Riesling accounts for roughly 25 percent of Pfalz plantings, around 5,883 hectares and the prestige grape of the Mittelhaardt. The 1828 Bavarian classification rated Forster Kirchenstuck at the maximum 65 points, with Jesuitengarten, Pechstein and Ungeheuer in the same tier; the VDP reaffirmed these sites as Grosse Lage when Grosses Gewachs launched in 2002. Forst grows Riesling on basalt-flecked calcareous loess, Deidesheim on Hohenmorgen and Kalkofen limestone, Konigsbach's Idig on calcareous clay (Christmann), Kallstadter Saumagen on limestone (Koehler-Ruprecht), Hochheim's neighbour at Bad Durkheim on sandstone and basalt, and the southern Sudliche Weinstrasse Kastanienbusch and Im Sonnenschein on Buntsandstein and slate. Pfalz Riesling typically shows lime, white peach, yellow apple and the basalt-and-limestone minerality of the central Weinstrasse.
Spatburgunder accounts for around 12 percent of Pfalz plantings and around 1,760 hectares, with the Sudliche Weinstrasse around Schweigen, Birkweiler and Siebeldingen as the centre of gravity.
Pinot Blanc, called Weissburgunder in Germany, is a Pfalz signature with widespread plantings on calcareous soils across both the Mittelhaardt and the Sudliche Weinstrasse.
Pinot Gris, called Grauburgunder in Germany, is widely planted across the Pfalz and forms a significant part of estate portfolios in both the Mittelhaardt and the Sudliche Weinstrasse. Rebholz at Siebeldingen, Dr.
Dornfelder is the Pfalz volume red, planted on roughly half the Riesling area and the dominant red grape for the region's Gutsweine and supermarket bottlings.
Scheurebe was bred in 1916 by Georg Scheu in Alzey as a Riesling x Bukettrebe cross and found its Pfalz signature at Muller-Catoir in Haardt and Pfeffingen in Ungstein, the two reference estates that carried the variety through the late 20th century when most German producers were pulling it out. Pfalz Scheurebe ranges from bone-dry through Spatlese and Auslese to nobly sweet Trockenbeerenauslese, with aromatic markers of pink grapefruit, cassis leaf, elderflower and exotic mango on the riper sides. Koehler-Ruprecht and Eugen Muller also carry Scheurebe Spatlese and Auslese bottlings.
Muller-Thurgau remains a significant volume grape in the Pfalz, planted on warmer, lower-elevation sites and used in entry-level Gutsweine, Federweisser and the kabinett-light category.
Silvaner sits as a Pfalz heritage variety with a modest but stable footprint, planted on warmer, lighter sites and bottled as a dry, food-friendly white.