Hullabaloo – 2025

Hullabaloo 2025. Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier, fresh, creamy and with a good cause.

Hullabaloo 2025 is a dry Palatine white wine in which Markus Schneider combines two grape varieties: Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier. No varietal Sauvignon, no heavy oak-aged wine, no sweet summer wine.

The Hullabaloo 2025 is a Palatine white wine in which the green freshness of the Sauvignon Blanc meets the stone fruit of the Viognier. A Friday evening, the kitchen full of voices, somewhere the music is playing too loud.

This is exactly what the English word Hullabaloo means. In the glass, things are more orderly: grapefruit, blackcurrant and ripe apricot.

Grapefruit, apricot and a creamy core

The Hullabaloo 2025 shows two faces that come together in the glass. Sauvignon Blanc brings blackcurrant, grapefruit and a green, lively touch. Viognier adds apricot, peach and a floral note. Such a cuvée, that is, a blend of several grape varieties, is intended to produce more than the sum of its parts.

On the palate, the wine remains dry and lean, but feels rounder than a pure Sauvignon thanks to the Viognier. Some of this creaminess comes from the oak barrel in which the Viognier is aged. The acidity keeps the whole thing fresh without becoming sharp.

Those expecting the cutting, grassy intensity of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc will find the Hullabaloo too soft. It relies on balance rather than volume, even if its name promises the opposite.

With goat cheese, roasted pumpkin and fried pike-perch

The dual nature of freshness and richness makes the Hullabaloo the perfect partner for dishes that fall somewhere between light and rich. Fresh goat cheese with thyme and a drizzle of honey is the classic test for any Sauvignon. The Viognier picks up the sweetness of the honey.

Roasted pumpkin with sage butter and toasted seeds reflects the apricot note. Fried pike-perch with beurre blanc benefits from the acidity, which makes the butter seem lighter. Vietnamese summer rolls with coriander and mint meet the green side of the Sauvignon.

From experience: Do not chill the wine below 9 °C. Served too cold, the Viognier closes up, and you are left mainly with the acidity of the Sauvignon. The Hullabaloo is not intended for years of aging; its strength is its youthful fruit.

A name for a daughter, proceeds for the region

Markus Schneider dedicated the Hullabaloo to his daughter Josephine, who is called Finchen in the family. The English word for bustle and confusion apparently suited her. The wine is thus the white counterpart to the red Tohuwabohu, whose name is borrowed from the Hebrew creation story.

With this cuvée, the family also wants to give back. According to the winery, the proceeds from the Hullabaloo have gone to charitable organizations in the area around Ellerstadt since the first vintage.

The home of Viognier is the northern Rhône Valley. It requires a lot of warmth before showing its floral fragrance and remains an exception in the Palatinate. Markus Schneider planted it in 2014, back then as an experimental crop.

In the cellar, both varieties take separate paths. The winery ferments the Sauvignon at a low temperature in stainless steel and keeps it reductive, that is, largely protected from oxygen, which preserves its green aromas. For a part of the Viognier, on the other hand, it goes into used tonneaux, 500-liter wooden barrels that provide roundness without tasting of oak.

A conversation wine with a story

What sets the Hullabaloo apart from other Palatine white wines is the unusual pairing of two international varieties. Sauvignon and Viognier in one bottle are rarely found in Germany. Added to this is the story behind the label, which is easy to tell when pouring.

As a gift for a family celebration or as a white wine for a meal with friends, it strikes the right tone. Those who prefer to drink Sauvignon Blanc on its own will find it in the Palatine Sauvignon Blanc Kaitui. The version aged in wood shows the Fumé Sauvignon Blanc.

A white wine whose name promises noise and which creates above all one thing at the table: good conversation.