The Schmitt winery in Flörsheim-Dalsheim has been in Daniel's family for over 230 years. When Bianka Balazs arrived from Budapest in 2012 as a cellar hand and the two fell in love, they also fell into a shared vision for what this old estate could become. Today they farm 16 hectares biodynamically and make some of Rheinhessen's most exciting natural wines.
Backstory
The winery's roots run deep in the Flörsheim-Dalsheim terroir. Organic certification came to the estate in 2007, and when Bianka and Daniel took over, they pursued full biodynamic conversion, earning Demeter certification in 2012. That makes them one of only around 75 German estates to carry the Demeter seal. They learned biodynamic farming from legendary Alsatian vigneron Patrick Meyer, whose approach to soil vitality and minimal intervention in the cellar became the foundation for their own practice. Since 2012, they have rebuilt the estate from a conventional family winery into a natural wine landmark.
The Region
Rheinhessen is Germany's largest wine region by area, historically associated with large-scale commercial production. In recent decades, a new generation of producers has transformed its image, and Flörsheim-Dalsheim sits at the heart of this reappraisal. The village occupies calcareous clay soils in the southern part of the region, well suited to Riesling and Burgundian varieties when farmed with care.
Vineyards and Farming
Bianka and Daniel work all 16 hectares according to Demeter biodynamic standards, applying horn manure and horn silica preparations on a lunar calendar and maintaining living soils with cover crops and no synthetic inputs. They see the vineyard as a living organism and invest significant energy in biodiversity, supporting habitats for insects and wildlife across the property. Their approach mirrors their mentor Patrick Meyer's conviction that healthy soil is the only foundation for honest wine.
Winemaking
All wines are made without added yeast, temperature control, sulfur, or filtration. The Natúr line is entirely zero-sulfur, while the orange wines are made with extended skin contact and aged in large wood barrels and clay amphorae. The cellar is a place of observation rather than management, where fermentations run their own course and time substitutes for chemistry.
The Wines
The Schmitt range includes Riesling, Spätburgunder, Weissburgunder, and their signature orange wines under the Natúr and standard labels. The Voodoo Doll and Frei Körper Kultur wines have developed particular followings for their expressive, uncompromising character. Each bottle reflects the dual heritage at work here: a centuries-old family estate and an immigrant's fresh eyes, combining in something that neither tradition could have produced alone.
