Red map of Switzerland with white cross in the middle.

Why Is Switzerland Opting Out of the Vineyard Classification Trend?

ByBart De Vries

One of the biggest trends in wine over the past two decades has been an increased interest in expressing origin. Organizations like the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP) in Germany and the Österreichische Traditionsweingüter (ÖTW) in Austria have both shaped and surfed this wave to the extent that their vineyard classifications — in both cases private initiatives — are now being codified into national law. Switzerland has no comparable organization. The one that comes closest, Mémoire des Vins Suisses, was founded more than 30 years ago, with the aim of proving that Swiss wines can age. Does this mean Swiss wines…...

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A bowl of fish soup next to a glass of Pfalz Riesling
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The Pfalz’s Unlikely Catch: A Fish Soup Story

ByPaul Kern

There is no fish soup in the Pfalz. Sad, but true. Like most of Germany’s winegrowing regions, the Pfalz is simply too far removed from the sea for fish to feature prominently in its traditional cuisine. By extension, Pfalz fish soup is practically a culinary contradiction. A delicious deception. A seafood swindle.   A Pfalz cookbook is a celebration of rustic comfort: Leberknödel (liver dumplings), Kartoffelsuppe mit Speck (potato soup with bacon, often in unlikely combination with plum cake), and, of course, Saumagen (stuffed pig’s stomach). Arguably the region’s culinary signature dish, this is a hearty, sausage-y mix of pork, potato,…...

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Jakob Moise crouches in his vineyards on the Kaiserstuhl, photo credit: Jakob Moise
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Big Risks, High Stakes: The New Climate Calculus on the Kaiserstuhl

ByRainer Schäfer

It is a landscape rife with charms and challenges: From their perch atop the Oberrotweiler Eichberg, on a long-dormant volcano that rises to 310 meters, Johannes Landerer and Jakob Moise can enjoy some of the finest views over the Kaiserstuhl and sprawling Rhine Basin in Baden. The early morning sun is quickly rising, but the Kaiserstuhl, normally a place of striking warmth, has seen an unusual amount of precipitation in the summer of 2024, leaving it greener than at any time in recent memory. But if this pair of Kaiserstuhl winegrowers agree on anything, it’s that this situation is likely…...

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Brot comes in infinite varieties in Germany.

Germany’s Unrivaled Bread Culture

ByMartin Sorge

On a chilly April morning, I sat in the tasting room of an renowned old Alsatian winery, under the spell of an enchanting rose-and-peach-inflected, off-dry Gewurztraminer from vines right outside the winery’s door. I chatted with the person pouring the wine. They asked what brought me to Alsace. I answered that I had just studied German bread baking at the Akademie Deutsches Bäckerhandwerk. “I’ve never thought about German bread before,” they responded. We were less than 30 kilometers from the German border, in a town with a German name, at a winery with a German name. But they’d never even…...

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A blue hardcover book with the title Classic German Cooking by Luisa Weiss rests on a wooden table next to cooking implements.
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The Healing Power of Classic German Cooking

ByValerie Kathawala

“Germans are particularly nostalgic about the food of their grandmothers,” writes Luisa Weiss, furnishing a sturdy thesis for her handsome, welcoming new cookbook.   Weiss, whom you may — should — know, is a food writer. She was born, partly raised, and now lives full-time in Berlin. She blogged about food for more than a decade from New York as The Wednesday Chef, then moved to Germany. There she wrote her way deeper into the German culinary world: the food-driven memoir My Berlin Kitchen: A Love Story with Recipes (2012) and Classic German Baking (2016). She now writes a Substack organized…...

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