February 19

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The World’s Largest Wine Bar

Posted by on February 19, 2015 in Destination - Germany, English | Leave a comment

Think Germany is just a destination of endless beers, schnapps, schnitzels, bretzels, and bratwurst served by buxom blonds in drindles during Oktoberfest? Think again.

As the producer of some of the world’s finest white wines, Germany has more festivals celebrating its wine culture than sunny summer days. The Bergstrasse Vintners’ Festival in the small community of Bensheim, celebrating its 86th anniversary in September, is a favourite for all ages and among wine enthusiasts from the local area. Although South Hessen’s biggest wine fest it retains a traditional charm. While the younger Rheingau Wine Festival celebrating 37 years this year and attracting thousand visitors annually to major urban center of Wiesbaden, toasts itself as the longest wine bar in the world!

photo - Oliver Hebel

photo – Oliver Hebel

The international gateway of Frankfurt Airport is the ideal starting point to immerse yourself in the culture and traditions of the Old World. Before entering the futuristic looking airport train station to hop on a Bahn (German for train), stop at Terminal 1, Area B, Level 2 where you find the Goethe Bar.  Named after Frankfurt’s favourite son and Germany’s most famous philosopher, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the imbiss (snack bar) serves coffee, wine, beer as well as champagne. No need to try the wine yet but after a long haul flight a quick espresso will energize you.

Naturally the ideal time of year to take a German wine vacation is during late spring, summer or early autumn. During Herbst (autumn) touring the Rhine Valley countryside is fantastic with the gold and red colours providing a beautiful mosaic between the castles, cathedrals and quaint villages, truly a memorable experience. This area is the known as the Rheingau and where most of the countries best white wines are produced.

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Here is the birthplace of the legendary ‘Robber Barons,’ who under sanction of the church ruled passage so tightly on some sections of the Rhine that every bend had a fortress charging toll to enhance their fortunes. Today a true romantic might opt for a cruise, especially during the September fireworks celebration on the river.

The Oberwesel Wine Market during two weekends in September (11-14 and 18-19, 2015) is a perfect fit to experience the Rhine in Flames with the locals. This traditional autumn wine fair takes place in the picturesque market square, with music groups entertaining visitors while winemakers showcase wines from vine-clad stalls.

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The wines and sparkling wines of the region are presented annually at the festival during August, Rheingau Wine Week (Aug 14-23, 2015) in the city Wiesbaden in pedestrian zones surrounding and including the historic Schlossplatz. For local vintners its a perfect venue for a public acquaintance with Rheingau Riesling wines, sekt and more. Its not the only wine festival, literally every city, village and burg invites visitors to rub elbows with the locals and taste their local wines, beers, foods and music.

As a Canadian my experience with German wine consisted of Blue Nun, Black Tower and something with Schloss in the name. All of it sweet, and mostly labeled as white table wine. After living in Germany for over two years my taste for wine has developed, as has my knowledge, with great opportunities as a travel writer to sit and discuss wine with some interesting European producers.

Lageder Winery

Wilfried, the elder vintner of the father and son Weingut Querbach, coyly suggested it is as simple as having good weather, clean soil and great timing for the harvest. The Wine waiter at the Michelin rated haute cuisine of ‘the Ente’ (Duck) in the Hotel Nassauer Hof, selected his Riesling as an equisetic pair for their pork medallions.

Every corner of Germany will surprise even the most experienced traveller with unique local gastronomic experiences of traditional dishes to modern infusions of being in the centre of Europe. While hand crafted beers are not likely surprise many, the award winning wines are equally delicious to sample at the countless wine festivals throughout Germany. Perhaps the country should be relabelled, not just as the land of beer but with the world’s largest wine party.

INFO BOX:

Airlines: Most national airlines have flights into Frankfurt Airport including the following: Condor, Lufthansa, Air Canada, American Airlines, British Airways, Quantas…

Rhine River Cruise: (2015 Fireworks dates May 2, June 20, July 4, Aug. 1, 8 & 22, Sept. 5, 6, 12, 19 & 26, Oct. 3, 10 &17) Viking River Cruises, (USD $1,856) www.vikingrivercruises.com; Emerald Waterways, Jewels of the Rhine 8-days from Amsterdam to Basel, (USD $2,295) www.emeraldwaterways.com 

Airport Car Rental: www.frankfurt-airport.com/content/frankfurt_airport/en/directions/rental_cars.html

Deutsche Bahn: Frankfurt airport to Weisbaden, 16 euros, http://www.bahn.com

Accommodations: ‪ Hotel Nassauer Hof, (170 euros including breakfast), A: Kaiser-Friedrich-Platz 3-4, Wiesbaden, www.nassauer-hof.de; ‪Motel One, (59 euros including breakfast), A: Kaiser-Friedrich-Ring 81, ‪Wiesbaden, www.motel-one.com; Schönburg Castle Hotel (290 euros including 4-course-dinner, breakfast, welcome Sherry in your room and free minibar), A: Auf Schönburg, Oberwesel am Rhein, T: +49 6744 – 93930, www.hotel-schoenburg.com/index.html

Tourism Boards: Germany www.germany.travel; Hessen www.hessen-tourismus.de; Rheingau www.kulturland-rheingau.de

Vineyards: Weingut Querbach, Lenchenstrasse 19, Oestrich-Winkel, T: +49 6723-3887 www.querbach.com; A: Weingut Hans Lang, Rheinallee 6, Hattenheim, T: +49 6723-2475, www.weingut-hans-lang.eu; Wein- & Sektgut Schönleber, A: Obere Roppelsgasse 1, Oestrich-Winkel, T: +49 06723-3475, www.fb-schoenleber.de

A quick study on German Wines:

  • QbA (Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete) – quality wine from one of 13 wine-growing regions
  • QmP (Qualitätswein mit Prädikat) – superior quality wine also produced from one of the 13 regions.

Taste:

  • Trocken – Dry
  • Halbtrocken – Semi-dry
  • Feinherb – Off-dry
  • Lieblich, mild or restsüß – Semi-sweet
  • Süß or Süss – Sweet

Style:

  • Kabinett – literally ‘cabinet’, reserve quality kept in the vintner’s cabinet fully ripened wine, typically semi-sweet with crisp acidity, but may be dry.
  • Spätlese – ‘late harvest’ typically semi-sweet or most often sweeter and fruitier than Kabinett.
  • Auslese – ‘select harvest’ hand selected, typically semi-sweet or sweet
  • Beerenauslese – ‘select berry harvest’ overripe grapes individually selected, rich sweet dessert wine.
  • Eiswein (ice wine) – naturally frozen grapes, classic Eiswein style
  • Trockenbeerenauslese – ‘select dry berry harvest’ or ‘dry berry selection’ selected overripe shrivelled grapes often affected by noble rot making extremely rich sweet wines. Trocken in this phrase refers to the grapes being dried on the vine rather than the resulting wine being a dry style.

White Wine Varieties:

Red Wine Varieties

Sekt or Sparkling Wine

Often made using the Riesling, Pinot blanc, Pinot gris and Pinot noir grapes. Premium Sekt is produced in smaller lots is often referred to as Winzersekt (winegrower’s Sekt)