Pre-Auction Report: 2026 Bad Kreuznach & 2027 Grosser Ring

BY ANNE KREBIEHL MW | OCTOBER 29, 2026

Special, rare lots offered at the forthcoming Bad Kreuznach and Grosser Ring auctions are worth collectors’ attention. This coming November, Bad Kreuznach will offer all the big hitters from Nahe and Rheinhessen, alongside some lots from Ahr and Pfalz. The Grosser Ring in May 2027 will host the traditional roundup from Mosel, Saar and Ruwer across the Prädikate from Kabinett to Beerenauslese, with a handful of Goldkapseln and a number of wines in Methuselah.

2026 Bad Kreuznach

In Bad Kreuznach this November, the focus will be on dry Riesling, with numerous Grosse Gewächse in both standard bottle and magnum. Just two sweet wines will be offered: a Beerenauslese from 2001 and an Auslese Goldkapsel from 2023. Two Pinot Noirs from 2018 and 2024 and a 2019 Rieslingsekt complete the programme. Beyond these and an off-dry Reserve from 2020, all wines are from the juicy, rounded 2025 vintage. I tasted the Bad Kreuznach auction wines at the Taxprobe in Monzingen on July 3, 2026.

The Bad Kreuznach auction also includes two charity lots. The first is a wine-and-dine experience for eight people sponsored by the Joh. Bapt. Schäfer estate from the Nahe and Wagner Stempel in Rheinhessen. This year’s Bad Kreuznach Charity Box contains 14 wines from the 2015 vintage, made up of one Pinot Noir GG, 11 Riesling GGs and one off-dry Reserve Riesling, all from star names like Keller, Dönnhoff, Dr. Bürklin-Wolf and Wittmann.

Vineyards, river and sky become one in the reflection of the calm Mosel at Wehlen.

2027 Grosser Ring

After years of moving dates back and forth, and two years of holding the auction on the same November weekend, the VDP’s Grosser Ring decided to revamp its auction and move it to May of the following year. The new venue, the Kaisersaal (imperial room) of Hotel Schloss Lieser in the village of Lieser, will be considerably more glamorous than the businesslike conference hotel in Trier where the auction used to take place. It will also place punters amidst the steep vineyards of the Middle Mosel, just over half an hour’s drive from Trier and less than an hour from Luxembourg airport.

The Grosser Ring will chiefly feature Prädikatsweine from Kabinett through to Beerenauslese from the 2025 vintage, with a handful of Goldkapseln. Some of the wines are bottled in 6-liter format. The auction will also include “a selection of rarities from mature vintages,” as the initial press release promised. I tasted virtually all the wines in the Grosser Ring auction during estate visits in Mosel, Saar and Ruwer in August 2026. Unfortunately, I was not able to taste a few wines, including the 1976 Wegeler Riesling Bernkasteler Doctor Auslese and 1953 Wegeler Riesling Bernkasteler Doctor Spätlese. The 1953 has historic significance: Konrad Adenauer, the first chancellor of the new German Federal Republic, presented this wine to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1955 to negotiate the release of German prisoners of war held in the Soviet Union. There will be a charity lot at the Grosser Ring auction, but details have not yet been disclosed.

The 2025 Growing Season & Wines

The 2025 vintage was one of the most even of recent years across Germany. Vines in all the regions featured here enjoyed a growing season without extremes or calamities. There was no frost, a warm summer passed without heat spikes, and sufficient rain prevented any dry stress. Growers in Pfalz, Nahe and Rheinhessen could largely bring in fruit before big rains arrived. Some Mosel growers were hit with rain just before and during picking, but hand-harvesting and sorting translated into squeaky-clean wines. Ripeness and juiciness are the twin attributes for Riesling in 2025. Where Prädikate are concerned, both Spätlesen and Auslesen are excellent this year, often made from overripe rather than botrytized grapes — or super-clean botrytis.

Where & When

At both auctions, the wines can be tasted in situ beforehand.

The Bad Kreuznach auction will take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, November 7, 2026, at the Museum der Römerhalle, with all the wines open for sampling from 9-11 a.m. on the day. The auction will be held in German with an English translation, and visitors must register beforehand.

The Grosser Ring auction will be held on May 9, 2027, at Hotel Schloss Lieser in Lieser, in the Middle Mosel. Attendance is by invitation only. The auction will be conducted in English.

Both events will be live-streamed. Anyone can bid via wine merchants specialized in German wines who place their bids to order via the commissionaires. Bidders can state their requested number of bottles and their maximum price — even single bottles can be purchased. The wines sold at either auction are exclusive lots, often in large formats, that are not marketed anywhere else.

© 2026, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or redistributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

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