The Collegium Vini is an association of wine lovers in the greater Frankfurt area, founded in 1951, that meets regularly to taste wine together. This time, the Collegium Vini had invited 4 wine estates from the Mittelrhein to talk about steep slope wines, wines from vineyards with an inclination of more than say 50 degrees.
Two of the wine estates - Weingut Toni Jost from Bacharach (Cecilia Jost) and Weingut Matthias Müller (Johannes Müller) - were members of the VDP, the association of Germany's about 200 elite winemakers, and two wine estates - Weingut Philipps-Mühle in St. Goar (Thomas and Martin Philipps) and Weingut Heilig Grab from Boppard (Jonas Schoenberger) - were up-and-coming producers.
The evening, during which we tasted 20 wines, had 5 blocks.
(1) The evening started with Johannes Müller providing a general introduction to the Mittelrhein
(2) Thomas and Martin Philips reported about their recultivation efforts of a steep-slope wineyard.
(3) Cecilia Jost talked about the impliations of the height and the orientation of a vineyard.
(4) Jonas Schoeneberg introduced us to new machines that facilitate the work in steep-slope vineyards.
(5) In the middle of the evening we had a nice meal with 2 dinner wines. At the end, a fruity-sweet Spätlese was poured pour la route.
Mittelrhein
Beginning just below Bonn and extending about 100 km south along the banks of the Rhine, the Mittelrhein is a beautiful region of steep, terraced vineyards and some of the wine world's most splendid scenery, medieval castles and ruins clinging to rocky peaks, sites of ancient legends where Siegfried, Hagen and the Loreley seem to spring to life.
Nearly three quarters of the vineyards are planted with Riesling. Viticulture was established in the region by the Romans, once they had established the cities of Cologne (Colonia) and Bonn (Bonna). The region saw its heyday in medieval times, at a time when the Cistercian order built the Kloster Heisterbach abbey above Oberdollendorf. The small town of Bacharach is an ancient centre of the wine trade. The name of the town of Bacharach comes from the Roman "Baccara" = "Altar of Bacchus".
The Mittlerhein below St. Goarshausen is one of the few vineyards in the world where phylloxera has not yet struck. Small, family-run wineries are typical of the region. But winemaking in the Mittelrhein is shrinking at a rapid pace. Today, with 500 hectares vineyard area, it is less than 25% of what it was 100 years ago. The slopes are extremely steep, discouraging young winemakers to continue with the tradition of their fathers, while consumers are flooded with reasonably priced and good quality wines from all over the world. However, increasingly young and dynamic winemakers, such as those who joined us for the tasting, are successfully trying to reverse this trend.
Johannes Müller, Weingut Matthias Müller, Spay, Mittelrhein
Johannes Müller providing a general introduction to the Mittelrhein, the second smallest wine region in Germany. The village of Deidesheim, for example, is larger than the whole Mittelrhein area.
The Wines Johannes Müller, Weingut Matthias Müller, Spay, Mittelrhein Poured
Johannes Müller poured 4 wines.
Tasting at Weingut Matthias Müller in Spay, Mittelrhein, with Johannes and Matthias Müller - Germany-North Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
Thomas and Martin Philipps, Weingut Philipps-Mühle, St. Goar, Mittelrhein
Thomas and Martin Philips provided a report about their recultivation efforts of a steep-slope wineyard.
The Wines Thomas and Martin Philipps, Weingut Philipps-Mühle, St. Goar, Mittelrhein, Poured
Thomas and Martin Philipps poured 4 wines.
Cecilia Jost, Weingut Toni Jost, Bacharach, Mittelrhein
Cecilia Jost dwelled on the impliations of the height and the orientation of a vineyard.
The Wines Cecilia Jost, Weingut Toni Jost, Bacharach, Mittelrhein, Poured
Cecilia Jost poured 4 wines.
Wine Tasting at Weingut Toni Jost in Bacharach, Mittelrhein, with Cecilia Jost – Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours, Germany
Johannes Schoeneberger, Weingut Heilig Grab, Boppard, Mittelrhein
Jonas Schoeneberger introduced us to new mahines that facilitate the work in steep-slope vineyards.
The Wines Johannes Schoeneberger, Weingut Heilig Grab, Boppard, Mittelrhein, Poured
Johannes Schoeneberger poured 5 wines.
Dinner
In the middle of the evening we had a nice meal with 2 dinner wines.
Bye-bye
At the end, a fruity-sweet Spätlese was poured "for the road".
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