Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [61]
East of the Moselle, the Nahe region produces fragrant, fruity and full-bodied wines using Müller-Thurgau and Silvaner grapes, as well as riesling.
Riesling grapes are also the mainstay in Rheingau and Mittelrhein (Middle Rhine), two other highly respected wine-growing pockets. Rheinhessen, south of Rheingau, is responsible for Liebfraumilch, but also some top rieslings.
Other wine regions include Ahr, Pfalz (both Rheinland-Palatinate), Hessische Bergstrasse (Hesse), Baden (Baden-Württemberg), Würzburg (Bavaria) and Elbtal (Saxony).
* * *
BETTER THAN GLÜHWEIN
Served in winter and designed to inure you to the sudden drop in temperatures, hot spiced Glühwein is a common commodity at Germany’s popular Christmas markets. However, it’s not the only mulled wine the country produces. Far more spectacular and intoxicating is Feuerzangenbowle (literally ‘fire-tongs-punch’), which has become a cult tipple, thanks to a movie of the same name.
Contrary to the usual advice, do try this at home – providing you can get hold of the necessary equipment (try a German Christmas market). Fill a large saucepan with two or three bottles of red wine, cloves, a stick of cinnamon and slices of citrus fruit, and gently heat. Place a Zuckerhut (sugar cone) into a special silver cradle (the Feuerzange, meaning ‘fire tongs’), and rest them both horizontally over the saucepan. Pour over-proof rum (between 50% and 60%) over the sugar cone with a ladle (for safety’s sake, not straight from the bottle). Let it soak for a minute and then carefully put a lit match over the sugar, igniting it. As the flaming sugar falls into the spiced red wine below, it produces a delicious and heady drink.
The 1944 film Feuerzangenbowle has four men reminiscing about their school days over a bowl of the self-same punch; when it transpires that one of them was educated by a private tutor and has no idea what they’re talking about, they disguise him and send him back to school as an adult. Long banned for its antiauthoritarian attitudes, it’s now screened in cinemas before Christmas.
* * *
The Württemberg region, around Stuttgart, produces some of the country’s best reds, while Saxony-Anhalt’s Saale-Unstrut region is home to Rotkäppchen (Little Red Riding Hood) sparkling wine, a former GDR brand that’s been a big hit in the new Germany.
WINE GLOSSARY
Auslese A ‘selected harvest’, this is usually intense and sweet.
Beerenauslese (BA) Grapes are picked overripe, and it’s usually a dessert wine.
Deutscher Landwein (country wine) Landwein is usually dry or semi-dry.
Deutscher Tafelwein (table wine) This is the lowest category of wine, and is of mostly poor to average quality.
Eiswein Grapes are picked and pressed while frozen and it’s very sweet; a dessert wine.
QbA (Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete) The lowest category of quality wine.
QmP (Qualitätswein mit Prädikat) ‘Quality wine of distinction.’
Qualitätswein Wine from one of the 13 defined wine-growing regions, which has to pass a tasting test.
Sekt Sparkling wine.
Spätauslese Literally ‘selected late-harvest’, this type of wine has concentrated flavours, but is not necessarily sweet.
Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) The grapes are so overripe they are shrivelled (intensely sweet) and resemble raisins.
* * *
For a comprehensive rundown of all German wine-growing regions, grape varieties, news of the hottest winemakers, and information on tours or courses, visit www.winesofgermany.co.uk (interested US citizens could also browse www.germanwineusa.org).
* * *
Return to beginning of chapter
WHERE TO EAT & DRINK
Dining out in Germany these days is little different from visiting a restaurant in the rest of the Western world. Sure, you can try for a little authentic local cuisine