Zilliken has been making wine for centuries, literally, and they remain old school. Their cellars go three levels deep and remain around 48 degrees year-round (and no, there's no air conditioning or refrigeration). They make... Read More

Zilliken has been making wine for centuries, literally, and they remain old school. Their cellars go three levels deep and remain around 48 degrees year-round (and no, there's no air conditioning or refrigeration). They make their wines in giant neutral German oak barrels known as fuders. For years, this was regarded as a quaint tradition, but now, of course, many top producers are abandoning their steel vats in favor of this more natural vessel. A key advantage of steel, of course, is that it is easy to keep the temperature down during fermentation—hardly a concern when you're ambient temperature is only 48 degrees!

The Zilliken style is explosive. Even in lesser vintages the wines will easily flood your senses with their power and intricacy. Yes, they. will all age beautifully, and anyone who loves German wines really should put away as much as possible