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Holger Koch

Pinot Blanc Kaiserstuhl 2019

Price: $27.95
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Tasting notes

This Pinot Blanc punches above its entry-level classification: saline minerality on the finish, tart pear and green apple on the nose, and a bread-crust texture from overnight skin contact that gives it more grip than the price suggests. At 12% ABV it stays genuinely fresh and is built for the table, not the tasting room.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
PearGreen AppleSalineHazelnut
  • Style: Dry, medium-bodied white; loess terroir; tart pear, green apple, saline finish; 12% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Weißburgunder (Pinot Blanc); practicing organic; loess soils with minor volcanic content; Bickensohl, Kaiserstuhl; 240m elevation
  • Winemaking: Hand-harvested; destemmed with overnight skin contact on a small portion; indigenous yeast fermentation; aged on lees in stainless steel and large neutral wood; no fining, light filtration
  • Serving: Serve at 48–52°F; no decanting needed; drink now through 2025
  • Pairing: Grilled trout, roast chicken, cream sauces, charcuterie, semi-hard cheese, oysters
  • Similar To: For fans of Alsatian Pinot Blanc or dry, mineral-driven white Burgundy at an everyday price

This 100% Weißburgunder (Pinot Blanc) comes from the entry-level Kaiserstuhl vineyards around the village of Bickensohl in Baden's Kaiserstuhl district. The vines, approximately 30 years old at harvest, grow on loess soils at around 240 meters elevation — the flattest, lowest-lying land in Holger Koch's holdings. Grapes were hand-harvested, destemmed, and left on skins overnight before pressing, with a small portion (roughly 3–7%) undergoing brief skin contact to add grip and structure.

Fermentation starts with indigenous yeasts and the wine ages on the lees in a combination of stainless steel and large neutral wooden barrels. No fining or filtration. The result is dry and brisk, with green apple, tart pear skin, a hint of bread crust, and a saline mineral finish that is characteristic of this site. The 2019 vintage benefited from a cool May and September, which kept alcohol moderate and preserved the wine's natural freshness and acidity.

Holger Koch's classification system mirrors Burgundy: the Kaiserstuhl wines sit at the base of the ladder, sourced from the lower-elevation loess parcels and built for immediate pleasure and food pairing. Higher up the ladder are the Herrenstück terraces, where more volcanic soil and wind exposure produce wines of greater texture and intensity. This Pinot Blanc is the accessible, everyday entry point into that hierarchy.

The winery has been practicing organic viticulture without synthetic herbicides or fertilizers, with organic certification held until 2014. The vines' massale selection cuttings trace back to Puligny-Montrachet and Alsace, which helps explain the wine's Burgundian frame despite its German address.

A natural at the table alongside grilled trout, roast chicken with herbs, or a charcuterie spread of cured pork and semi-hard cheese. Its saline finish and moderate acidity hold up well against cream sauces and buttery preparations like spaetzle or potato gratin. Works equally well as an aperitif with chilled oysters or a simple radish and butter snack.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, White Wine
Wine Style:, Medium Body
Grapes:, Weißburgunder (Pinot Blanc)
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2019
Alcohol:, 12%
Country:, Germany
Region:, Baden
Appellation:, Baden QbA
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.


Important Compliance Requirements

FedEx and other carriers we might occasionally use can only deliver wine to customers who are 21 years or older. Someone must be at the address to receive the package, carriers don't just drop a package and leave. They must ensure the person receiving the wine is 21 or older.


Re-shipping a Package

If a package is returned to us after three failed delivery attempts, we can only re-ship the wine upon payment of a re-shipping fee, to be determined based on the shipping address and number of bottles. Shipping wine is extremely expensive. We are sorry about this, but we have no other choice. Please make sure there's always someone at the address you enter as your shipping address.

If you'd like to receive a refund for a package that was returned to us after FedEx made three delivery attempts, we can do that but we must keep a $20 refund fee; FedEx charges us a lot of money for returns, unfortunately, I can't stress this enough.


Re-routing a Package

If you'd like to reroute a package after it's been shipped, we can do so for a $20 re-routing fee. We cannot re-route a package across state borders. For any change of address, please contact us as soon as possible, ideally within 1-2 days from placing the order or we cannot guarantee we'll be able to reroute or change your order's shipping address.


Canceling an Order

If you'd like to cancel an order after it's been shipped, we can do so upon payment of a small cancellation fee – the amount depends on the size of the order. Carriers charge us a lot of money to recall a package en-route.


Heat/Frost damage

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Placed an order. What next?

1. You will receive an order confirmation email with your order summary.*

2. As soon as your order ships from the warehouse, usually within 2-3 business days, this applies to all shipping rates, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with your tracking information. 2DAY shipping refers to shipping time; we still need 2-3 business days to prepare an order. We need to pick and pack, QA, add printed collateral, and palletize the orders.

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4. The carrier will attempt delivery a maximum of 3 times. After 3 delivery attempts, your package will be sent back to our warehouse.**

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**If delivery is attempted 3 times without success, or if you fail to retrieve your package from the carrier depot by the stated deadline, the shipping fee will not be refunded to the customer.

Returns Policy

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at (424) 414-2040 or via e-mail at hello@primalwine.com between 9 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Sunday, we would like to understand and try to solve your concerns. We can offer refunds only as store credit.

Producer profile

Holger Koch

Holger Koch and his wife Gabriele Engesser have run Weingut Holger Koch in Vogtsburg am Kaiserstuhl since 1999, when they began producing exclusively Pinot-family varieties across approximately 8 hectares. The family has grown vines in the Kaiserstuhl for multiple generations. All of their vineyard parcels are situated around Bickensohl, a village on the southwestern edge of the Kaiserstuhl at slightly elevated positions where valley winds and cooler nights temper the regional heat.

The estate farms without synthetic herbicides or fertilizers and held organic certification until 2014, continuing to practice organic viticulture since. Vineyards are planted on small terraces with massale selection cuttings sourced from Puligny-Montrachet in Burgundy and from Alsace, covering Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Silvaner, Grauburgunder, Weißburgunder, and Spätburgunder. Holger replaced German Pinot Noir clones with French Burgundian clones in the early 2000s in pursuit of smaller berries and greater aromatic finesse.

In the cellar, fermentation is initiated with indigenous yeasts and the wines age on the lees in large neutral wooden barrels (300–1200L) and stainless steel — no new oak, no barriques. A small percentage of white wine grapes undergoes brief skin contact or overnight maceration to add structure and spice without sacrificing freshness. Wines receive only a light filtration directly from barrel; no fining agents are used. Holger avoids batonnage in warmer vintages to prevent the whites from becoming too round or heavy.

Wine region

Baden, Germany

The Kaiserstuhl is a compact volcanic hill range rising from the Rhine plain in southwest Baden, Germany, directly across the river from Alsace. With over 4,100 hectares under vine, it is the largest of Baden's nine wine districts and Germany's warmest growing area, with the highest average sunshine hours in the country. Soils are a mix of wind-deposited Quaternary loess on the lower slopes and volcanic weathered rock on the higher terraces, with loess layers ranging from 10 to 40 meters deep. These loess soils absorb and slowly release water, naturally regulating vine stress through dry summers.

The dominant grapes are Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris), and Weißburgunder (Pinot Blanc), reflecting the region's Burgundian orientation. Baden as a whole is classified in EU wine-growing zone B alongside Alsace, Savoy, and the Loire — the only German region in that category — meaning its climatic conditions are formally equivalent to those of northern France. Within Kaiserstuhl, the village of Bickensohl on the southwestern side benefits from valley winds and significant diurnal temperature swings that moderate the heat and preserve acidity in the grapes.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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