On the terraced slopes of Uhlbach, a small valley east of Stuttgart, Daniel Kurrle and Frederike Schmidt make wines meant not to impress but to express. Their estate is tiny, their methods unhurried, and their reach surprisingly global.
Backstory
Daniel Kurrle studied wine economics at Geisenheim and worked alongside respected growers in Germany, France and Austria before returning home. Frederike Schmidt trained as a physiotherapist and yoga instructor. The couple took over their vineyards and left the local cooperative, founding Kleines Gut as an independent estate in 2020. Within a couple of years their wines were traveling to Japan, Los Angeles, Copenhagen and Paris.
The Region
Wuerttemberg is one of Germany's warmer wine regions and a stronghold of red varieties, but it is rarely associated with natural wine. Kleines Gut farms steep parcels around Uhlbach, just outside Stuttgart, where the vineyards look out over the city's hills.
Vineyards and Farming
The estate covers roughly three hectares, farmed organically with no synthetic chemicals or pesticides. Kurrle and Schmidt work intuitively, using compost teas and stone powders to enliven the vineyard ecosystem. Everything is done on a small scale and by hand.
Winemaking
The cellar itself dates to 1546. Grapes are hand harvested and whole-cluster foot-trodden in open vats, then fermented with native yeasts and no additives. Wines age twelve to eighteen months in old oak barrels, are left unfiltered, and are bottled by gravity. Yields hover around 5000 bottles per hectare.
The Wines
Bottlings include Vin de Soif, a light, juicy, immediately drinkable red, and parcel-driven wines such as Steinmergel that reflect the marl and limestone soils. Across the range the style is vibrant, pure and alive.
