The fresh, balanced taste of clean slate is achieved by carefully selecting grapes from vineyards throughout the Mosel. The steep blue slate slopes of the Lower Mosel give the wine its minerality while the Middle Mosel provides a hint of spice to complement the characteristic fresh peach flavors of the Upper Mosel.

Varietal Composition 100% Riesling

Clean Slate is made of Riesling grapes sourced from selected vineyards throughout the Mosel region. Known for its steep slopes, the region”s exceptional climate and mineral-rich slate soil create the perfect growing conditions for this grape. The cool climate of Mosel”s northerly location allows grapes to ripen very slowly, while the slopes give the vines ideal sun exposure. Further protection comes with the Mosel River”s tendency to hold heat, keeping vines protected from getting too cold and creating a special microclimate for ideal ripeness levels. The thin, stony topsoil forces the vines to root deep through the rocks for water and nutrients, resulting in wines of excellent minerality and complexity. In the course of harvest, Clean Slate makes daily decisions regarding which grapes to pick, based on ripeness and maturation in the different areas of the region. Winemaker, Manuel Brixius, insists on the gentle handling of the grapes, which are then fermented and stored instainless steel tanks under temperature-controlled conditons. All of this is critical to the development of the fresh peach, crisp lime and subtle mineral flavors of Clean Slate”s wines - Manuel”s exquisite expression of the region”s unique essence of Riesling terroir. Manuel is considered to be the new face of German wine. After receiving a degree in viticulture and oenology at the prestigious University of Applied Sciences in Geisenheim, Germany, Manuel went to work at acclaimed wineries such as Hermann Wiemer in the Finger Lakes of New York and Peter Lauer in the Ayler Kupp region of Germany. In 2007, he joined Moselland eG, one of the most esteemed and largest producers in Germany”s Mosel region. At Moselland, he has quickly risen from a member of the advisory board to the current technical director of oenology.