Origin – 2023

Ursprung 2023. Palatine red wine cuvée with plenty of fruit and soft tannins.

Ursprung 2023 is a dry Palatine red wine, blended from Portugieser, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, from Weingut Markus Schneider in Ellerstadt. No oak barrel, no wine aged for decades, no single-variety Palatine red.

Ursprung 2023 is a Palatine red wine that combines Bordeaux varieties with the traditional Portugieser to create a fruit-forward wine. You know the feeling? Pasta, Flammkuchen and roasted vegetables are on the table, and everyone wants a different glass.

This wine was made precisely for evenings like that. It doesn't demand attention; it complements.

Blackberry, blackcurrant and a hint of cocoa

Ursprung 2023 shows blackberry and raspberry in the glass, along with red and blackcurrant. Behind that lie a touch of cocoa and a fine herbal spice to balance the fruit. On the palate, it is juicy and round, with medium body and a friendly, not too long finish.

The tannins—the astringent compounds from the skins and seeds—are soft and never harsh. The fruit takes center stage because the wine is aged predominantly in stainless steel tanks and sees very little oak.

Anyone looking for roasted aromas, vanilla and strong tannins will find it too light. The winery offers other wines in this style.

With pasta with salsiccia, chili and Flammkuchen

Its strength lies in the fact that it pairs well with many everyday dishes without overpowering any of them. Orecchiette with salsiccia, fennel and a little chili pick up its herbal spice. Chili sin carne with kidney beans and cumin finds a counterpoint in the dark fruit.

Flammkuchen with bacon and red onions pair just as well as chicken legs with paprika from the oven. It also holds its own with a snack of liverwurst and hearty farmhouse bread. A baked potato with herb quark and fried mushrooms shows that it works just as well without meat.

For beginners: Put the bottle in the refrigerator for half an hour before opening. At 15 to 16°C, the fruit tastes fresher than at a warm room temperature. It is less suitable for very spicy curries, as the heat makes the tannins taste bitter.

Between the Vorderpfälzer Ebene and the Haardtrand

The name refers to the winemaker's beginnings, the point where it all started for him. The grapes grow on several plots at the transition from the Ebene to the Haardtrand, where gravelly sand and terrace gravel form sparse, dry soils. Such soils store heat during the day and allow rain to drain away quickly.

Terrace gravel is coarse gravel deposits left behind by rivers a very long time ago. Vines must grow deep roots in it to access water, and in return, they produce smaller, more aromatic grapes.

The Portugieser vine has called the Palatinate home for generations and was one of the most widely planted red wine varieties in the region for decades. In Ursprung, it provides juiciness, Merlot adds soft fullness, and Cabernet Sauvignon brings dark berries and structure. Small amounts of other varieties complete the blend.

After harvest, the must ferments together with the skins and seeds in the red wine fermenter. This maceration lasts eight to 14 days and extracts color, fruit and tannins from the grape skins. Then it is gently pressed, and the young wine is aged predominantly in stainless steel tanks.

A side note: In previous years, the winery also listed Cabernet Mitos as a partner in the cuvée. The German crossbreed is known for its particularly color-intense berries.

A red wine for Tuesdays and for guests

Ursprung is not a wine for the cellar, but for the table. It tastes young and uncomplicated, yet has enough character not to become boring. This makes it the perfect house wine for the week and a safe choice when guests come whose preferences you do not know. It is uncomplicated enough for a barbecue with a large group, yet not too simple for a quiet dinner for two.

Anyone who enjoys comparing vintages can put it alongside the 2022 red wine cuvée. The Portugieser in its most concentrated form is shown by the single-vineyard wine from old vines.

A red wine that doesn't ask about the occasion and remains just as friendly with the second glass as it did with the first.