Germany seems to require an official examination for everything. Qualitätsweine (“quality wines”) are no exception. Those that fail the test are slapped with the Landwein label. In April 2015, a group of top growers from Baden, deep in Germany’s southwest, joined forces to rebel against the official inspection system. Flouting what officials would think of as a demotion, they decided to wear Landwein as a badge of honor. Baden has long been seen as the kinder, more conventional Germany. Thus Landwein is a direct challenge to that sensibility, one that takes on more significance because it seemed the unlikeliest of places for revolt. It happened the way so many…
Katharina Matheis is German wine journalist. She was born and raised amid the vineyards of Rheinhessen and worked fo several years as a reporter for WirtschaftsWoche before training as a certified sommelier. Since then she has focused on topics in wine. Her articles have appeared in Handelsblatt, WirtschaftsWoche, Gault&Millau, Spiegel, Feinschmecker, and more. Her favorite subject to cover is organic viticulture. Together with Sven Prange she recently founded the guide sustainable enjoyment neigschmeckt-magazin.de. She lives in Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg.
What do one of the Mosel’s oldest winemaking estates and a country with a fledgling wine-drinking culture have in common? The answer, as with most things in life, is Riesling. “German Riesling has become a synonym for white wine in Finland,”” says Heidi Mäkinen MW, Portfolio Manager for Viinitie Oy, one of that country’s largest importers of German wine. “Finns like the freshness and fruit, and Riesling is one of those wine words that’s incredibly easy to pronounce.” As Viinitie’s new portfolio manager, Mäkinen, for whom work and private life has little separation, has kicked off her holidays 2,000 kilometers south of her…...
The 45-kilometer Zellertalweg hiking trail runs through the heart of the Zellertal. I have created a loop trail that builds off of this longer path and can be divided into several stages. It takes in the best-known vineyards and some of the most interesting sights featured in my forthcoming wine travel guide to Germany. For me, this is the most beautiful part of the Zellertal, naturally including the Schwarzer Herrgott in both the Pfalz and Rheinhessen. As my route diverges from the Zellertalweg at several points, use this downloadable GPX file to navigate. (Works with any standard phone-based hiking app…...
Sekt embodies free spirit, hedonism, even — in its blatant disregard for rules — punk. The limitless maximization of lust for life and the unadulterated joy of the sensual assume the spotlight, while ethics and morals are asked to exit stage left. Whether it’s to christen a ship, toast a victory, or celebrate a birthday in the office (back when we did things like this), bubbles embrace the sparkling side of everyday life. A flash of glam on an otherwise wretched Tuesday afternoon. Sekt is bound to nothing and to no one, neither to food nor occasion. And that’s why…...
