When Weingut Korrell’s Riesling Trocken was named Riesling of the Year at the 2025 Sommeliers Choice Awards, it marked a well-timed signal to the US market. For Angelina Kappler, Export Manager for Korrell and for import company Veritable Wines & Estates, who represents the estate in America, the award came at a moment when their groundwork in distribution, education, and sustainability could support real momentum.

Korrell, based in Germany’s Nahe region, has steadily built a reputation for pure, balanced dry Rieslings that speak clearly of their site and soils. Now, with organic and ZNU sustainability certifications in place, and a growing footprint across both boutique wine shops and on-premise lists, the brand is positioned to expand further, without compromising its roots. In this conversation, Kappler reflects on how awards like this one can open doors, why storytelling still matters, and where German Riesling is headed next.

Image: Korrell - Nahe region.

Congratulations on Weingut Korrell’s Riesling Trocken winning “Riesling of the Year” at the 2025 Sommeliers Choice Awards. How significant is this win for you as the importer, and how do you plan to leverage it in the US and beyond?

Thank you so much! This award comes at an excellent time. If it had been a year before, we would not have had the distribution network built up to have taken full advantage of it. In the last several months, we have put a focus on the USA with our importer and are seeing the benefits of this; thus, we can use this award to help existing distributors pitch it to their customers as well as use it to close some gaps in states where it is not represented. 

Image: Korrell Riesling trocken 2023 named “Riesling of the Year” at the 2025 Sommeliers Choice Awards.

Tell us about Weingut Korrell. What makes this estate, and its vineyards in the Nahe, stand out from other producers of dry Riesling today?

Martin and Britta Korrell took over the family estate in 2003, pouring all their love, ambition, and dedication into making it a top wine destination on the Nahe. The Korrell’s ancestors first settled in Spain, where they were awarded the family crest with the lion in 1483. The estate has existed at its current location in Bosenheim since 1832. Nahe Riesling, of course, varies by producer, but in general, it is somewhere between the power of the Rheingau and the delicacy of the Mosel, and the Korrell style on the entry level is one of approachability, elegance, and balance, whereas the single vineyards focus on the specificity of the site. 

The winning Riesling Trocken has been praised for its balance, minerality, and vibrant citrus character. What, in your view, makes this wine such a compelling expression of the Riesling grape and its terroir?

The terms that were used to describe the Riesling trocken are excellent. Riesling has a stigma of being sweet, but it is such an interesting dry wine, and it is so invigorating to the palate while being balanced by its inherent fruitiness. Since the Nahe has so many types of soil, there is no one exact expression from this region, but balance and vibrancy with a mineral expression are good goals to have for each vintage. 

Image: Harvesting Riesling Trocken.

You’ve described your estates as “family-owned and sustainably farmed.” Weingut Korrell is not only organically certified but also Germany’s first ZNU-certified sustainable winery. How important are these sustainability credentials in today’s export market—and how do you communicate that story to buyers?

We make organic wines as well as focus on sustainability, as that is what we believe in. The certifications are proof of this for our customers, but they also drive us to keep improving. Does everyone care about these certifications? Probably not, but we think they help us make better wines and have happy employees. We are confident this will turn into sales in the long run.

Image: Harvest 2024 at Weingut Korrell (Germany’s first ZNU-certified sustainable winery).

Can you speak to the availability of this wine in the US? Which retail chains, boutique shops, or restaurant groups are currently listing it, and are there any key partnerships in place that have helped build its visibility?

Independent wine shops and restaurants primarily sell Korrell. The wines are popular with Sommeliers, as the results of the Sommelier Choice Awards show. 

What does your current distribution footprint for Korrell in the US look like, and are there plans to expand it? Which markets (domestic or international) are you prioritizing for growth?

Breakthru Aspect in California and Bourget Imports in Minnesota have been two of our strongest distribution partners. We are growing our distribution with Veritable Wines & Estates with the goal of nationwide availability. Outside of the USA, we are focusing on Poland, the Czech Republic, Scandinavia, China, Japan, and the UK. 

The Sommeliers Choice Awards is judged by hospitality professionals. How well does this wine perform in the on-premise channel, and how do you support restaurants and sommeliers with staff training, storytelling, or marketing assets?

Our focus in general is on premise, and this is our most sold wine for the entire winery, so it is very important for us that this wine does well in Horeca, and we are happy with how it is going, but there is still room for growth for dry Riesling. We have an active social media presence and also make many videos to educate our customers about our wines, and we greatly believe in staff training and try to do it as much as we can. 

Image: Riesling Trocken.

Veritable Wines & Estates operates both stateside inventory in New Jersey and a direct import model from Germany. How does this dual structure help your customers, and what logistics or marketing support do you offer to ensure the movement of stock?

Veritable's stateside inventory offers a selection of some of our core wines, allowing our wholesale partners to source from this inventory as needed. As we grow, wholesalers may choose to import our wines directly, opening our full line of single vineyards and special cuvées. 

What’s your approach to marketing wines like this in an increasingly competitive and fragmented landscape? Are you leaning into digital, trade events, somm education, or consumer-focused campaigns?

This is an excellent question. We put a great deal of effort into our digital presence and attend many importer events and support them directly. We plan to visit the US and look forward to introducing more US customers to our Nahe wines. We still submit our wines to competitions, but we are reducing this. The way the Sommeliers Choice Awards uses industry professionals makes it interesting for us, and your use of social media increases the value of the award. Even these questions make it valuable for us as we can give even more details, not just about the winning wine, but the winery in general. This allows industry members to learn more about us. Getting the award is not the end; it is the beginning of the marketing, so both the competition and the producer have a duty to spread the word. 

Image: Weingut Korrell at ProWein 2024.

Given the organic and sustainable viticulture behind this wine, the lighter-weight bottles, and carbon-neutral shipping, how are those sustainability efforts resonating with your US buyers and trade partners?

That is hard to tell. These attributes are boxes that a buyer can check off, but at the end of the day, the wine has to land in the market at a price and with a corresponding quality that they can sell. We believe in what we are doing, and if someone reads about our philosophy and finds it compelling, that is fantastic, but we are aware that many buyers are focused on the bottom line. We try to give them a great wine at a fair price that has been made in a way they can feel positive about when offering it to their customers. 

You’re active in over 55 countries. Have you seen any surprising growth or emerging demand for German Riesling, particularly dry styles, in markets beyond the US, like Asia or the Middle East?

In general, German Riesling has been experiencing a positive trend. The fruity style was, of course, the driver in many markets, but we think some of those customers are graduating to the dry style. Also, the climate in the last 20 or so years has helped us make better dry wines. In the past, they may have been too acidic, so the fruity style had an advantage. There is so much competition from so many countries that it is not an easy task to sell German wines, but we believe in our quality and in the niche that German wines fill, which cannot be copied. We also feel that once most people try Riesling, they tend to like it, and since it is also great with food pairing, there are still opportunities out there. 

Image: Team - Weingut Korrell.

Conclusion:

As dry German Rieslings continue to earn their place on global wine lists, the work of importers like Veritable plays a vital role in shaping the conversation, not just around taste and terroir, but around values. For Weingut Korrell, the 2025 Sommeliers Choice Award win affirms the quality of their wines, but it also provides a platform for something more enduring: building relationships, investing in sustainability, and making a long-term case for dry Riesling as both a category and a cultural force.

In conversation with Malvika Patel, Editor and VP, Beverage Trade Network

Also Read:
Weingut Schwedhelm Wins Winery of the Year Germany at 2025 Sommeliers Choice Awards
Cape Bleue Rosé Earns Wine of the Year France at the Sommeliers Choice Awards
Schwaderer Riesling Named Chile’s Wine of the Year at Sommeliers Choice Awards 2025