schiller-wine: Lunch at the Rheingauer Gourmet & Wein Festival with FAZ Favorite 2024, Michelin-starred Chef (and Star Winemaker) Christian Stahl, FAZ Favorite 2025 Winemakers: Daniel Wagner/ Weingut Wagner-Stempel (Rheinhessen), Stefanie and Fabian Lassak/ Weingut Lassak (Württemberg), Felix Forster/ Weingut Oliver Zeter (Pfalz) and Oliver Bock/ FAZ

Christian Stahl is the only star winemaker in Germany, possibly in the whole world, who is also a Michelin-starred chef.

Last weekend, Annette and I had the pleasure of enjoying his outstanding cooking again at the “Rheingau Gourmet & Wein Festival” that is currently taking place in Hattenheim, Rheingau.

The wines poured were FAZ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) 2025 favorites: Stephan Reinhardt's Favorite Wines and Winemakers in 2025 - FAS (Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung) November 13, 2025

3 of the 4 winemakers of the poured wines were present at the lunch to talk about their award winning wines: Daniel Wagner/ Weingut Wagner-Stempel (Rheinhessen), Stefanie and Fabian Lassak/ Weingut Lassak (Württemberg), Felix Forster/ Weingut Oliver Zeter (Pfalz). We have visited the former two on a tour by ombiasy WineTours in recent years - see at the end of the posting.

Oliver Bock from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung moderated the event.

A couple of years ago, at the beginning of his journey into the world of fine dining, Christian was trying to expand his wine business into the USA, focusing on the greater Washington DC and the New York areas. In that context, we organized a number of winemaker events in the Washington DC area. In one year, Christian was the guest of honor at our annual Riesling party. The last event was a dinner at our home in McLean, where he and his Co-chef Mirko Schweiger cooked for about 30 wine lovers and poured his wines - see at the end of the posting.

Breakfast at Zum Krug

We spent the night before the lunch in Hattenheim at Hotel/ Restaurant Zum Krug, just around the corner of Hotel/ Restaurant Kronenschloesschen, where the Rheingauer Gourmet & Wein Festival takes place.

See: Bordeaux Meets Rheingau at the Rheingau Gourmet & Wein Festival in Hattenheim, Germany, with the Owners/ Winemakers of Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, 2ième Grand Cru Classé, Bordeaux, Weingut Emrich-Schönleber, Nahe, Weingut Balthasar Ress, Rheingau, Weingut Johannishof, Rheingau, and 2-Star Michelin Chef Thorsten Bender, Restaurant Sein in Karlsruhe

At the Rhein River

Between breakfast and lunch we spent a couple of hours at the Rhein river, a stone's throw away from Zum Krug and Kronenschloesschen.

Hotel/ Restaurant Kronenschloesschen in Hattenheim

Rheingau Gourmet & Wein Festival

Founded in 1997, 18 days with around 60 events and approximately 6,500 guests – that’s the Rheingau Gourmet & Wein Festival, one of the most renowned gourmet festivals worldwide, held at Hotel Kronenshloesslichen in the small village of Hattenheim in the Rheingau, about 45 minutes away from Frankfurt by car.

World stars are showing up at the festival: around one third of all three-star chefs in the world have already made a guest appearance at this festival. Wine always plays a central role and what makes the events so special is that the winemakers or winery owners are always there in person to present their wines.

Reception

We spent some time with the 3 winemakers and with Wolfgang Fassbender of the Neue Zuericher Zeitung and Weinwisser.

Seated in the Bistro Dining Room

The event took place in 2 rooms. We were seated in the Bistro Dining Room.

Lunch

Welcome

Amuse

Second

Third

Fourth

Fifth

Thank You Chef Christian Stahl and Your Team

The Wines

Bye-bye

With Christian L. Stahl in Washington DC/ USA

Christian L. Stahl is not only a gifted chef but also a gifted winemaker.

A couple of years ago, at the beginning of his journey into the world of fine dining, Christian was trying to expand his wine business into the USA, focussing on the greater Washington DC and the New York areas. In that context, we organized a number of winemaker events in the Washington DC area. In one year, Christian was the guest of honor at our annual Riesling party. The last event was a dinner at our home in McLean, where he and his Co-chef Mirko Schweiger cooked for about 30 wine lovers and poured his wines.

2016

Christian has been coming to the US since 2016. His first tasting in the US was in January 2016 at Cleveland Park Fine Wines and Liquor Store. See: Welcome to the USA: Christian L. Stahl from Winzerhof Stahl in Franken, Germany

Pictures: Christian L. and Simone Stahl at Cleveland Park Fine Wines and Liquor Store in Washington DC, with Importer Chris Bartha, General Manager Anthony Quinn and Christian Schiller.

2016

Later in the year, when Christian came for the second time, he was our guest of honor at our Riesling Party 2016, where he presented his wines. See: Annette and Christian Schiller’s Summer of Riesling 2016 in McLean, Virginia, with German Star Winemaker Christian L. Stahl, German Wine Journalist Joachim A.J. Kaiser and Virginia Star Winemaker Chris Pearmund

Pictures: Christian Stahl at Annette and Christian Schiller’s Summer of Riesling 2016 in McLean, Virginia

2017

In January 2017 Annette organized a winemaker dinner with him at Evo Bistro in McLean, Virginia. See: Franken Wines, Virginia Oysters and French-Mediterranian Food: Winemaker Dinner with Christian L. Stahl from Winzerhof Stahl, Germany, and Chef Driss Zahidi at Evo Bistro in McLean, Virginia

Pictures: Winemaker Dinner with Christian L. Stahl from Winzerhof Stahl, Germany, and Chef Driss Zahidi at Evo Bistro in McLean, Virginia

2017

Before the dinner, Annette and Christian Schiller, had invited to a reception with Christian L. Stahl had their private home. We had Rappahanock oysters from Virginia and Stahl wine. They paired very well. See: Franken Wines, Virginia Oysters and French-Mediterranian Food: Winemaker Dinner with Christian L. Stahl from Winzerhof Stahl, Germany, and Chef Driss Zahidi at Evo Bistro in McLean, Virginia

Pictures: Oysters and Stahl Wines at Schiller's Residence

2018

Annette Schiller, ombiasy WineTours, organized a winemaker dinner with Christian at the trendy BToo restaurant on 14th Street NW.

40 German wine lovers had a great time with the excellent wines of Christian Stahl and the super food of Chef Dieter Samyn.

See: Winemaker Dinner with Christian L. Stahl, Winzerhof Stahl, Franken, Germany, and Chef Dieter Samyn at BToo in Washington DC, USA

Pictures: Winemaker Dinner with Christian L. Stahl and hef Dieter Samyn at BToo in Washington DC, USA

2021

The last time, I saw Christian in the Washington DC area was in 2021. The USA lifted its 18-month covid travel ban on November 8th, 2021. One of the first, if not the first, was star winemaker and chef Christian L. Stahl from Franken, Winemaker of the Year 2018 (FAS, Stuart Pigott). He was accompanied by Chef Mirko from his fine dining team.

Christian and Mirko flew over to the USA on November 9th and spent 2 days in Washington DC before moving on to New York City and Chicago

On very short notice, Annette Schiller and I managed to arrange a winemaker dinner with Christian L. Stahl and his bone dry wines from Franken at our home in McLean on Wednesday November 10th. As it turned out, the RSVPs we got was double the number of seats available for this evening. As a result, we had a second dinner a few days later, with same wines and the same menu, however without Christian Stahl. He was sitting in the plane back to Germany on that evening.

See: Christian Stahl, Winzerhof Stahl, Franken, Germany back in the USA - Winemaker Dinner at the Schiller Residence in McLean, Northern Virginia (2021)

Pictures: Winemaker Dinner with Christian L. Stahl, Chef and Winekaer, at the Schiller Residence in McLean, Northern Virginia (2021)

With Christian L Stahl in Germany

2012

We met Christian for the first time in 2012 in Germany at the top Restaurant SchauMahl in Frankfurt/ Germany, were he came for a winemaker dinner.

Pictures: Christian Schiller and Annette Schiller with Christian Stahl in Frankfurt. See: The Bistronomics Cuisine of Chef Christoph Kubenz and the Wines of Winemaker Christian Stahl at Restaurant schauMahl in Frankfurt, Germany

2017

In 2017, we visited Christian L. Stahl at the Winzerhof Stahl in Franken and experienced first hand that Christian is not only a gifted winemaker but also a Highly talented chef. Those who came on the Germany-East Tour by ombiasy WineTours 2017 will definitely remember the out-of-this-world lunch Christian cooked for us at Winzerhof Stahl. See: Lunch with Christian L. Stahl, Winzerhof Stahl, Franken: Not only a Gifted Winemaker but also a Gifted Chef - Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours

Pictures: Lunch at Winzerhof Stahl, with Chef Christian L. Stahl. See: Lunch with Christian L. Stahl, Winzerhof Stahl, Franken: Not only a Gifted Winemaker but also a Gifted Chef - Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy

Cellar Tour and Tasting with Daniel Wagner at Weingut Wagner-Stempel (VDP) in Siefersheim, Rheinhessen - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours

See: Cellar Tour and Tasting with Daniel Wagner at Weingut Wagner-Stempel (VDP) in Siefersheim, Rheinhessen - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours

Our first winery visit on the Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours (July 1 to 10, 2022) took us to Siefersheim, in the far northwestern corner of the Rheinhessen wine region.

We visited Weingut Wagner-Stempel. We were received by Daniel (Owner and Winemaker) and Catherine Wagner (Owner).

Daniel Wagner showed us his old and new cellars before tasting 11 wines with Daniel in his modern tasting room.

See also: Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Wagner-Stempel in Siefersheim, Rheinhessen, with Winemaker Oliver Müller and Owner Cathrin Wagner - Germany-South and Alsace 2018 Tour by ombiasy WineTours: Baden, Alsace, Pfalz and Rheinhessen

Weingut Wagner-Stempel

Owner and winemaker Daniel Wagner is the 9 th generation of this estate in Siefersheim, in the far northwestern corner of the Rheinhessen wine region. When Daniel took over he decided to build on the tradition of classic wine production and to pay special attention to the once famous vineyard sites Höllberg and Heerkretz that were somewhat under the radar for the past fifty years. The Siefersheim sites are carved out of volcanic hills and the weathered volcanic soil brings out phenomenal, well-structured wines. Daniel’s thrive for precision and quality regularly gets awarded with 4 grapes in the Gault-Millau wine guide for Germany.

Tasting at Up-and-coming Weingut Lassak in Hessigheim, Württemberg, with Stefanie and Fabian Lassak - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours

See: Tasting at Up-and-coming Weingut Lassak in Hessigheim, Württemberg, with Stefanie and Fabian Lassak - Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours

Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours took place from Monday, June 19, 2023 to Thursday, June 29, 2023.

The visit of Weingut Lassak was a tasting-only visit. Annette helped out a bit with baby-sitting.

Weingut Lassak in Hessigheim, Würrtemberg

The young couple Stefanie and Fabian Lassak are both native to this beautiful northern region of Württemberg, close to Heilbronn at the Neckar River. Stefanie comes from a mixed farm with cattle, crops, and a few hectares of vines. She trained at various well-known wineries in the region where she met her future husband. They both continued their path together, went to New Zealand for two years, then gained further practical experience at wineries in Austria and Burgundy, among them Roland Velich and Comtes Liger Belair. In 2016 they took over the family vineyards with up to 55 year old vines on weathered shell limestone soils and started to make wine.

Today they farm about 8.5 acres and focus on the typical varieties of the region: Lemberger, Pinot Noir, and Riesling. To them it is important to do all the work by themselves both in the vineyards as well as in the cellar to give their wines a clear signature. They work according to organic principles with biodynamic preparations and meticulously work the soil to bring it back to life.

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