Maximilian Bohnert Winery

Maximilian Bohnert cultivates 3.5 hectares of vines in very good hillside and steep-slope locations in Achern-Oberachern, Sasbachwalden, and Lauf. In 2020, he brought in his tenth harvest since founding and has already become a local name. Bohnert is very forward-thinking and focuses on the newly bred fungus-resistant PIWI varieties: “There are now some very good wines from them — a double win, both for wine lovers and for us winemakers! We can manage without, or only with minimal, pest control.” But of course, the winery also offers fine Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir, as well as Sauvignon Blanc, Müller-Thurgau, and Riesling.

Lena and Maximilian Bohnert. Photo: Daniel Bollinger Our bonvinitas wine review from 22 March 2021 proved him right. His three submitted PIWI cuvées received 88, 89, and 90 points from our neutral panel in a blind tasting — more details in the bonvinitas wine guide.

Why PIWI is the future

Converting everything to PIWI in five years

Bohnert aims to convert his entire vineyard to PIWI varieties within five years. He doesn’t think much of organic viticulture, because these aggressive fungi are simply present, and even organic wineries must combat them if they grow traditional varieties. Bohnert: “Some spray with copper — that may be more natural, but copper can't be broken down in the soil and also accumulates in the human liver. That’s not a sustainable solution.”

Souvignier Gris and Pinotin already planted – Sauvitage and Hibernal on the wish list

The three submitted PIWI cuvées were still made from purchased grapes to gain experience and introduce customers to them. However, the young winemaker has already planted 0.25 hectares of Souvignier Gris and 0.5 hectares of Pinotin. He plans to plant Sauvitage this year, and Hibernal is also on his varietal wish list.

Souvignier Gris is a cultivar from the State Viticulture Institute Freiburg, created in 1983 from Cabernet Sauvignon and Bronner — another Freiburg PIWI variety — with very good resistance to the mentioned fungi. It has been officially approved for commercial wine production since 2013.

Pinotin is a cultivar developed in 1991 by well-known Swiss breeder Valentin Blattner from blue Pinot Noir and other resistant partners. It has been selectively propagated by the Freytag vine nursery in Neustadt an der Weinstraße over many years and generations to find and propagate the best vines with the most attractive grapes. Its resistance is excellent, and the variety was officially approved in 2014. Bohnert sees it primarily for his rosés.

Consumers must join in

The Bienenberg vineyard in Achern-Oberachern, in front of the Black Forest Maximilian Bohnert Winery, ambiance

“To me, such resistant grape varieties are the future. But we need to bring wine lovers along on this journey. They hold the power in what they choose to buy and enjoy,” says Bohnert, who is actively supported not only by his wife Lena but also by his parents Michael and Kerstine Bohnert.

Text: Dieter Simon, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of bonvinitas. Photos: PR unless otherwise stated.