From a Palatinate village business to a cult brand with an attitude
The Bauer family has been dedicated to viticulture in Landau-Nußdorf since the 1920s. Founder Emil Bauer laid the foundation in the small town north of Landau, nestled in the gentle hills of the Southern Palatinate. After him, his sons Arno and Norbert continued to run the winery before the next generation took over in 2011: Norbert's sons Alexander and Martin Bauer. Today, the fifth generation is in the vineyard and the cellar — and has turned a traditional family business into one of Germany's best-known wine brands.
The division of roles between the brothers is clear and has been working for over a decade: Alexander Bauer is a trained oenologist and is responsible for everything that happens in the cellar. Martin Bauer is the creative mind behind the brand presence — labels, communication, attitude. Their father Norbert continues to contribute his experience. This is how three generations interlock in everyday life.
Viticulture on loess, limestone, and variegated sandstone
The vineyard areas of Emil Bauer & Söhne are spread over eleven sites around Nußdorf, whose soils are characterized by limestone, variegated sandstone, loess-loam, and shell limestone. On around 66 hectares, the brothers cultivate 22 grape varieties — a range that is unparalleled in the region. With around 1,800 hours of sunshine a year, the Palatinate is one of the sunniest wine-growing regions in Germany, which gives the grapes reliable ripeness.
Emil Bauer & Söhne carries the Fair'n Green seal, a certification system for viticulture. Alexander Bauer promotes biodiversity in the vineyard. Manual harvesting and gentle processing in the cellar are standard. Rieslings and white Burgundy varieties are aged particularly gently, while red wines mature in granite, steel, wood, or barrique barrels, depending on the variety and style.
Burgundy varieties, Riesling, and Mediterranean grape varieties — with a cheeky label signature
The range extends from classic Palatinate white wines — Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc — to rosé and Secco. In addition, there is a segment that the Bauers have consciously built up as a reaction to climate change: because summers are getting warmer, Petit Verdot, Sangiovese, Barbera, Malbec, and Nebbiolo are now also growing on the Nußdorf sites. Cuvées like the climate-change-inspired Nebbiolo-Barbera blend show that the winery sees the shift in conditions as an opportunity, not a problem.
What holds the range together is the style: dry, clear, easy-drinking — and always with a strong visual appearance. The so-called label wines with their pointed English slogans — including the Riesling available at Vinoscout “No Sex, Drugs & Rock'n Roll just Riesling for me, thanks!” — have brought the winery nationwide attention and are regularly rated positively in trade publications such as Falstaff and Vinum. The labels are not an end in themselves: behind the humor are wines with a clear profile and real recognition value in the glass.
