From bulk wine producer to a top address in the Palatinate
The history of the Rings winery began in 1976, when Traudel and Willi Rings took over a mixed agricultural business in Freinsheim that grew fruit and sold wine as bulk wine. It was not until 1993 that the first wines were bottled under their own label. The real breakthrough came with the 2001 vintage: son Steffen Rings took over responsibility in the cellar, consistently converted the business to quality viticulture, and began to vinify the existing Bordeaux grape varieties — Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot — from the Freinsheimer Schwarzes Kreuz site into a serious cuvée. In 2008, Andreas Rings returned from his training at the Wagner-Stempel winery in Rheinhessen; since then, the brothers have been running the winery together. In 2015, they were admitted to the VDP, the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates.
Organic viticulture, reduced yields, consistent hand-picking
Today, Rings manages around 44 hectares of vineyards around Freinsheim, Kallstadt, Ungstein, and the Berntal — all organically certified. The soils range from sandy gravel to Terra Rossa and loess to limestone rock and calcareous marl, which is what makes the diversity of sites in the glass possible in the first place. In the vineyard, the brothers work with compost and green manure, strict yield reduction, and selective hand-picking — even for the estate wines. In the cellar, this results in a strategy of minimal intervention: spontaneous fermentation, aging in wooden barrels, and the patience to give the wine its time. In 2018, Steffen and Andreas Rings moved into a specially constructed new building directly in the Schwarzes Kreuz vineyard on the outskirts of Freinsheim — a clear statement of how closely the cellar and origin belong together.
Riesling, Pinot Noir, and the cuvées that set standards
The range follows the VDP classification from estate wine to Grosse Lage. The winery's reputation was initially established by the Bordeaux cuvées “Das Kreuz” and “Das kleine Kreuz” from the Schwarzes Kreuz site — wines that showed what the warm Palatinate can achieve with international grape varieties. Today, the focus is on Riesling and Pinot Noir from top sites such as the Kallstadter Saumagen (VDP.Grosse Lage), the Ungsteiner Weilberg (VDP.Grosse Lage), and the Leistadter Felsenberg (VDP.Grosse Lage). The Rieslings show pressure, clear acidity structure, and mineral grip — shaped by the limestone and slate soils of the individual sites. The Pinot Noirs are aged in barriques, bottled unfiltered, and fermented spontaneously: full of finesse, with depth, and cellar-worthy. The portfolio is complemented by the “Sand & Kiesel” quality wine as well as the Calcaire sparkling wine line as Blanc de Blancs and Blanc de Noirs in a Brut Nature style — both without dosage, with long yeast aging.
