The Gods' Table & the Return Home
Banquet of Gods is the natural wine project of Lukas Bernhard and Tina — a winemaking duo who, after years of apprenticeship under the legendary Judith Beck in Burgenland, Austria, returned to their home in the northernmost corner of Baden to prove that the border between Franconia and the Black Forest can produce wines of godly energy. From a micro-production in Tauberfranken, they craft funky, wild, high-energy wines with native yeasts, minimal intervention, and often no added sulfur at all. The name is not vanity; it is a declaration — that their home region is worthy of divine celebration, that the table is sacred, and that wine should be fun, fresh, and unapologetically alive. This is not merely a winery; it is a homecoming, a banquet, and a rising star's proof that the most joyful wines can emerge from the most unlikely corners of Germany.
Lukas Bernhard & the Apprenticeship with Judith Beck
The story of Banquet of Gods is a story of return — of a young man who left his home to learn from one of Austria's greatest natural winemakers, and of a couple who came back to prove that the gods themselves would feast at the table of Tauberfranken. Lukas Bernhard is the winemaking force behind the project, a vigneron who gained significant experience working under the renowned natural winemaker Judith Beck in Burgenland, Austria. Judith Beck — the iconic figure of Austrian natural wine, known for her biodynamic farming, zero-addition cuvées, and uncompromising commitment to terroir expression — provided Lukas with a foundation that would shape his entire philosophy. The influence is visible in every bottle: the commitment to low-intervention methods, the refusal to standardise, and the belief that the vineyard and the cellar should be partners, not adversaries.
But Lukas is not a copy of Judith Beck. He is a man who absorbed her lessons and then applied them to a completely different terroir — the northernmost corner of Baden, where the climate is cooler, the soils are different, and the grape varieties speak with a distinctly German accent. His partner Tina is the co-creator of the project, the other half of the duo who shares the vision, the labour, and the joy. Together they form a partnership that is rare in the wine world: two people united not by inheritance but by choice, not by a family estate but by a shared conviction that wine should be fun, honest, and godly.
The name Banquet of Gods was a deliberate choice. Rather than naming the winery after themselves — the conventional path of the ego-driven vigneron — Lukas and Tina chose a name that emphasises the celebration of life and the "godly" quality they associate with their home region. It is a name that places the wine at the centre of a feast, a gathering, a communal ritual. The gods do not drink alone; they banquet. And the wine they drink is not a commodity; it is a divine gift. This is the philosophy that drives every decision: the wine is made for the kitchen table, the restaurant, and as a versatile food companion. It is not made for the trophy cabinet or the investment portfolio. It is made for the moment when a bottle is opened, a glass is poured, and the conversation begins.
The first vintage, released around 2022, was a declaration of intent. Lukas and Tina had returned home, they had found their grapes, and they had made wines that were immediately recognised as something special — funky, wild, and high in energy, with a freshness and drinkability that reflected the modern natural wine movement's preference for vitality over heaviness. The response was immediate: the natural wine community embraced them, retailers sought them out, and the name Banquet of Gods began to appear on the lists of the most forward-thinking wine bars and restaurants in Germany and beyond. This was not the slow, decades-long build of a family estate; this was the rapid, explosive arrival of a new voice that had something urgent and joyful to say.
"They chose the name 'Banquet of Gods' rather than their own names to emphasize the celebration of life and the 'godly' quality they associate with their home region."
— The Grape Reset
Tauberfranken, Northern Baden & the Border with Franconia
Baden is Germany's southernmost wine region, stretching from the Swiss border in the south to the Rhine in the west, and from the Black Forest in the east to the French border in the southwest. It is a region of warmth, of red wine dominance, and of a Mediterranean-influenced climate that produces some of Germany's most powerful and sun-drenched wines. But Tauberfranken is different. Located in the northernmost corner of Baden, it sits at the border with Franconia — the cooler, more continental region to the north — and it carries the characteristics of both. The climate here is milder than the southern Baden plain but warmer than the Franconian heartland. The soils are a mix of limestone, clay, and loess — free-draining, mineral-rich, and capable of producing wines of surprising freshness and energy despite the southern latitude.
The specific soil conditions of this border zone are what drew Lukas and Tina back. They are not the heavy, fertile soils of the Rhine valley; they are the lighter, stonier soils of the Tauber valley, where the Main River's tributaries have carved a landscape of rolling hills and sheltered slopes. The limestone provides the mineral backbone and the electric acidity that defines the wines; the clay retains moisture and nutrients, sustaining the vines through dry summers; and the loess adds a fine, silty texture that contributes to the wines' aromatic complexity. The result is a terroir that produces grapes of natural acidity, moderate alcohol, and a distinctive mineral tension — ideal material for the low-intervention, native-yeast winemaking that Lukas learned from Judith Beck.
The farming is natural and low-intervention. While the estate is young and micro-scale, the commitment to healthy vineyard practices is absolute. The grapes are sourced from carefully selected parcels farmed with a focus on soil health, biodiversity, and the absence of synthetic chemicals. The vines are tended by hand, harvested by hand, and treated with the respect that low-intervention winemaking demands — because without healthy grapes, there can be no healthy wine. The surrounding landscape of the Tauber valley — oak forests, pasture, and the gentle hills of the border country — provides a habitat for beneficial insects and birds, and the absence of industrial monoculture allows the natural ecosystem to regulate itself.
The climate is continental with a southern warmth — cold winters, warm summers, and a growing season that is long enough to ripen Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir but cool enough to preserve the acidity essential for balanced, fresh wines. The northern location within Baden provides enough coolness to prevent the worst of the summer heat from baking the fruit, while the southern exposure of the slopes captures the afternoon sun that drives phenolic ripeness. The result is a terroir that produces grapes of small berry size, thick skins, and natural acidity — ideal material for the funky, wild, high-energy wines that Banquet of Gods has made its signature. The limestone imparts a distinct mineral, stony, and sometimes almost chalky character that distinguishes these wines from the richer, more rounded styles of southern Baden.
Banquet of Gods is located in Tauberfranken, the northernmost corner of the Baden wine region in Germany, bordering Franconia. The project is a micro-production boutique winery founded around 2022 by Lukas Bernhard and Tina. Lukas trained under Judith Beck in Burgenland, Austria. Natural wine production with native yeasts, low intervention, and often zero added sulfur. The focus is on capturing the specific soil conditions of the Baden-Franconia border.
The vineyards sit on a mix of limestone, clay, and loess soils typical of the Tauber valley border zone. The limestone provides drainage, alkalinity, and the distinctive mineral tension; the clay retains moisture and nutrients; the loess adds silty texture and aromatic complexity. The soils are lighter and stonier than the Rhine valley, producing grapes of natural acidity and moderate alcohol. No synthetic chemicals are used. The terroir is defined by stone, forest, and the gentle hills of the border country.
Low-intervention farming with a focus on soil health and biodiversity. No synthetic herbicides, pesticides, or fertilisers. Hand-tended vines, hand-harvested grapes. The surrounding landscape of oak forests and pasture maintains a natural ecosystem. The goal is not maximum yield but maximum expression — grapes that carry the full microbial and mineral fingerprint of the Tauberfranken border terroir, essential for the native-yeast, low-intervention winemaking that defines the project.
Lukas's years with Judith Beck in Burgenland instilled a profound respect for biodynamic farming, native yeasts, and the refusal to standardise. He brings this philosophy to the Tauber valley, but adapts it to a cooler, more northern terroir. The result is a style that is recognisably influenced by Beck's commitment to honesty and terroir, but distinctively German in its freshness, acidity, and energy. The cellar is a modest, working space where the wines ferment at their own pace and are bottled with minimal intervention — a workshop where time and wild yeast do the work, and Lukas and Tina provide the patience and the joy.
Native Yeasts & the Funky Energy
The guiding philosophy of Banquet of Gods is expressed in three words: funky, wild, and alive. Lukas and Tina are committed to natural winemaking in its most joyful form — employing low-intervention methods in both vineyard and cellar, using native yeasts, and often adding no sulfur at all. This is not a reaction against modernity; it is a return to the oldest possible methodology, informed by Judith Beck's Austrian rigour and by the couple's own conviction that wine should be fun, fresh, and unapologetically energetic. The wines are made without cultured yeasts, without heavy manipulation, and without the standardising interventions that turn wine into a uniform product.
The methodology is deliberately simple and rigorously clean. Harvest is entirely manual, carried out in small quantities across the micro-production, and transported immediately to the cellar. Fermentation is spontaneous, initiated by the indigenous yeasts that live on the grape skins and in the cellar air of the Tauber valley. Lukas and Tina do not inoculate, do not adjust temperatures aggressively, and do not force the wine into a predetermined shape. The whites are direct-pressed or given brief skin contact — the Weiss cuvée, a blend of Riesling and Pinot Blanc, captures the mineral-forward, slightly oxidative character that natural wine drinkers crave. The reds are gently macerated — the Halbstark, a blend of Pinot Meunier (Schwarzriesling) and Pinot Blanc, is a unique "chilled red" or dark rosé that defies conventional categorisation and demands to be served cool.
The sulfur protocol is minimal to non-existent: often zero sulfur is added, and when it is used, it is in the smallest possible quantities. The wines are neither filtered nor fined, preserving their natural turbidity, their living yeasts, and their evolving texture. This demands absolute cleanliness in the cellar, perfect grape health in the vineyard, and a willingness to accept that each bottle will be slightly different from the next. The result is a portfolio of wines that are raw, expressive, and full of life — wines that change in the glass, that evolve in the bottle, and that carry the unmistakable signature of a couple who have spent their apprenticeship with one of Europe's greatest natural winemakers and are now finding their own voice in the borderlands of Baden.
The cellar is not a technological facility; it is a modest, working space where the wines ferment at their own pace and are bottled with minimal intervention. There is no temperature-controlled tank farm, no laboratory analysis dictating additions, no consultant recommending corrective enzymes. There is only Lukas, Tina, the grapes, and the patience to let the wine take the time it needs. The result is a portfolio that reflects the modern natural wine movement's preference for freshness and drinkability over heavy oak or high alcohol — wines that are made for the kitchen table, the restaurant, and the moment of shared pleasure. The energy is high, the funk is real, and the joy is palpable in every bottle.
Native Yeasts, Low Intervention & Often Zero Sulfur
The guiding principle of Banquet of Gods' winemaking is that the wine should be alive, funky, and honest. Their approach — low-intervention farming in the Tauberfranken border zone, hand harvest in small quantities, spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts, gentle maceration for reds, direct press or brief skin contact for whites, no temperature manipulation, no enzymatic additions, no filtration, no fining, and often zero added sulfites — is not a rejection of modernity but a deeper application of it. The native yeasts provide fermentation with a microbiological fingerprint unique to the Tauber valley. The absence of filtration preserves the living texture and the natural haze. And the minimal or zero sulfur ensures that the wine speaks with the unvarnished voice of its grapes and its terroir. The cellar is not a laboratory; it is a workshop where time, wild yeast, and the border terroir do the work, and Lukas and Tina provide the patience and the joy.
Halbstark, Weiss & the Funky Duo
Banquet of Gods produces a focused, personality-driven portfolio from a micro-production in Tauberfranken. The wines are deliberately few in number but high in character — each cuvée a distinct expression of the border terroir between Baden and Franconia, made with native yeasts, minimal intervention, and often zero sulfur. The current range centres on two flagship cuvées that have already gained a following in the natural wine community: Halbstark — a unique "chilled red" or dark rosé blend of Pinot Meunier (Schwarzriesling) and Pinot Blanc, funky, wild, and demanding to be served cool; and Weiss — a mineral-forward white or orange wine of Riesling and Pinot Blanc, crystalline, energetic, and slightly oxidative. Both are united by a common methodology: spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts, no filtration, no fining, and a refusal to conform to the standardised expectations of conventional German wine. The portfolio is small but expanding, and every new release is anticipated with the excitement that only a rising star can generate.
"Their wines are frequently described as 'funky,' 'wild,' and high in energy, reflecting the modern natural wine movement's preference for freshness and drinkability over heavy oak or high alcohol."
— The Grape Reset
The Banquet & the Rising Star
To understand Banquet of Gods, one must understand that it is not merely a winery; it is a celebration, a homecoming, and a rising star's proof that the most joyful wines can emerge from the most unexpected corners of Germany. Lukas Bernhard and Tina are not heirs to a centuries-old estate; they are a young couple who left home to learn, returned to build, and chose a name that places the feast above the ego. The identity of the project is defined by this generosity: the generosity of naming the winery after the gods rather than themselves, the generosity of making wine for the table rather than the trophy, the generosity of sharing their apprenticeship with Judith Beck rather than hiding it, and the generosity of releasing wines that are funky, wild, and alive rather than polished, standardised, and dead.
The identity is also defined by energy — the high energy of the wines, the high energy of the project, and the high energy of a couple who have something urgent and joyful to say. The Halbstark is not a wine for contemplation; it is a wine for action — for opening, for pouring, for sharing, for laughing. The Weiss is not a wine for the cellar; it is a wine for the moment — for the oyster, for the fish, for the conversation. These are not wines that demand patience; they demand presence. They are wines that reflect the modern natural wine movement's preference for freshness and drinkability over heavy oak or high alcohol — a preference that Lukas and Tina share with the generation of drinkers who have made natural wine a global phenomenon.
The future of Banquet of Gods is tied to the continued exploration of the Tauberfranken border terroir, the deepening of natural farming practices, and the gradual expansion of a portfolio that already spans chilled red, white, and orange. Lukas and Tina are eager to go further — to experiment with new varieties, to explore longer macerations, and to obtain ever more natural expressions from the fruit of their own home region. The Halbstark will continue to be the flagship of joy, the funky red that announces their arrival. The Weiss will continue to be the mineral standard, the crystalline white that proves the terroir's quality. And new cuvées will continue to emerge as the couple learns, grows, and finds new voices in the borderlands of Baden.
In an age of increasing industrialisation in wine — of global varieties, engineered yeasts, and corporate consolidation — Banquet of Gods stands as a compelling alternative, not because it rejects modernity but because it has embraced a deeper modernity: one that values a micro-production over a factory farm, hand harvest over machine picking, native yeasts over inoculation, often zero sulfur over standardised stability, no filtration over cosmetic clarity, funk over polish, joy over seriousness, the kitchen table over the investment portfolio, the banquet over the ego, and the specific voice of Tauberfranken over the standardised replication of a global style. Banquet of Gods is not merely making wine; it is proving that a young couple can learn from the best, return home, and produce wines that are as honest as they are joyful, as wild as they are drinkable, and as godly as they are grounded. From the first vintage around 2022 to the 2024 release: all united in one bottle, one banquet, one unanswerable argument for the possibility of authentic, natural, low-intervention, hand-made, passionately joyful wine from the borderlands of Baden and Franconia.
Lukas Bernhard — Judith Beck alumnus, natural wine devotee, and the winemaking force behind Banquet of Gods. After years of apprenticeship in Burgenland, Austria, he returned to his home in northern Baden with his partner Tina to prove that the Tauberfranken border terroir could produce wines of godly energy. Tina — co-creator, partner in vision, and the other half of a duo united by choice rather than inheritance. Together they chose a name that celebrates the feast rather than the ego, and they make wine for the table rather than the trophy. This is a winery where the personal, the joyful, and the generous are inseparable.
Four absolute commitments: native yeasts only, often zero added sulfites, no filtration, no fining. Hand harvest across micro-production quantities. Spontaneous fermentation. Gentle maceration for reds. Direct press or brief skin contact for whites. No temperature manipulation. No enzymatic additions. The wines are as natural and alive as German wine comes — spontaneously fermented, unfiltered, unfined, and purely expressive of the Tauberfranken border terroir. A proof that the Judith Beck philosophy, when applied to the northern Baden borderlands, produces wines of startling freshness, funky energy, and unanswerable joy.