing seasons, and greater ripening consistency—has played a pivotal role in elevating both quality and style of the variety’s wines in Germany.
As we shall see now, this rise is especially prominent in several key regions, especially the Baden, Ahr and Pfalz. Together, these regions have propelled Pinot Noir into Germany’s most strategically important red variety and helped position the country firmly on the global map of high-quality Pinot Noir wine production.
The Regional Landscape of German Pinot Noir
Baden: the warmest, sunniest and driest German wine region, the Baden is the undisputed heartland of Pinot Noir with about 5,400 hectares, the largest expanse of this variety’s plantings in the country. Baden offers ideal conditions for achieving full phenolic ripeness of its Pinot Noir grapes. Wines here tend to be richer, darker, riper, and more concentrated than those from the rest of Germany, and showcase the depth of volcanic terroirs. The volcanic massif of Kaiserstûhl forms the stylistic core of Baden Pinot Noir. Its weathered basalt soils—rich in iron and minerals—store heat with exceptional efficiency, while steep south-facing slopes allow grapes to achieve remarkable ripeness and flavour density. As a result, Kaiserstûhl Pinot Noir wines frequently display black cherry, ripe plum, smoke, iron-mineral notes, firm structure, and elevated alcohol. By contrast, the limestone-driven zones of Tuniberg and Breisgau produce Pinot Noir wines that lean toward elegance and Burgundian finesse: higher acidity, finer red fruit, floral aromatics, and precise mineral lines are the traits of these wines. Further north, in Ortenau, cooler conditions yield more delicate structures and heightened acidity, at times recalling the elegance of the Ahr, though still retaining Baden’s warmth.
In general, Baden Pinot Noir wines show: medium to medium-deep colour; complex layers of red/black cherry, raspberry, pomegranate, plum; smoky, stony, graphite-like minerality in volcanic sites; rose, violet, and floral lift in cooler subzones; silky yet powerful tannins; medium to medium-high acidity; 13–14% alcohol.
Baden estates often work in a distinctly Burgundian manner: low yields, extended maceration, whole-bunch fermentation, significant use of barrique (including new oak), and precise harvest timing. Producers such as Dr. Heger, Huber, Franz Keller, and Salwey have elevated Baden’s reputation to the quality pinnacle of German Pinot Noir.
Ahr: Though one of Germany’s smallest regions, the Ahr is its most Pinot Noir–focused, with 65% of the region’s vineyards planted to the grape (the highest proportion in the country) and that produce some of Germany’s most distinctive mostly cool-climate expressions of the variety’s wines. Despite its northern latitude, the Ahr Valley hosts steep, south-facing slopes and heat-retaining slate and volcanic rock soils and subsoils, enabling reliable ripening in a cool climate environment. This unique combination—cool climate × high thermal storage—produces Pinot Noirs of striking linearity, purity, and tension. Slate confers crushed-stone minerality, volcanic dust, black tea, smoke, and a cool, savoury edge. Ahr Pinots are typically pale in colour, highly aromatic, and marked by cranberry, raspberry, red cherry, wild berry, rose petals, lifted spice, and cold-stony minerality. Their structure is therefore defined by: high acidity; light to medium body; very fine tannins; pristine red fruit; and long, saline finishes.
Winemaking tends toward gentle extraction, partial whole-bunch use, cool macerations, and restrained oaking—often older or neutral barrels are used—to preserve floral detail and slate-derived purity. Leading estates include Jean Stodden, Meyer-Näkel, Krone, and J.J. Adeneuer, whose wines have brought the Ahr international acclaim.
Pfalz: The Pfalz is Germany’s second-largest wine region and one of its most dynamic sources of Pinot Noir that are generally characterized by modernity, depth of fruit, and an aroma and flavour spectrum derived from a large diversity of soils. It is the combination of warm, dry summers and diverse soils—sandstone, loess, limestone, basalt, schist—give rise to a remarkable range of styles. The Pfalz’s warmer central and southern sectors produce riper, darker-fruited Pinot Noir wines with black cherry, black raspberry, plum, licorice, and spice, supported by fuller bodies and supple tannins. Cooler northern or higher-elevation vineyards lean toward red fruit, florals, freshness, and mineral definition. Stylistically, Pfalz sits between Baden’s power and the Ahr’s cool precision—offering ripeness with balance, purity with structure. Winemaking is disciplined: lower yields, partial whole-bunch use, temperature-controlled fermentations, and restrained oak usage (often neutral barrels). Aromatic clarity and terroir transparency are paramount.Key producers include Kühling-Gillot, Müller-Catoir, Knipser, and Friedrich Becker, all central to Pfalz’s rapid ascent.
Other German Regions: Besides the three major regions just described , several German appellations offer distinctive stylistic signatures. For the most part, these Pinot Noir wines are characterized by lightness, finesse, and mostly mineral-driven expressions. For example, Pinot Noir wines of the Rheingau (Assmannshausen) speak of red slate, smoky minerality, sour cherry, rose, black tea; and have firm, linear structures. In the Rheinhessen, the southern Wonnegau produces fruit-forward, supple, approachable Pinot Noir wines. The Württemberg is Germany’s most important region for the production of red wines meant for everyday consumption, wines that are generally light, pure, red-fruited, and fresh. The Nahe’s wealth of geologic diversity with soils characterized by a presence of volcanic rock, slate, and sandstone yield precise, herbal, red-fruited Pinot Noir wines. In the Franken, the Muschelkalk (shell limestone) soil gives wines of high-toned minerality, salinity, tension, and purity. The Mosel (especially the Saar) produces ultra-light, high-acid, cool-mineral, filigreed Pinot Noir wine styles with crystalline red fruit.
Together, these regions complete the broader stylistic spectrum of German Pinot Noir wines, highlighting finesse, delicacy, and mineral architecture.
The wines in this report
