schiller-wine: Wine Pairing Lunch at Landgasthof Zur Traube in Meddersheim, Nahe, with Petra Hexamer and the Wines of Weingut Hexamer - Germany-North Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours

Friday, February 9, 2018

Wine Pairing Lunch at Landgasthof Zur Traube in Meddersheim, Nahe, with Petra Hexamer and the Wines of Weingut Hexamer - Germany-North Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours

Picture: Wine Pairing Lunch at Landgasthof Zur Traube in Meddersheim, Nahe with Petra Hexamer and the Wines of Weingut Hexamer

Following the tasting with Frank Schönleber, Weingut Emmrich-Schönleber (See: Tasting at Weingut Emrich-Schönleber in Monzingen, Nahe, with Owner/ Winemaker Frank Schönleber - Germany-North Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours), we drove over to Meddersheim for a wine-pairing lunch with Petra Hexamer, Weingut Hexamer, at Landgasthof Zur Traube.

Pictures: Weingut Hexamer and Landgasthof Zur Traube in Meddersheim

Landgasthof Zur Traube

This restaurant is a hidden gem in the Nahe valley. For more than a decade Chef Herbert Langendorf was a one Michelin star chef with the Ente vom Lehel in Wiesbaden. In 1998 he and his wife Ingrid opened the Landgasthof Zur Traube in Meddersheim.

Pictures: The Days of the Ente vom Lehel

Weingut Hexamer

Weingut Hexamer is just across the street. In the US, it is in the Skurnik/ Terry Theise Portfolio.

Weingut Hexamer is a family-owned and run winery in Meddersheim in the Nahe region. The vineyard area totals 23 hectares in Meddersheim, Schlossböckelheim and Sobernheim. The family name, Hexamer, dates back centuries in Germany and has a history of winemaking; however, it was not until the late 1990’s when the Hexamer family began producing commercially, i.e. when Harald Hexamer and his wife Petra took over.

Riesling accounts for 60 percent and Weißburgunder, Grauburgunder, Frühburgunder, Müller-Thurgau and Spätburgunder for most of the remainder.

Pictures: Welcome

Weingut Hexamer in the Terry Theise/ Skurnik Portfolio

In the US, Weingut Hexamer is relatively well known among the friends of German wine. It has a bit the reputation of producing “Dönnhoff wines at much lower prices”.

Terry Theise: Harald Hexamer’s dedication is seen both in his work in the vineyards and in the cellars. Hexamer holds 7.5 hectares in the Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg, a steep south-east facing slope of red sandstone with deposits of quartzite, which is known for producing especially small berries. Hexamer often harvests riper grapes from another site (Marbach) but the wines of Rheingrafenberg grapes are “more filigree and better-structured.” Schlossböckelheimer In den Felsen (“In the Rocks”) is a small vineyard at 6.5 hectares, of which the Hexamer’s own 4.5. The vineyard is markedly steep (70º) with south facing slopes composed of rocky porphyry and produces wines characterized by softer acidity and a subtle smokiness.

Pictures: Wine Pairing Lunch at Restaurant Landgasthof Zur Traube in Meddersheim, Nahe with Petra Hexamer and the Wines of Weingut Hexamer

Hexamer’s meticulous work in the vineyard is marked by pruning to control yields (“often six to eight bunches per wine”) and hand-harvesting. The grapes are picked exclusively by hand and fermented very cold (below 12 degrees celsius) with cooling utilized only when necessary – “but we often pick so late we bring naturally cold fruit — below 10 degrees — back to the winery.”

Hexamer handles the wine as little as possible: no dosage is used, inoculations are made only with native yeasts, and all wines are whole-cluster pressed. 95% of all Rieslings at Hexamer are made in stainless steel and racked only once, three to six weeks after fermentation is complete. The wines are bottled early to preserve their vigor. For the Burgundian varieties, Harald constructed his own barrels in Meddersheim using oak from the Hunsrück forest seasoned for 5 years. When tasting the wines, one sees the purity of the vineyards, the intensity of minerality and remarkable clarity. Hexamer’s wines are balanced in the ultraviolet spectrum; they’re steely, acid-driven, clean and transparent.

The Wine Pairing Menu