“Arnot-Roberts has become a leading force in producing understated, charming wines from some of California’s most prized vineyard sources.” –Matthew Luczy, Wine Advocate
 
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Arnot-Roberts
 

Small producers such as Arnot-Roberts are the pioneers of the “New California” movement. Started by childhood friends Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts in 2001, they’ve quickly established themselves as some of the best producers of restrained and elegant small-parcel wines. In 2013 the San Francisco Chronicle named them “Winemakers of the Year” in recognition of the quality and consistency of the wines they’re producing, and they’ve racked up professional accolades ever since.
 
So, what is the “New California” movement? Started more or less around the beginning of the century, it rejects industrialized, oaky, plush, and sweetened wines with no sense of place.  

 

A Staff Favorite Mosel Magician:
 
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Falkenstein
 

In 1985, Erich and Marita Weber began restoring the decaying Falksteinerhof winery in the Saar valley of Tälchen. Today, now joined in their work by their son Johannes, they craft some of the most soulful and quietly complex Riesling from their ancient vines.
 
The Webers personally work their vines by hand using organic methods, deviating only by avoiding the use of copper, as it is a toxic heavy metal. They do not use herbicides or fertilizers and avoid tilling for the most part. Yields are kept very low, naturally due to the vines’ ages and through pruning down to one flat cane per vine.
 
Some of their prize vineyard holdings include Niedermenniger Herrenberg, from which they source their Pinot Noir for their Spätburguner rosé and the Weissburgunder for their extraordinary Pet-Nat, Niedermenniger Sonnenberg, Krettnacher Altenberg, and Krettnacher Euchariusberg, home to some of their oldest vines.