It’s easy to linger over the Aufricht family’s long history in Baden, Germany. Generations of farmers who planted roots in the region, harvesting apples and grapes, have carved out a legacy on the shores of Lake Constance. A place known for its roots in Pinot Noir starting in 884 when Charles III is said to have transplanted this varietal outside of Burgundy for this first time to these shores. In the mid-1980s the Aufricht family started their own winery and were the first winemakers to use small French oak barrels for their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. On the horizon, a new generation, helmed by Johannes Aufricht – is taking shape and the future is proving to be extremely bright.

After dropping out of Germany’s largest wine school to learn the trade firsthand around Europe, Johannes showed that he was inclined to do things his own way. He returned to take over the family’s winery in the end of the 2010s, producing his first vintage in 2018, and has been building momentum ever since. What he took from his time in France was the idea of low-intervention winemaking and a focus on two beloved varietals. Today, Johannes makes Pinot and Chardonnay in both still and sparkling expressions at the foot of the German Alps in ways that let his own “place” shine. The microclimate of Lake Constance is singular, and his wines capture the unique terroir of the region – high-altitude vineyards, old alpine limestone, and a sunny yet cool lakeside.

To maintain this approach and keep an artisanal mindset, Johannes farms organically and harvests only 2 hectares relying on 30-40 vineyards planted from high-quality Burgundy genetics, including a new Pinot vineyard planted with DRC genetics. High-density plantings have become a focus for the future, with as many as 13,000 vines per hectare, which are planted at 500 meters above sea level. All the grapes are hand-harvested at peak ripeness, which Johannes drives home emphatically – “the high elevation and climate allow for fully ripe grapes with perfect sugar levels while maintaining high levels of acidity.”

Quality trumps yield as Johannes never picks under-ripe grapes, which leads to some miniscule cuvées of only one barrel. This sharp focus on quality allows him to do 100% whole-cluster for the reds and press 100% whole-cluster for the whites, drawing as much out of these varietals as possible. Johannes uses a large tailor-made basket press, which has become a key feature in his winemaking. From this point all the fermentation is done Stockinger barrels from Feuillette to Tonneaux, and everything in between. A mix of small barrels allows him to create ever-changing blends of Pinot, Chard, and Completer, a 1200-year-old local varietal that Johannes is excited to celebrate and push to its limits.

Johannes is steadfast in his commitment to excellence and the excitement that he brings to his project and “creating his own identity” is intoxicating. Imagine standing on the beautiful sunny Southern shore of Lake Constance looking over the expansive lake and the snow topped Swiss mountains on the other side, and you will start to understand why the sky is the limit here. It is just the beginning for Johannes’ personal project, but if the proof is in the pudding, across white, red, and sparkling, the first iterations from him are proving to be very special, impactful wines to say the least.