Roving Sommelier is passionate about premium quality regional wines. For me, Meyer-Näkel is one of the best producers of Spätburgunder in Germany. In fact, Germany is the third largest producer of Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder in German) in the world. I bet you didn’t know that! My personal journey with Meyer-Näkel started in 2006 when I was wine buyer and head sommelier at Orrery in Marylebone, London. I was introduced to their wonderful wines by Iris Ellmann of The Wine Barn and I have been following them with great interest ever since.

The Näkel family has been producing wine in the Ahr for five generations and the marriage of Paula Meyer and Willibald Näkel in 1950 formed the now renowned Meyer-Näkel estate. Willibald was a pioneering producer of red wines in the Ahr and his son Werner has continued that tradition, as one of the first vintners in Germany to experiment with extended maceration and barrique fermentation.

Today the Meyer-Näkel estate covers 18 hectares of vineyards in the Ahr, predominantly in Dernau, with 80% of production dedicated to Spätburgunder. The estate is expanding internationally with winemaking joint ventures in South Africa and Portugal and is run today by Werner and his daughters Dörte & Meike.

Meyer-Näkel is a member of the VDP, the prestigious association of Germany’s 200+ finest wine estates.