Manna 2023 is Martin Wörner's blush-red field blend from Rheinhessen, Germany — 60% Scheurebe, 25% Portugieser, and 15% Regent, grown on 35-year-old limestone vines at 300 metres above sea level. A co-fermented mix of aromatic white and red-skinned grapes that sits beautifully in a category of its own: not quite pink, not quite white, entirely its own thing.
Who is Martin Wörner — and what makes Manna?
Martin Wörner spent time making wine with Tom Lubbe at Matassa in Roussillon and with the team at Gut Oggau in Burgenland before returning to his family's estate in Rheinhessen and founding Marto. He brought back a completely different idea of what German natural wine could be — lighter, wilder, more instinctive — and applied it to varieties and terroir that most people had been overlooking. He makes wine together with his partner Alanna Lagamba (of Frauenpower fame). The two do everything together in the winery.
The three varieties for Manna are harvested together from a single hectare of limestone. After fermentation, Manna spends 6–9 months in large old oak barrels between 1,000 and 2,400 litres without battonage. Of the previous 2022 vintage, Martin and his partner Alanna says: "We experienced a wonderful spring with a hot dry summer, until mid-September where the weather changed and brought a lot of rain. Half the harvest was characterised by tension and concentration, and the other half paid the bills."
Pale copper-pink, almost peach-coloured. Juicy and electric from the first sip: macerated strawberries, pink grapefruit, sour cherry, pepper, herbs, and then something completely unexpected — a hit of cola gummies and a touch of liquorice that makes it genuinely hard to put down. The Scheurebe brings tropical aromatic lift; the Portugieser and Regent add grip, spice, and colour. Unusual, confident, and irresistible.
As Martin puts it: "Manna = ENERGY! LIFE! LOVE!" Serve cool. No occasion needed.
