A long, thin ribbon of vineyard along the Rhine facing Alsace, Baden is Germany's warmest wine region and its Pinot capital. On the volcanic slopes of the Kaiserstuhl, an old volcano baking in a suntrap of loess, Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) ripens into serious, structured reds, and Grauburgunder and Weissburgunder (the Pinots Gris and Blanc) make rich, dry whites.
More Burgundian than Germanic in its grapes and ambitions, Baden has long been co-operative country, but its best estates now make Pinots that stand comparison with the Côte d'Or. It is the sunny, southern face of German wine.