Friday, September 20, 2013

4. Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, Washington State, USA (Auf Deutsch/In German)

Starke Deutsche Riesling Fraktion, v.l.: Clemens Busch, Christian Schiller und der Deutsche Hermann J. Wiemer von Hermann J. Wiemer Winery

This summary article in German was originally published in: Weinfeder, Vol.40 – September 2013, page 30.


4. Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, Washington State

Von Dr. Christian G.E. Schiller

Chateau Ste. Michelle in Washington State und Weingut Dr. Ernst Loosen von der Mosel hatten zum 4. Mal zum Riesling Rendezvous nach Seattle in Washington State, USA, eingeladen. Ernst Loosen macht ja nicht nur Wein an der Mosel, sondern auch in Washington State, und zwar zusammen mit Chateau Ste. Michelle: den erfolgreichen Eroica Riesling. Zur Vollständigkeit: zudem produziert Ernst Loosen Wein in der Pfalz (Villa Wolf) und in Oregon - hauptsächlich Pinot Noir - in einem joint venture mit Jay Somers (J. Christopher Wines). Ausserdem ist er auch noch der US Importeur für einige renommierte Weingüter, einschliesslich Robert Weil, Fritz Haag und Maximin Grünhaus.

Etwa 300 Teilnehmer waren nach Seattle gekommen, darunter fast 70 Winzer aus der ganzen Welt. Die deutsche Riesling Elite war vertreten durch: Ernst Loosen, Steffen Christmann, Wilhelm Weil, Carl von Schubert, Clemens Busch, Helmut Doennhoff, Oliver Haag, Annegret Reh-Gartner (Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt) und Gunther Hauck (von Bassermann-Jordan), plus Journalist Stuart Pigott. Canada, Australien und Österreich waren jeweils mit vier Winzern vertreten. Von amerikanischer Seite dominierten Winzer aus Washington State, New York State (Finger Lakes) und Oregon.

Es waren zweieinhalb wirklich hochinteressante Tage rund um den Riesling. Eröffnet wurde das Riesling Rendezvous am Sonntag Abend mit einer Riesling Party auf dem Gelände von Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville in der Nähe von Seattle. Es war ein toller Abend: Verkostung von Rieslingen aus aller Welt, gutes Essen von “food trucks” aus Seattle, live Musik und Gelegenheit zum Gedankenaustausch mit Winzern aus aller Welt, die ihre Weine ausschenkten.

Die folgenden zwei Tage fanden in Seattle statt: zwei grosse Riesling Proben, Workshops und “walk-around” Proben.

Die erste grosse Riesling Probe mit zwanzig Weinen wurde von dem US Wein Author John Haeger geleitet und umfasste nur trockene Rieslinge. Tim Atkin aus London führte durch die zweite Riesling Probe, bei der es um “beyond dry” ging. Beides waren Blindproben. Die Weine wurden erst von einem Winzer oder Sommelier angesprochen und dann allgemein kommentiert. Zentral war immer die Frage “Alte oder Neue Welt?”. Es war schon überraschend, wie doch die Urteile auseinandergingen und wie oft alte Hasen komplett falsch lagen. Nicht selten hielt die Hälfte der Tester den Wein für einen Alte Welt Wein und die andere Hälfte fuer einen Neue Welt Wein.

Insgesamt hinterliessen die Neue Welt Weine einen sehr guten Eindruck, und konnten sehr gut mit Spitzenweinen aus der Alten Welt (Deutschland und Österreich vornehmlich) konkurrieren.

In den sechs Workshops wurden die unterschiedlichste Themen, alle rund um den Riesling, angeschnitten: So stellte Stuart Pigott “gewagte und innovative” Rieslinge vor, darunter einen von Christian Stahl (Franken) und zwei aus der Slowakei. Steffen Christmann und Wilhelm Weil erklärten die neue deutsche VDP Klassifikation. Ulrich Fischer aus Neustadt stellte neue Forschungsergebnisse vor, die einen engen Zusammenhang von Bodenbeschaffenheit und Weingeschmack im Riesling belegen. Ein “roundtable”, moderiert von Ernst Loosen und Bob Bertheau von Ste. Michelle, bot Gelegenheit für einen Gedankenaustausch unter Winzern. Buchauthor und Fernsehjournalist Leslie Sbrocco leitete eine Diskussion über die Frage, wie man den Riesling am besten vermarkten sollte.

Darüber hinaus gab es noch eine Anzahl von walk-around Proben, wie etwa eine Probe, geleitet von der deutschen Journalistin (und Ehefrau von Stuart Pigott) Ursula Heinzelmann, zum Thema “Lachs und Riesling” und eine von der Rouge Cremery organisierte Probe zum Thema “Käse und Riesling”.

Den Abschluss bildete am Dienstag Abend ein Abschiedsempfang im Chihuly Garden and Glass, am Fusse des “Space Needle” Turms von Seattle.

Ähnliche jährliche Treffen wie das Riesling Rendezvous finden im Rahmen der Riesling Allianz auch in Australien und Deutschland statt. Im nächsten Jahr gibt es das 2. Internationale Riesling Symposium in Hattenheim und in 2015 das Frankland Estate International Riesling Tasting in Australien. Das nächste Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle findet in 2016 statt.

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I have also published a series of articles on the 4. Riesling Rendezvous in English on schiller-wine:

4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle: International Tasting Beyond Dry Riesling, USA
Austria at the 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, USA
International Tasting at the 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, USA - Dry Riesling
The German Winemakers at the 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, USA
Steffen Christmann (Weingut A. Christmann) and Wilhelm Weil (Weingut Robert Weil) Presented the New Wine Classification of the VDP, Germany
Photo Album: 4th Riesling Rendezvous (2013) in Seattle, Washington State, USA
The 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle: Impressions from the Grand Tasting at Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, Washington State, USA
The World of Riesling in Seattle - Fourth Riesling Rendezvous in Washington State, USA

Coming Up in July: 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, Washington State, USA
The German Winemakers at the Forthcoming 4. Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, Washington State, USA

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Schiller’s Favorite Wine Bars in New York City, USA

Picture: New York City

This is my list of favorite wine bars in New York City. It includes wine bars that I know and have visited and will go back to. It also includes wine bars I have not yet visited, but I have heard about them and would like to visit them.

It includes wine bars in the pure sense, where the focus is on the wine and the food is on the back burner. It also includes restaurants that have a nice bar area, where they serve interesting wine.

It also includes some places that do not impress me because of the wine, but because of other factors. Sardi’s – the icon in the Theater District – is an example.

At the end of the article, there are links to useful web sites.

Harlem

Red Rooster
310 Lenox Avenue (125th Street) 
The racial and ethnic variety in the vast bar and loft-like dining room are virtually unrivaled in New York. The restaurant may not be the best to open in New York City last year. The scene is amazing: a pulsing, cheerful and virtually always-packed bar that gives way to a crowded and sleek dining room beyond it, decorated with the work of local artists. In the seats: Harlem itself, along with many visitors from downtown and afar, everyone playing a role in the restaurant’s grand vision.


Manhattan

Upper West Side

Bar Boulud
1900 Broadway
Bar Boulud is Daniel Boulud’s wine bar and bistro located across from Manhattan’s Lincoln Center. Daniel Boulud is a star and plays almost in the same league as Alain Ducasse. He is a chef, owns now a little restaurant imperium across the globe and just got his third star Michelin. In contrast to Alain Ducasse, however, he is not at all established in his home country, France.

See also:
New York Manhattan Wine Bars -- Bar Boulud, The Ten Bells, Terroir and Clo.

Upper East Side

Rouge Tomate
Michelin-starred restaurant with a nice bar and lounge area. A trendsetter in terms of sustainable food.
10 East 6oth Street


Theater District

Sardi’s
In the Theater district. A famous restaurant for pre-show and after show dinners. Has also two bars, one next to the entrance and one on the first floor where Sardi’s serves decent wine. Nothing special.
234 West 44th Street


Morek Wine Bar and Café
Wine store plus small wine bar (a 14-seat curved black granite bar make for a cozy atmosphere) plus large sidewalk area. More than two thousand bottles are available from their extensive list, with fifty wines by the glass.
West 49th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenue, Rockefeller Center


Aldo Sohm Wine Bar (to be opened)
To be opened later in 2013, next to Le Bernardin. It will be run and co-owned? by the famous Le Bernardin sommelier Aldo Sohm (from Austria).
155 W 51 Street

Clinton - Hell’s Kitchen

Xai Xai
75 South African Wines. 
369 West 51 Street


Midtown East

Grand Central Station Oyster Bar
This is the best place in town for New England Chowder and of course oysters, in a beautiful space under the world’s most famous station. The wine list is also impressive.
89 E. 42nd St. at Vanderbilt Ave.



Murray Hill

Terroir Murray Hill
439 3rd Avenue


Vanguard Wine Bar (new)
Lettie Teague praises Vanguard Wine Bar, which just opened. 5pm to 2 am.
530 2nd Avenue, between 29th and 30th

Chelsea

The Lobster Place
Not a wine bar. One of the best, if not the best, resource(s) for fresh seafood in New York, in the Chelsea Market.
75 9th Avenue, between 15th and 16th.


Veloce
One of New York’s best known Italian wine bars. The Seventh Avenue digs of this congenial Italian wine bar are roomier than its East Village original, but the prices remain unchanged: Most small plates cost less than $8. Only one bartender caters to the after-work, wine-swigging crowd. Has two other locations in New York plus one in Beijing.
176 7th Avenue between 20th and 21st Street

Trestle on Tenth
A neighborhood favorite and a citywide destination that focuses on small growers, winemakers and vintners from around the world who have a hands-on relationship with the natural wines they produce.  An AAWE Rheinhessen Riesling Tasting with Stuart Pigott in 2012 took place there.
242 10th Avenue (West 24th Street)

Gramercy

Bar Jamon
This tiny wine bar from Mario Batali and Chef Andrew Nusser sits adjacent to Casa Mono, their Spanish eatery. Find a space along one of the communal tables before selecting from the impressive Spanish wine list and tapas menu.
125 East 17th Street (at Irving Pl)

Gramercy Tavern
Gramercy Tavern has one of the best wine lists in town, including a large list of wines by the glass. The selection of Riesling speaks for itself: Perhaps 20 Riesling wines - mostly from the Mosel Valley, with 3 dry wines.
42 East 20th Street

Eataly
A huge Italian food and wine marketplace in the Flatiron District. into New York City’s premier culinary mecca. Eataly offers 7 sit down restaurants with both table and bar seats. Each restaurant is positioned next to the market area that provides its ingredients.
200 5th Avenue

Meatpacking District

Pastis
Not a winebar, a French brasserie - I like to have breakfast there.
9th Avenue Corner Little West 12th Street


West Village

LeLa Bar
33 seats arranged around an intimate oval bar make this a favorite for locales. There are more than 150 wines on the list with 20 available by the glass.Very much  a neighborhood hang-out.
422 Hudson at Leroy Street


Uphostery Store
Chef Kurt Gutenbrunner is the king of a little Austrian empire in New York City, comprising 5 very special restaurants and wine bars. One of them is the Upholstery Store - an intimate wine bar serving a variety of wines by the glass and by the bottle and offering a selection of charcuterie and cheeses. Just around the corner of his Wallse restaurant.
344 West 11th Street


Vin sur Vingt
Small wine bar with French-only wine list. Comes highly recommended, but did not convince me.
201 West 11th Street


Terroir at the Porch on the High Line
From May through November, this alfresco café functions as the park’s only sit-down restaurant.
High Line at West 15th Street


Blue Ribbon Downing Street Bar
Flagship winebar of the Bruce and Eric Bromberg’s Blue Ribbon group. The tiny space’s white-marble-topped bar offers an ideal spot for sipping vino while digging into small plates such as warm, thick toast with luxurious smoked sturgeon.
34 Downing Street (between Bedford and Varick Sts)

Greenwich Village

Gotham Bar and Grill
A truly quintessential New York restaurant, with a classic bar.
12 East 12th Street

Corkbuzz Wine Studio
Corkbuzz – a new place - is many things: a wine bar, a wine-centric restaurant and a place for wine education that offers classes. A Terry Theise recommendation.
13 East 13th Street (b/t 5th Ave. and University)

Otto Enoteca Pizzeria
Large, stand-up bar area, massive Italian wine list.  Every region represented with options across a range of prices.  Tasty food as well.
5th Avenue/8th Street

East Village

Bourgeois Pig
Large French wine selection. Comes highly recommended, but it did not appeal to me.
111 East 7th Street

Bahr Che
A new contemporary wine bar featuring a dramatic wine wall displaying 1500 bottles of the best wines from all over the world, located on the ground floor in the Gwathmey Siegel apartment building in Manhattan at 26 Astor Place (entrance on cooper square) serving cheeses, charcuterie, foie gras and an assortment of delectable deserts and chocolates – pretty empty when I checked it out.
26 Astor Place/ East 8th Street


Terroir East Village
This is the initial Terroir, with 24 seats, just next to Heath Restaurant.
E 12th St, (between First Ave and Ave A)


Hearth Restaurant
403 East 12th Street


Momofuku Ssam Bar
At some point on the San Pellegrino list of the 50 Best Restaurants in the World.
Second Avenue East 13th Street


Katz’s Delicatessen
Not at all a wine bar: Pastrami! Major institution.
205 East Houston Street


SoHo

Balthazar
Major institution open for breakfast and all day, into the morning hours. Sit at the beautiful pressed metal bar and have a steak frites and order a glass of Hermitage.
80 Spring Street b/w Broadway and Crosby Streets


Lower East Side

'inoteca
A bustling trattoria for small plates and wine. The frequently updated list features only Italian wine. Wine and small plates are served at the bar where you can watch the chef slice paper-thin prosciutto on a racecar-red hand-cranked slicer
98 Rivington Street


Schiller’s
French brasserie. Like it because of the name.
131 Rivington Street


The Ten Bells
My #1 wine bar in New York City. Be sure to check out the oyster happy-hour special from 5 to 7 p.m.—you can eat your fill for only $1 each. Closes at 2:00 am in the morning.
247 Broome St.

See also:
New York Manhattan Wine Bars -- Bar Boulud, The Ten Bells, Terroir and Clo.
In the Glass: 2007 Riesling trocken from Wuertz Rheinhessen with Oysters at the Ten Bells in the Lower East Side in Manhattan


Tre
Trendy Italian restaurant with organic Italian wines, mostly from small producers. Pull up a stool at the (small) bar.
173 Ludlow St.


Taverna di Bacco
Italian trattoria, not so much a wine bar.
175 Ludlow St.


Tribeca

Terroir Tribeca
24 Harrison Street


See also:
Terroir(s) Wine Bars in London, New York and San Francisco – Wines with a Sense of Place versus Natural Wines

Brooklyn

Oak Wine Bar
Comes highly recommended but in my view not worth the trip.
361 Graham Avenue near Graham Metro


Roberta’s Pizza
A mix between a pizzeria, an organic farm, a creative kitchen, a craft beer garden and a serious Italian oenoteca. This fascinating place is located in Bushwick, an up and coming neighborhood in Brooklyn that is a bit further away than Williamsburg coming from Manhattan, but nevertheless quickly reachable with the L line. Artist and students are settling down here and their craving for good food is only satisfied by a few places. One of those is Roberta's.
261 Moore St Brooklyn,NY
Subway: L line, Morgan Ave


Reynard
Hotel Bar of Wythe Hotel. The all-French list is comprised of “all-natural” wines made “without intervention” by small producers.
80 Wythe Avenue

Roman’s
Italian sibling of Reynard.
243 Dekalb Avenue
G train to Clinton Washington or C train to Lafayette

Terroir.Park.Slope
284 5th Avenue

Chris Lucas

New York, New York! Restaurateur Chris Lucas Shares his Favorites

Alex Haller Tips (blindtaster)

Momofuku Ssäm Bar (David Chang), New York Apr 2010
WD-50* (Wylie Dufresne), New York, Nov 2007
Degustation (Wesley Genovart), New York  Apr 2010
JLOB – Jack’s Luxury Oyster Bar, New York  May 2010 Dec 2008
Roberta’s Pizza (Carlo Mirachi), Brooklyn Apr 2010
Sushi Yasuda, New York  Apr 2010

Wine Enthusiast

America's 100 Best Wine Restaurants: Wine Enthusiast 2012
America's 100 Best Wine Restaurants: The Northeast - Wine Enthusiast 2013

Tim Atkin Blog

See Tim Atkin Blog: Best Wine Bars in New York City

Eater

The 38 Essential New York Restaurants (July 2013)

Schiller’s Favorite Jazz Clubs

Village Vanguard
178 7th Avenue
A top club. No food.

Blue Note
Aged megastars.
131 West Third Street

Birdland
315 West 44th Street
A top club. Used to be in 104th Street and moved to Times Square.

Arthur’s Tavern
57 Grove Street
No entry fee. One of the oldest Jazz Clubs in New York (since 1937)

Schiller’ Favorites

This posting is part of the Schiller’s favorites series. Here is a full list of all Schiller’s favorites postings so far.

Schiller’s Favorite Wine Bars in New York City, USA

Schiller’s Favorite Wine Bars in Seattle, USA

Schiller's Favorite Wine Bars in Washington DC, USA

Schiller’s Favorite Restaurants, Brasseries, Bistros, Cafes and Wine Bars in Paris, France

Schiller’s Favorite Crab Houses in the Washington DC Region, USA

Schiller’s Favorites at the 2013 Riesling and Co Tasting in New York City, USA

Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB) on North America Tour in Washington DC - Schiller’s Favorites

Schiller’s Favorites from the VDP Grosses Gewaechs – Grand Cru – Presentation at Kloster Eberbach, 2012, Germany

Schiller’s Favorite Wine Bars in Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Schiller’s Favorite Wine Bars in New York City, USA

Schiller’s Favorite Wine Bars in Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Schiller’s Favorite Wine Bars in London, UK

Schiller's Favorite Wine Bars and Other Wine Spots in Vienna, Austria

Schiller’s Favorite Wine Bars in San Francisco, USA

Schiller's Favorite Wine Bars in Bordeaux (City), France

Schiller's Favorite Wine Bars in Budapest, Hungary

Schiller’s 12 Favorite Restaurants of Antananarivo, the Capital of Madagascar

Schiller's Favorite Apple Wine Taverns in Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Schiller’s Favorite Spots to Drink Wine in Vienna, Austria (2011)

Schiller’s Favorite Wine Taverns in Mainz, Germany

Schiller's Favorite Wine Bars and Other Places Where You Can Have a Glass of Wine in Healdsburg, California

schiller-wine: Related Postings

New York Manhattan Wine Bars -- Bar Boulud, The Ten Bells, Terroir and Clo.

Artisanal Fromagerie, Bistro and Wine Bar in New York City

Wine bar: Paris, Berlin, New York City, London

Breakfast with Doreen Winkler at Balthazar – An European (German) Sommelier in New York City, USA

In the Glass: 2007 Riesling trocken from Wuertz Rheinhessen with Oysters at the Ten Bells in the Lower East Side in Manhattan

Terroir(s) Wine Bars in London, New York and San Francisco – Wines with a Sense of Place versus Natural Wines

The 31-Days-of-German-Riesling Concert Cruise Around New York Harbor with the German Wine Queen Julia Bertram and the 3 Wine Amazones Tina Huff, Eva Vollmer and Mirjam Schneider from Mainz, Germany

The Mainz Wine Amazones - Christine Huff, Mirjam Schneider and Eva Vollmer - in New York City, USA 

Friday, September 6, 2013

German Wine and Culture Tour by ombiasy, 2013

Picture: With Georg Rumpf, Weingut Kruger-Rumpf (Nahe Valley) in the Vineyard

For 9 days (from August 22 – August 30, 2013) we explored seven of the thirteen wine regions and several cultural highlights in Germany: the Saale-Unstrut wine region in the former GDR, Weimar, cradle of German intellectual thinking, the Wartburg where Martin Luther spent his years hiding from the Roman Catholic Church, the Rheingau with its pristine vineyards and quaint medieval villages, the romantic middle Rhine valley with its castle-ribboned banks, world-renowned wineries in the Mosel valley with its dizzying steep vineyards, the beautiful, peaceful Nahe valley, the biggest wine barrel in the world, the upcoming young ambitious winemakers in Rheinhessen and the one thousand year old cathedral of the city of Mainz, one of the nine wine capitals of the world.

We visited 16 wineries, tasted fabulous wines, shared wine pairing meals with the proprietors of top wine producing estates and had fantastic meals at great restaurants and historical places.

Germany with its roughly 250,000 acres under vine belongs today to one of the smaller wine producing countries in the world. However viticulture in Germany has a long tradition going back to Roman times 2,000 years ago. In the 15th century the area under vine was four times larger than it is today. Wars, subsequently loss of territory, diseases, overproduction, and competition from beer brewing resulted in land turned over to other agricultural use. In the 19th century, concentration on terroir and technological progress fostered a tremendous improvement of quality and the prestige of German wines, in particular from the Mosel, Rheingau, and Pfalz region resulted in prices above those for first growth Bordeaux wines. Today, all thirteen wine regions in Germany produce outstanding wines, with Rieslings and Pinot Noirs in the top league.

DAY 1: Thursday, August 22

09:00 am Departure by coach from Frankfurt am Main.

12:00 pm Lunch at Veste-Wachsenburg, Thuringia. The Veste-Wachsenburg is one of the very few intact medieval fortresses in Germany. It sits on the highest elevation of the Thuringia countryside “three fortresses” with a breathtaking view of the surrounding landscape. The restaurant at Veste-Wachsenburg, lead by an ambitious chef, serves specialties of Thuringia.


02:30 pm Arnstadt. We included a short stop in Arnstadt, home to the Bach family clan, to visit the church where Johann Sebastian Bach held his first post as cantor when he was 22 years old.


05:30 pm Pawis Winery (VDP) in Freyburg, Saale-Unstrut. Cellar tour, wine tasting, and vesper (a typical German evening meal with bread, cheese, cold cuts, and various condiments) with Kerstin Pawis. Her husband Bernhard Pawis joint us for part of the tour and tasting.

The Saale Unstrut wine region is Germany’s most northern wine region, located in the valleys of the Saale and Unstrut rivers, an area of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR). The oldest record of viticulture dates back to the year 998 during the reign of Emperor Otto III. Weingut Pawis is located in the historic Zscheiplitz Estate, established in the 12th century as a convent, close to Freyburg. It is a gorgeous set-up, but as Bernhard Pawis told us, under the communist regime that did not allow private entrepreneurship, the then nationalized estate was completely run down and renovation was a major undertaking. Bernhard Pawis is a trained winemaker, who got his education in the former German Democratic Republic in a VEB (volkseigener Betrieb / company owned by the people) winery. Shortly after the Iron Curtain came down in 1989, Bernhard’s parents bought 0.5 hectares of vineyard land and founded a small winery. Following the death of his father in 1998, Bernhard took over the reins, undertook major investments, bought more land and the Zscheiplitz Estate, and paid detailed attention to quality. In 2001 he received the reward for his efforts when he was invited to join the VDP, Germany’s association of elite winemakers with only about 200 members. To listen to him, and also to his fellow winemakers in this former GDR area, recount their stories of reviving an economic and agriculture waste land after German unification, is living history and worthy of a spy thriller.


09:30 pm Berghotel zum Edelacker in Freyburg, on a hillside overlooking vineyards and the town of Freyburg.


DAY 2: Friday, August 23

09:45 am Tour and Sekt (German sparkling wine) tasting at Rotkäppchen-Mumm Sektkellerei in Freyburg, Saale-Unstrut. Rotkäppchen-Mumm is now the second largest (Freixenet being the largest) producer of sparkling wines in the world. The story of Rotkäppchen Sekt began in 1856 when two brothers and a friend began producing “Champagne” in Freyburg.

Rotkäppchen-Mumm is one of the few success stories of an East-German VEB enterprise that survived the end of the communist regime. After the collapse of the GDR, Rotkäppchen was privatized in a management buy-out in 1993. Rotkäppchen became so successful that they were able to buy prestige Sekt houses like Deutz-Geldermann and the Mumm brands to eventually become Rotkäppchen-Mumm with a production of 170 million bottles of Sekt annually.

Rotkäppchen-Mumm is a beautiful chateau-type estate with old underground cellars for the second fermentation and storage.


1:00 Lunch at restaurant Zum Schwanenteich in Bad Sulza

3:00 pm Thuringia Winery Bad Sulza in Bad Sulza. Cellar tour and wine tasting with owner/winemaker Andreas Clauss. The Thueringer Weingut in Bad Sulza was the first wine producing estate established in the state of Thueringen after German reunification. With almost 100 acres under vine, the Thueringer Weingut in Bad Sulza is the largest private winery in the Saale Unstrut region, with vineyards on the slopes of the Ilm valley.


04:30 pm Guided walking tour through the gorgeous city of Weimar. The UNESCO World Heritage city of Weimar is the cradle of German intellectual thinking, where the most famous German poets, composers, and musicians lived, met, and discussed the world. This vibrant spirit is still alive today.


7:00 pm Grand Hotel Russischer Hof, Weimar.


DAY 3: Saturday, August 24

11:00 pm Wartburg and lunch at Hotel Auf der Wartburg. The Wartburg is a spectacular medieval castle on the mountaintop overlooking the city of Eisenach. The Wartburg is where Martin Luther translated the Bible into German during the years he spent hiding from the Roman Catholic Church (1521-1522).


01:30 pm Short stop at the former Iron Curtain that split Germany.

04:30 pm Wine tasting at Weingut Balthasar Ress (VDP) in Hattenheim, Rheingau. Founded in 1870, Weingut Balthasar Ress has developed into one of the leading wine estates of the Rheingau region and became a global player in the wine trade. With 114 acres under vine it is also one of the larger estates in the Rheingau. Riesling accounts for 90 % of the grapes in the Balthasar Ress vineyards. This is the grape varietal the Rheingau stands for and for many centuries Riesling has been an integral part of the region's viticultural history.

Senior boss Stefan Ress hosted us.


08:30 pm Dinner (Winzerplatte) and wine tasting at the winery and wine tavern Zum Jungen Oetinger (VDP) in Erbach, Rheingau. The family of the “Knights and Nobles” von Oetinger can look back to the year 1828 for winemaking tradition in Erbach. Current owner and winemaker Achim Ritter and Edler von Oetinger is the third generation of winemakers.


08:45 pm Parkhotel Sonnenberg in Eltville, the picturesque town on the banks of the Rhine river.

DAY 4: Sunday, August 25

11:30 am Visit and tasting at winery Robert Weil (VDP) in Kiedrich. With 180 acres under vine, winery Robert Weil is one of the largest estates in the Rheingau. The historical manor house, the ultra-modern cellars and the vinothek stand side by side in a beautiful park – the same synthesis of old and new that is reflected in the estate’s philosophy of excellent, terroir-focused winemaking.The Winery is run by Wilhelm Weil. His wife Martina Weil joined us for a short period.


01:30 pm Lunch in the tavern at Kloster-Eberbach (VDP), Rheingau. Still a world-class winery today, the Eberbach Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery, founded in 1136 by Bernard of Clairvaux as the first Cistercian monastery on the eastern bank of the Rhine river. Its Romanesque and Gothic buildings are impressive. The vinyards of Eberbach Abbey were, at 750 acres, the largest in medieval Europe.


3:30 am After lunch, some ofus took a short walk to the famous „Steinberg“, a brick fenced-in vineyard with an outdoor tavern, a popular Sunday afternoon destination for people from Frankfurt, to drink a glass of wine from the Steinberg in the Steinberg.


06:00 pm Back in Eltville. We walked through the beautiful wine village of Eltville with its half-timbered houses, strolled along the Rhine river and had dinner at restaurant 511, right on the banks of the Rhine river.

08:00 pm Wine tasting with Alexander Johannes Jung, Weingut Jakob Jung (VDP), at the “Weinprobierstand” (Wine Booth) in Erbach.

The winery has been in family ownership since 1799. After the early death of his father in 1969, Ludwig Jung had to take charge at the early age of 18, while had the same time doing his studies. Five years later, in 1974, he became fully responsible for the winery. In 2007, he passed ownership and main responsibility on to his son Alexander Johannes, after he had successfully graduated from Geisenheim College (and internships in Baden and South Africa). Today, Ludwig still takes the lead in the vineyard, while Alexander takes the lead in the wine cellar and has overall responsibility. The vineyard area now totals 14 hectares which is quite a bit up from when Ludwig took over. The new acquisitions also include a 250 year old stone cellar, with a total length of 110 meters, which is eight meters below the earth and which offers ideal conditions for aging and storing the wines. The Grosse Lage (Grand Cru) vineyards are Hohenrain, Siegelsberg, Michelmark and Steinmorgen. Overall, Riesling accounts for 4/5 with the remainder being Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer.


DAY 5: Monday, August 26

09:30 am Tasting at Weingut Peter Jakob Kuehn (VDP) in Oestrich-Winkel, Rheingau. Weingut Peter Jakob Kuehn belongs to the top wine producing estates in Germany. Founded in 1786, currently the 11th generation of the Kuehn family takes care of the vineyards and the wine making. Since 2004 Peter Jakob Kuehn has converted to organic and biodynamic viticultural practices in the vineyard as well as in the cellar. In 2009 the winery became certified by Demeter, the association of biodynamic farming based on anthroposophical principles.

The tasting was led by Angela Kuehn, with Peter Jakob Kuehn joining us for parts of the tasting.


11:45 pm Lunch with wine pairing at restaurant Breuer’s Ruedesheimer Schloss in Ruedesheim, Rheingau. Weingut Georg Breuer was founded in 1880 and developed into an 80 acres estate with top vineyards in Rauenthal and Ruedesheim. A hotel and restaurant were added later and cater to the many tourists that visit Ruedesheim. In the middle of the hustle and bustle of Ruedesheim the Breuer’s Ruedesheimer Schloss is an oasis of elegant Rieslings from the Breuer winery and good traditional German food.


02:00 pm Cruise on the Rhine river from Ruedesheim to Boppard, passing the famous Loreley Rock and the slopes of the Mittelrhein wine region.


05:00 pm Arrival in Boppard - Boppard and the Middle-Rhine valley are listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

DAY 6: Tuesday, August 27

10:30 am Wine tasting at Weingut Clemens Busch (VDP) in Pünderich, Mosel. The Busch family lives near the banks of the Mosel in a beautiful, restored half- timbered house built in 1663. Because flooding is a constant danger, the vaulted cellar, built in the 1970s, lies nearby, on higher grounds at Clemens‘ parents home. In a region most known for the noticeable residual sugar and low alcohol of its finished wines, Clemens Busch’s focus is on dry premium Rieslings that can compete with the best dry whites in the world. He also produces off-dry wines as well as powerful, complex noble sweet wines. In 1984 he began using organic viticultural practices and more recently moved towards biodynamic.

We were received by Rita Busch, with Clemens Busch joining us for part of the tasting. Unfortunately, Rita could not take us by boat across the Mosel river to show us his vineyards which are among the steepest in the Mosel region (as planned), as the ferry boat does not operate on Tuesday.


01:30 pm Lunch at restaurant Weinhaus Lenz in Pünderich.

03:30 pm Cellar tour and tasting at winery Moenchhof – Joh.Jos.Christoffel Erben (VDP) in Uerzig, Mosel. The Moenchhof is one of the oldest estates in the Mosel region. The name already suggests that once it was part of property belonging to the clergy. Documents from Pope Alexander III show that the Cistercian Abbey at Himmerod owned the estate and vineyards with excellent terroir around the village of Uerzig as early as 1177. In medieval times the monks built the wine cellar and in 1509 the estate you see today. In 1804, secularization during the Napoleonic era allowed the Eymael family to buy the Moenchhof estate including outstanding vineyard sites. An ancestor, Jean Eymael, was one of the founding fathers of the Association of German Elite Wine Estates – VDP- in 1910. In 2001 Robert Eymael took over the 400 year old Joh.Jos.Christoffel Erben estate, planted with ungrafted over 100 years old Riesling vines.


06:30 pm Hotel Roemischer Kaiser in Bernkastel-Kues. We had time for exploring the narrow cobblestone streets of Bernkastel Kues and had a glass of wine with owner/winemaker Peter Schmitz in the Spitzhaeuschen, one of the smallest wine taverns in Germany.


DAY 7: Wednesday, August 28

8:45 am Tasting at Weingut Dr. Loosen with owner Ernst Loosen. The Dr.Loosen winery has been in the hands of the Loosen family for over 200 years. Located just outside of Bernkastel, it is one of the larger producers in the Mosel region with 130,000 bottles produced annually. The winery is particularly known for its sweeter style Rieslings of top quality.

Ernst Loosen is the current owner and while most often associated with the sweet-style, low alcohol wines he makes in the Mosel valley, he also produces white and red wines in the Pfalz in Germany (J.L.Wolf winery) and in the US in Washington state (Chateau St. Michelle) and in Oregon (J. Christopher wines).

Ernst Loosen was our host.


12:00 pm Lunch with wine pairing and vineyard and cellar tour at winery and restaurant Kruger-Rumpf (VDP) in Münster-Sarmsheim, Nahe with owner/winemaker Georg Rumpf. “In our family, viniculture has been a tradition since 1708 - a tradition that we have been cultivating in our vineyards as well as in our manor house which was built back in 1830” said Georg Rumpf. Today, the vineyard totals about 50 acres and the annual production is 14,000 cases. Georg Rumpf has taken over the winemaking at Weingut Kruger-Rumpf, while his father Stefan now focuses more on sales, and his mother Cornelia manages the restaurant. The wine, gourmet regional food, the ambiance in this lovely estate where modernism is perfectly combined with tradition, and the warm welcome by the Rumpf family are outstanding.


03:30 pm Tasting at Weingut Dönnhoff (VDP), Oberhausen, Nahe. The Dönnhoff family has been making wines for more than 250 years. But when Helmut Dönnhoff began making wine in 1971 a new era began. He started out with a vineyard of 10 acres and through careful acquisition he now cultivates 60 acres of the best vineyards in the Nahe valley. Helmut Dönnhoff has become a living legend of German wine and is celebrated as one of Germany’s very best producers. He is committed to making the most out of the terroir to attain the ultimate in quality. The majority of the grapes planted are Riesling, but Dönnhoff also produces outstanding Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris.

We were hosted by Helmut Doennhoff.


05:30 pm Romantikhotel BollAnt’s im Park, a beautiful spa hotel in Bad Sobernheim, Nahe.


DAY 8: Thursday, August 29

11:00 am Tasting at Weingut Weegmueller. The Weegmueller family can look back to more than 300 years of winemaking in the Pfalz. The origins of the Weegmueller family, an old dynasty of council members of the free town of Zuerich, lies in Switzerland. In 1657, the Weegmuellers came to the village of Haardt, today a part of the city of Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, and started to make wine in 1685. One of the first women in the field, Stefanie Weegmueller-Scherr is at the helm of the estate, with her sister Gabriele, who looks after sales, marketing and hospitality services. They cultivate 35 acres of vineyards, which are farmed organically. Dominated by Riesling, Weingut Weegmueller also makes Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Scheurebe and Gewuerztraminer. The wine portfolio is complemented by Pinot Noir, Merlot and Dormfelder.

We were received by Stephanie and Gabriele Weegmueller.


01:00 pm Lunch at restaurant Riesenfass in Bad Duerkheim, across the street from Weingut Fitz-Ritter. This restaurant is located in a unique landmark: the biggest wine barrel in the world! In 1934 winemaker and cooper Fritz Keller got the idea of constructing a giant wine barrel that should outsize the by then biggest barrel world-wide in the castle of Heidelberg. He used 200 pine trees, all of them more than 120 feet tall, to build this barrel of 1.7 million liters (= 444.000 gallons) capacity.


03:30 pm Tasting at Winzerhof Thörle in Saulheim, Rheinhessen. Rheinhessen is the most underrated wine region in Germany, but is catching up with a vengeance. There is an increasing group of mostly young and ambitious winemakers who produce outstanding wines. Two of them are the Thoerle brothers Johannes and Christoph at the family-owned Winzerhof Thoerle in the town of Saulheim, assisted by their parents Rudolf and Ute. About 50 acres are under vine and planted with mainly Riesling, Silvaner and the Burgundy grapes Chardonnay and Pinot Noir as well as some Sauvignon Blanc. A blind Pinot Noir “Germany Versus Rest of the World” tasting in London in October 2011 ranked the 2008 Winzerhof Thörle Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) Hölle as #3 overall and #1 of the German Pinot Noirs.

The tasting was led by Christoph Thoerle. Johannes Thoerle joined us towards the end.


06:00 pm Mainz Wine Market. We witnessed the opening ceremony of the Mainz Wine Market with the Mainz City Guards in historic uniforms in the beautiful, very romantic city park with its mature trees and view over the Rhine river. We tasted wines from Rheinhessen and Rheingau and met and talked to a number of winemakers, including Mirjam Schneider, Weingut Lothar Schneider und Tochter, Mark Barth, Weingut Norbert Barth, and Tina Huff, Weingut Fritz Ekkehard Huff. Rheinhessen's Wine Queen Ramona Diegel joined us for a glass of wine and the Lord Mayor of the City of Mainz came over to say hello to the group.


8:00 pm Hotel Hilton in Mainz – Main, one of the eleven “wine capitals” of the world, and a charming city with a long, fascinating history.

09:00 pm We explored some of the many wine taverns in Mainz’s medieval old town. Unfortunately, Weinhaus Bluhm, my favorite, was closed as owner Roland was on summer vacation.

DAY 9: Friday, August 30

09:00 am Guided walking tour through Mainz - time to admire the colorful fruit and vegetable market, one of the biggest year around outdoor markets at the foot of the 1000 year old cathedral.


11:45 am Tour, tasting, and lunch at Weingut Schätzel in Nierstein, Rheinhessen. The Schaetzel family has been making wine for 650 years, for 5 generations at the current location, the General von Zastrow Estate. Today, the winery is owned and managed by Kai Schaetzel, who is also one of the upcoming young winemakers in Rheinhessen. When he became fully responsible, he decided to change course at Weingut Schaetzel and to aim at becoming a nationally and internationally recognized premium wine producer. Before he took over, Weingut Schaetzel was for many years in the hands of Kai’s mother, Nanne Schaetzel, who received us and showed us the impressive 800 year old vaulted underground cellar where fermentation still takes place today. Lunch was served in the beautiful garden.


03:00 pm Arrival at Frankfurt International Airport.


Ombiasy Wine Tours Germany Trip 2013 – Related Postings

German Wine
German Wine Basics: Sugar in the Grape - Alcohol and Sweetness in the Wine
German Spaetlese Wines Can Come in Different Versions. I Have Counted Five.
When Americans Drink German Wine - What They Choose
Approaches to Classifying German Wine: The Standard Approach (the Law of 1971), the VDP Approach and the Zero Classification Approach
Video: How to Pronounce German Wine - Simon Woods' Enhanced Version

VDP
Germany's VDP Wine Estates Celebrate 100th Anniversary in Berlin
The VDP - the Powerful Group of German Elite Winemakers - Refines its Classification System, Germany
Steffen Christmann (Weingut A. Christmann) and Wilhelm Weil (Weingut Robert Weil) Presented the New Wine Classification of the VDP, Germany 

Weingut Pawis (VDP)
Weingut Pawis in Saale Unstrut, Germany

Rotkaeppchen-Mumm Sekt Kellerei
Visiting Rotkaeppchen-Mumm - the Second Largest Producer of Sparkling Wine in the World - in Freyburg (Saale-Unstrut), Germany

Thueringer Weingut in Bad Sulza
Visiting Winemaker Andreas Clauss and his Thueringer Weingut in Bad Sulza, Saale Unstrut, Germany

Weingut Balthasar Ress (VDP)
Hanging out with Rheingau Winemakers: Dirk Wuertz, Desiree Eser, Alexander Jakob Jung, Hansi Bausch and Christian Ress in Hattenheim, Rheingau, Germany

Weingut Robert Weil (VDP)
German Riesling and International Grape Varieties – Top Wine Makers Wilhelm Weil and Markus Schneider at Kai Buhrfeindt’s Grand Cru in Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Visiting Wilhelm Weil at his Weingut Robert Weil in Kiedrich, Germany
Tasting with Wilhelm Weil the 2010 Weingut Weil Wines in Kiedrich, Germany
The German Winemakers at the 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, USA

Kloster Eberbach
Schiller’s Favorites from the VDP Grosses Gewaechs – Grand Cru – Presentation at Kloster Eberbach, 2012, Germany
At the VDP Autumn Wine Auction at Eberbach Abbey in the Rheingau, 2012, Germany
In the Steinberg, Eberbach Abbey, Rheingau, Germany

Weingut Jakob Jung
At Weingut Jakob Jung in Erbach, Rheingau, with Winemaker Alexander Johannes Jung, Germany

Mittelrhein/Loreley
The Wines of Loreley, Germany

Weingut Clemens Busch (VDP)
With Wine Maker Clemens Busch in Puenderich at his Winery in the Mosel Valley, Germany

Bernkastel-Kues
The Wines of the Berncasteler Doctor, Bernkastel-Kues in the Mosel Valley, Germany
New Wine (Federweisser) in Bernkastel-Kues in the Mosel Valley, Germany
Wining in Bernkastel-Kues in the Mosel Valley: Wine Tavern “Spitzhaeuschen”, Germany 

Weingut Dr. Loosen (VDP)
Riesling from Germany and Pinot Noir from Oregon: A Winemaker Dinner with Ernst Loosen, Weingut Dr. Loosen and J.Christopher Wines, at Black Salt in Washington DC.
Riesling, Pinot Noir and Indian Cuisine: A tête-à-tête Dinner with Winemaker Ernst Loosen, Weingut Dr. Loosen, at Rasika in Washington DC, USA
Ernst Loosen and Dr. L. Riesling - His Hugely Popular Entry-level Wine Sold Throughout the World;
The Doctor Made a House Call - A Tasting with Ernst Loosen, Weingut Dr. Loosen, at MacArthur Beverages in Washington DC, USA
A Riesling Guru and a Killer Guitarist cum Cult Winemaker: Ernst Loosen and Jay Somers and their J. Christopher Winery in Newberg, Oregon
Wine ratings: Two American/German wines - Eroica and Poet's Leap - on Top 100 Wines from Washington State list for 2009
German American Wines: (1) Pacific Rim Riesling (2) Eroica and (3) Woelffer's Schillerwein
The German Winemakers at the 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, USA

Weingut Kruger-Rumpf (VDP)
Visiting Georg Rumpf and his VDP Weingut Kruger-Rumpf in the Nahe Region, Germany

Weingut Doennhoff
The German Winemakers at the 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, USA
Top 10 Riesling Producers in the World – Snooth 2012

Winzerhof Thoerle
The Wines of Up and Coming Winzerhof Thoerle, Rheinhessen
Surprising the World with their Pinot Noir: Johannes and Christoph Thoerle, Winzerhof Thoerle, Rheinhessen, Germany

Mainz
Weinfest im Kirchenstueck: Meeting the Winemakers of Mainz-Hechtsheim and Tasting Their Wines, Germany
Schiller’s Favorite Wine Taverns in Mainz, Germany
Impressions from the Mainz Wine Market 2013, Germany
Weinhaus Bluhm in Mainz: A Cosy and Basic Wine Tavern Serving World Class Wines from Germany

Weingut Lothar Schneider und Tochter
The Mainz Wine Amazones - Christine Huff, Mirjam Schneider and Eva Vollmer - in New York City, USA
In the Glass: Mirjam Schneider's 2007 Merlot No.2 from Rheinhessen, Germany
International Women's Day 2012: Meeting the Wine Amazones Tina Huff, Mirjam Schneider and Eva Vollmer of Mainz, Germany

Weingut Fritz Ekkehard Huff
he Mainz Wine Amazones - Christine Huff, Mirjam Schneider and Eva Vollmer - in New York City, USA
International Women's Day 2012: Meeting the Wine Amazones Tina Huff, Mirjam Schneider and Eva Vollmer of Mainz, Germany

Weingut Barth (Hattenheim, Rheingau)
Impressions from the Rheingau Wine Festival in Wiesbaden, Germany (2013)
Barth Primus is Germany’s First Sekt Made with an Erstes Gewaechs Wine

Weingut Schaetzel
A New Fixture in the Reemerging Red Slope of Nierstein - Visiting Kai Schaetzel and his Weingut Schaetzel in Nierstein, Rheinhessen, Germany
Celebrating Riesling and my Birthday at Weingut Schaetzel in Nierstein, Rheinhessen, Germany