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Writer's pictureJoe Benvenuto

Winery #73: Weingut Lämmlin-Schindler (Baden, Germany)

Updated: Jul 30, 2022

Our final experience for the day in Germany’s Baden wine region was at Weingut Lämmlin-Schindler, hosted by the extremely courteous and energetic Christine. The family-operated winery traces its winemaking history back to the 12th century, and now it’s currently led by Gerd Schindler and his wife Heidi. The winery is located on a small hill and is secluded by the surrounding trees, providing an extremely serene and private setting for a wine experience. After meeting Christine in the well-appointed wine shop, she seated us at a private table on the covered patio. The nearby water fountain provided a soothing background to our experience.


Christine provided us with a detailed overview of the family’s history, the commitment to organic wine cultivation that began in 1989, and the winery’s production methods. Christine then proceeded to lead us through a tasting of 12 wines representative of the family’s production range. What made this experience unique was that our host brought the wines in short flights of two to three wines, allowing us to make side-by-side comparisons. In one such flight, Christine brought us two Spätburgunders (Pinot Nior in Germany) to compare a VDP.ORTSWEIN (Village-level wine) to a VDP.GROSSE LAGE® (Exceptional, single-vineyard wine).


Weingut Lämmlin-Schindler belongs to the VDP (Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter), the oldest association of premium wine growing estates in the world. The VDP developed a classification system for its 200 member wineries to differentiate the various quality levels of their wines. In a recent post, we discussed the VDP.ERSTE LAGE® as the classification for outstanding wines with good ageing potential from a specific vineyard, similar to the concept of Premier Cru in Burgundy. Just below this ranking in the VDP classification system is the VDP.ORTSWEIN that comes from the best vineyards within one village, and thus expresses the unique terroir of an entire village rather just a single vineyard. At the peak of the quality ladder, which is the level above VDP.ERSTE LAGE®, is the VDP.GROSSE LAGE®. You can always identify a VDP.GROSSE LAGE® as the letters “GG” are embossed on the actual bottle standing for Grosses Gewäches, the other term for VDP.GROSSE LAGE®. This are the best of the best, world-famous vineyards that produce exceptional grapes each year. VDP.GROSSE LAGE® sites are extremely unique, each with their own special terroir similar to a Grand Cru in Burgundy though thankfully not similarly priced for a budget-minded wine consumer like myself.


The tasting flight of the 2017 Mauchen Spätburgunder “Alte Reben” VDP.ORTSWEIN and the 2017 FRAUENBERG Spätburgunder VDP.GROSSE LAGE® clearly demonstrated the distinction between levels in the VDP quality pyramid. By no means was the Spätburgunder “Alte Reben” ("Old vines" in German) a low-quality wine, in fact, we found that the 40 year-old vines from this village produced a complex and balanced wine with good aromatic and flavor intensities. Yet, the FRAUENBERG stole the show with its pronounced aroma intensity level of black cherry, blackberry, blueberry, vanilla, cloves, earth, and mushrooms with extremely well-integrated tannins and a long, pleasant finish on the palate. Without comparing these two wines side-by-side, it would have been more difficult for us to clearly delineate the quality level between the VDP.ORTSWEIN and the VDP.GROSSE LAGE®.



We want to give a SPECIAL THANK-YOU to Christine for providing us with an outstanding wine experience at Weingut Lämmlin-Schindler in Baden, Germany! We greatly appreciated the hospitality and the unique approach to the wine experience. Brodi also is very grateful for all of the attention and the refreshing water during the tasting! Thankfully, Brodi didn’t see the winery cat sneaking behind him during the experience (see the picture above). If you are the western part of Germany or visiting Basel, Switzerland, we highly recommend taking the detour to visit Weingut Lämmlin-Schindler! You can find the YouTube video of this experience here.


Experience Rating: 4 Stars

Brodi's Rating: 3 Paws Up


Pet-Friendly: Yes

Experience Vibe: Private Experience, Seated Formal Tasting

Reservations Needed: Yes

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