The Weinbörse, the annual spring trade fair of the VDP, the association of about 200 elite wine producers in Germany, took place on Sunday and Monday, 23 and 24 April 2017, in the Rheingoldhalle of Mainz. Worldwide, the Weinbörse is the only trade fair that focuses exclusively on fine German wines.
See here: 2017 VDP Trade Fair Weinbörse - Vintage 2016 - in Mainz: Schiller’s Report
All (15) VDP winemakers from Rheinhessen took part in this year's Weinbörse. In the evening of the first day, they used the opportunity of the presence of sommeliers, chefs, retailers, importers, whole salers and media people from all over Germany and export countries to showcase VDP.Reinhessen at an extraordinary wine pairing dinner at the Laubenheimer Höhe. Philipp Stern, 1 star Michelin chef from the Favorite in Mainz (Laubenheimer Hof and Favorite have the same ownership), prepared the outsanding menu. It was an amazing experience of world class wines and world class food.
We were about 45 guests and the 15 host winemakers. Upon arrival, we were served a Westhofener Riesling 2012 of Weingut Wittmann in the Double Magnum and delicious amuses geules. We also had the opportunity to taste the VDP.Ortsweine of all the participating winemakers.
We then moved on to a seated dinner with VDP.Grosse Lage wines. VDP.Rheinhessen President Philipp Wittmann guided us through the very special evening.
During the dinner H.O. Spanier of Weingut Battenfeld-Spanier and Weingut Kühling-Gillot gave a little talk on the VDP classification and the particularities of the application in Rheinhessen. Daniel Deckers took us back to the days of Napoleon and talked about old wine maps of Rheinhessen, which had been discovered only recently. Also, during the dinner, between courses, we all got up to taste more VDP.Grosse Lage wines.
Rheinhessen
Rheinhessen is the largest viticultural region in Germany. Every fourth bottle of German wine comes from Rheinhessen. About one third of Rheinhessen’s agricultural area is cultivated with vines, more than 26000 hectares. The high-yielder Mueller-Thurgau accounts for about 1/5 of the vineyards, and Silvaner and Dornfelder both for 1/10. Riesling is on the backburner. Unlike in other German wine regions, where monoculture of the vine is the norm, here the many rolling hills are host to a wide variety of crops grown alongside the grape. Rheinhessen also has the rather dubious honor of being considered the birthplace of Liebfraumilch.
At the same time, Rheinhessen is at this time among Germany’s most interesting wine regions. A lot is happening there. This is not only because of the terroir, but because of the people. There is an increasing group of young, ambitious and dynamic winemakers who want to produce and indeed do produce outstanding wine and not wines in large quantities. The top echelon of this group was present at this dinner, including Klaus Peter and Julia Keller, Philipp Wittmann, H.O. Spanier and Carolin Gillot-Spanier, to name a few.
VDP.Rheinhessen
Here is the list:
Battenfeld Spanier, Brüder Dr. Becker, Gunderloch, Gutzler, J. Neus, K. F. Groebe, Kühling-Gillot, Rappenhof, Schloss Westerhaus, Schätzel, St. Antony, Staatliche Weinbaudomäne Oppenheim, Wagner-Stempel, Winter, Wittmann.
Reception Wine: 2012, Westhofener Riesling Weingut Wittmann in the Double Magnum
Upon arrival, we were served a Westhofener Riesling 2012 of Weingut Wittmann in the Double Magnum.
VDP.Rheinhessen President Philipp Wittmann Opening the Event
VDP.Rheinhessen President Philipp Wittmann opened and led through the evening.
Amuses Geules
The phantastic amuses geules gave you some idea of what was coming later.
Tasting: Ortswein
We paired the amuses geules with VDP.Ortswein Rheinhessen Riesling, 2 to 3 years old.
The Dinner
We then moved on to a seated dinner with VDP.Grosse Lagen wines.
First Course
Roh marinierte Rindercanneloni
mit Thunfisch – Schnittlauchcreme, Quinoa
und geräuchertem Heringskaviar
HEERKRETZ Riesling GG 2011, Wagner Stempel
PETTENTHAL Riesling GG 2012, Kühling-Gillot
Speech: H.O. Spanier about Recent Developments in the VDP.Rheinhessen Classification
In the first dinner speech, H.O. Spanier went through the development that led to today's 3-tier classification system: VDP.Gutswein, VDP.Ortswein and VDP.Grosse Lage. H.O. explained that in the future a VDP.Ortswein has to come from VDP.Erste Lage.
The other important development is the MAXIME HERKUNFT RHEINHESSEN innitiative, an association of about 60 VDP and Non-VDP members from Rheinhessen. Bascically, the VDP.Rheinhessen is branching out to talented winemakers that are not (yet) members of the VDP but are applying already the VDP rules and classification system in their winery.
Second Course
Gebratene Schottische Jakobsmuscheln
auf Spargelragout mit Bergpfeffer aromatisiert,
Zitruskompott und Miso
AULERDE Riesling GG 2006, K.F. Groebe
MORSTEIN Riesling GG 2007, Wittmann
Tasting: VDP.Grosse Lage
After the second course, we got up again to mingle and to taste 9 VDP.Grosse Lage wines - 7 GGs plus one Auslese and one Beerenauslese.
Third Course
Filet vom US Prime Beef G.O.P.
unter der Ochsenmarkkruste
mit gerösteter Topinamburcreme, Wirsing
und Perigord-Trüffel-Jus
MORSTEIN „Felix“ Spätburgunder GG 2013, Keller
PATERBERG Pinot Noir GG 2013, St. Antony
Arguably, the MORSTEIN „Felix“ Spätburgunder GG 2013 Weingut Klaus Peter Keller was the most special wine of the evening. Wine & Water in Berlin offers it currently for Euro 522 including tax. The wine-searcher average price (excluding tax) of a bottle of MORSTEIN „Felix“ Spätburgunder GG 2013 Weingut Klaus Peter Keller is Euro 440 currently - clearyl a different price category than all other wines that were poured. The Felix is the (red) counterpart of the (white) G-Max.
Dinner Speech: Daniel Deckers about recently discovered old Rheinhessen Wine Maps
Daniel Deckers gave the second dinner speech. He talked about old wine maps of Rheinhessen, dating from the days of Napoleon, that have been discovered recently.
Dessert
„Falsche Mandarine“
gefüllt mit Blutorange
Yuzuganache und Erdnuss – Limetten - Eis
PETTENTHAL Riesling Auslese 2015, Schätzel
ROTHENBERG Riesling Auslese 1996, Gunderloch
Tea/ Coffee
The most exciting wine-pairing dinner ended with tea/ coffee and wonderful petits fours.
Chef Philipp Stern
Philipp Stein hails from Rheinhessen. He is the Executive Chef at the Hotel/ Restaurant Favorite in Mainz, which has the same ownership as the Laubenheimer Höhe, where the VDP.Rheinhessen dinner took place, i.e. Christian Barth.
Four Magazine: Philipp Stein, the youngest Michelin starred chef in Germany, received his first ever Michelin star at only 24 years in 2014. Simultaneously, Gault & Millau awarded him with 16 points and 2 toques. Young and exceptionally talented, Philipp is the Chef de Cuisine at Favorite Restaurant in Mainz.
Bringing a fresh approach to fine dining, his cooking style is simple and straight to the basics without fuss or frills. His family has owned a popular restaurant for five generations and coming from such a gastronomic family, Philipp is dedicated to his roots. The result is the fusion of classical bases laced with aromatic sauces. The influence of world renowned chefs that he has worked with, including Dieter Müller and Helmut Thieltges, is reflected in his dishes. His approach to cooking however is very much his own individual style.
1* Michelin star (Youngest Michelin starred chef in Germany)
16 Points – Gaullt et Millau (Young talent 2015)
3F Feinschmecker guide (Newcomer of the year 2015)
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