Weingut AJ Adam, Dhron
Though the increasingly abused word “artisan” could be applied to the vast majority of our producers, few embody the term so succinctly as Andreas Adam. He made his first vintage at age 19 from parcels in the Dhroner Hofberg vineyard that the previous generation of Adams had elected not to exploit professionally. Why they chose not to commit their lives to growing grapes on some of the most dizzyingly precipitous hillsides on earth in order to vinify unfashionable wine from one of the Mosel’s most unjustly ignored villages remains a mystery—but young Andreas recognized his lunatic destiny early, with legions of thirsty, Riesling-obsessed beneficiaries henceforth in his debt. He was joined by his sister Barbara in 2013.
The Hofberg vineyard rises imposingly from the north shore of the Dhron River—a trickling tributary of the majestic Mosel—and the Adams farm multiple parcels within this site as well as microscopic slices of the famed Piesporter Goldtröpfchen. In 2014, they obtained the tiny Dhroner Häs’chen, a steep and terraced east-facing monopole of ancient, ungrafted vines. Their approach to winemaking is decidedly old-school, fermenting most of the wine in old fuder with ambient yeasts and extended exposure to the lees. The 6 hectares of vines are farmed without herbicides or chemical fertilizers.
Goldtröpfchen, Häs’chen and Hofberg.
Andreas himself? I like the German word “winzer”, and Andreas Adam is an extremely talented and dedicated winzer. Beyond that, it might be easiest to ascertain his elusive essence by detailing what he is not. He’s not a comedian, he’s not a winemaking rhetorician, he’s not a frequent flyer, he’s not a delegator, he’s not a showman, he’s not jaded by his quick accumulation of cult status, nor is he thirsty for attention. He is a genuinely nice and genuinely genuine guy, and an excellent winzer.
The wines are utterly unique, piercingly compelling embodiments of everything that’s exciting about Mosel Riesling—featherweight, resonating miracles with excruciating flavor. Metrovino is proud to be the Western Canadian destination for these wines.
