The Gutswein-tier dry Riesling from the Knipser brothers at Laumersheim in the northern Pfalz, a serious VDP estate with a Riesling, Bordeaux and Pinot programme. Crisp citrus and chalky grip at an everyday-Pfalz price.
Tip: Knipser Estate Riesling is the cheapest entry into one of Germany's strongest dry-red programmes; visit the estate to taste the Pinot and the Cuvee X alongside.
The Gutswein-tier dry Riesling from a Haardt VDP estate long famous for aromatic dry whites: tight, taut, citrus-driven Pfalz Riesling at the cheapest entry into the Mueller-Catoir range.
Tip: Pfalz Riesling Trocken is the value step into Mueller-Catoir; under EUR 25 it is the easiest taste of one of the Pfalz's most rigorous dry-white houses.
A dry Scheurebe from Pfeffingen at Bad Duerkheim, one of the German benchmarks for the cassis-and-grapefruit grape. The estate's village-tier Scheurebe is the cheapest serious Pfalz pour of the variety.
Tip: Pfeffingen is the Pfalz reference for dry Scheurebe; pair the village-tier bottle with goat's cheese or Vietnamese herbs to read the cassis-grapefruit register.
The Gutswein-tier dry Riesling from Mosbacher at Forst, working basalt-soil parcels including Jesuitengarten and Ungeheuer. A Forster house style in miniature: stony, taut and fully trocken at an everyday Pfalz price.
Tip: Mosbacher's village Riesling is the cheapest taste of Forster basalt; pair it with smoked Pfalz Saumagen or Wurst to read the stony Mittelhaardt frame.
A Bordeaux-style blend from the Knipser brothers at Laumersheim, working Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc grown in the warmer northern Pfalz. One of the rare under-EUR-25 serious German Bordeaux cuvees.
Tip: Cuvee X is the cheapest serious German Bordeaux blend; drink it alongside roast lamb or pink beef to see what the warm northern Pfalz now ripens.
The Gutswein-tier dry Riesling from Christmann at Gimmeldingen, a Demeter-certified biodynamic estate working sites including the Idig and Reiterpfad. Clean, taut and dry, the cheapest read of the Christmann biodynamic house style.
Tip: Christmann Estate Riesling is the value step into one of the Pfalz's leading biodynamic estates; under EUR 25 and a fair read of the biodynamic Pfalz dry style.
Von Winning's entry-tier dry Riesling from Deidesheim, a fresh, fully trocken Pfalz Riesling in the under-EUR-15 bracket. The cheapest entry into the von Winning dry-Riesling programme.
Tip: Win Win is the easiest von Winning to find on a wine shelf abroad; drink it young as the everyday everyday dry Pfalz Riesling, not a cellar bottle.