Picture of Zwetschgenkuchen (traditional German plum cake) It is plum and apricot season here.
Our itinerary today involves two wine tastings. Our first appointment is at 10:30 in the Saar and 14:00 in the Ruwer area. One of the many positive benefits to tasting Riesling is they have comparatively low alcohol levels. While you taste many different wines they are not so powerful to incapacitate you in one tasting. The Ruwer and Saar are so close to Trier and both of these rivers enter the Mosel.
Another example of super steep slopes that the best Riesling grows on. This example is in the Ruwer area. Not sure if the picture does the steepness justice though...
Our first wine tasting is at Weingut Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken located in Saarburg. It is about a 30 minute drive from our Trier apartment. This was one of the Weinguts I did not want to miss. It is a 270 year old wine estate and was awarded the German equivalent of Grand Cru status. This Weingut owns the Rausch vineyard nearby. Our tour and wine tasting took about 90 minutes. Our host and guide was Hanno Zilliken (part-owner of the Weingut). He is a 10th generation winemaker. We were in excellent hands!
We started with a tour of both levels of their wine cellar located below the main building. On a hot day getting into the cellar was a welcome experience. The cellars were built in the 1920s. This Weingut produces on average about 70,000 bottles per year. The upper level of the cellar is not as humid as the lower level. At the lower level the humidity is 100%. This humidity and constant temperature is ideal for storing bottled wine. The lower level is more than 9 metres below street level.
I asked Hanno what happens with the super old vintages and he indicated that on occasion they will sell at special vintage auctions. I can't imagine what each bottle would cost?
After out tour of the cellars we were taken to the pressing room. Huge stainless steel tanks that work with gravity so no pumps are used. Racking and fermentation are done there as well. In terms of the vineyard usage 90% of the grapes originate from the famous Rausch vineyard. When it is harvest time they will pick many times over those weeks. The winemaker has two major decisions; when to pick the grapes and then when to blend the fractions of each picking. They use Polish pickers who seem to return each year so they are very experienced.
In terms of makeup of their wine collection; 25% are dry wines, 25% are medium wines and 50% are noble sweet wines. As a rule, Germans prefer the light or dry style of Riesling. They export much of their sweeter wine overseas.
Black fungus on the bottles and the walls of the cellar. It is alive and keeps the air fresh. It does no damage to the wine bottles or the corks. They do not remove it unless they are taking the bottle from the cellar.
Art work at Weingut Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken with wood from the vines.
In the cellar brand new Fudder/Fuder barrels.They hold 1,000 litres each. The cost for these German oak barrels with stainless steel straps is 3,000Euro each. Each barrel can be used up to 70 years. For new barrels they neutralize the wood for two years and then in the third year do not use it too much. Basically, these new barrels won't be used productively until their fourth year. For the regular Fudder barrels there is zero loss of wine from the barrels! This is due to the humidity which precludes any oxidation.
Lana bought a small bottle of Saar Riesling-infused gin.
Wine bottles in cellar with their usual tag. The number 76w means this wine is from their 1976 vintage. The 12-77 means it is the 12th best pressing done in 1977. That is how they label their wine bottles in the cellar.
These are wine bottles from 1949 vintage. These are the oldest bottles in their cellar. Bottles from years previous to this were destroyed in WWII bombing.
Randy & Hanno on the patio. In the far background is their famous Rausch (Grand Cru) vineyard that produces superior Riesling grapes.
We spent quite a lot of time in the wine tasting and being educated by Hanno. Our wine tasting occurred in a very classy dining/meeting room. Very typical of some of the Weinguts. We sampled up to 10 wines. Range of price was from 17 Euro to 80 Euro for the entry level Riesling to the very best Auslese. We both made lots of notes during the tasting. Hanno provided a pamphlet covering all the wines. We can truly say that the entire 10 bottles we sampled were incredible. Somehow, this Weingut produces the lightest feeling Riesling wines. Hanno indicated they are looking for "maximum finesse but lightest impression." He talks about "intense freshness components." Yes, he is a master of the language. Hanno was so knowledgeable about his wines and so passionate. We were really blown away by the quality and taste of each of his wines.
If we could buy more of their wine would have. Some of our tasting notes: "use complete clusters in this wine, elegance, citrus and honey notes, weight on the fruited, lightest impression, tropical fruit tastes, refreshing acidity, petrol on the nose, intense minerality...."
We bought an expensive Riesling Auslese from 2005 vintage. It was simply brilliant and the equivalent of a TBA (Trockenbeerenauslese). Plus, already aged 10 years. Lana purchased a small bottle of Riesling infused gin. They only take cash. This is quite common with the Weinguts and in Deutschland in general. So impressed with their wines! We need to talk our LDB into carrying their products! ;-)
Decision to drive to the Ruwer region and find lunch somewhere around our next Weingut appointment. Driving down narrow country roads. Luckily, no truck traffic. We did get behind a bus for a while and seems strange to have a bus in the middle of the countryside.
We decided to stop in the village of Waldrach which is right beside Morscheid where the Weingut is located. We found Dietz Der Frische Bäcker (Bakery) open so decided for a casual and cheaper lunch. We really enjoyed our freshly made sandwichs on German bread. Plus, we spoke at length with the female owner. Her english was pretty good as her step Dad was an American and she lived for a short time in Louisiana. She enjoyed practising her english skills.
Our destination is Weingut Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt in Morscheid (Ruwer). We found parking down below Schloss Marienlay (Weingut in a castle). A worker guided us back to the upstairs and entry through the tall doors. We were welcomed warmly by Michaela. She has been working for the Weingut for the past 30 years. This Weingut has won many wine awards over the years. A very interesting and unique aspect is they own vineyards in all three wine regions; Mosel, Saar and Ruwer. Plus, the vineyards they own are Grand Cru calibre. They own 36 hectares with around 1/3 of the total in each of the three areas. They average between 350,000 and 400,000 bottles each year! 35% of the wine is for export (England, USA, Baltic States, Scandinavia etc.) and the remainder is consumed in Deutschland.
A real cool aspect of this wine tasting was there was a piece of paper outlining the wines to be sampled and our names listed on the paper. There are seven wines listed, but in the end we tasted 8 wines. Again, no fee charged for the wine tasting. We purchased a 2015 Piesport Domherr Kabinett for 12.30 Euro.
A very interesting part of our tasting was tasting a Kabinett Riesling from Mosel, Saar and Ruwer so we got to compare. We preferred the Mosel Kabinett which is what we bought. She believed the Ruwer had good crispiness and earthiness to its Riesling wines. Their grapes are picked by Romanians mostly. All their wine is processed at this site so it is a very large operation. The estate was founded in 1349 - wow! Each of their wines was enjoyable. She brought out an Aisles that gave the nose of raisins and tasted like raisins. Very unique. Around 15:30 we departed which made it about 90 minutes.
Riesling grape vines on a hillside across from Weingut Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt. Yes, another steep vineyard.
These are examples of the terroir in the three different wine regions that the Weingut owns vineyards. Pieces of slate that compose what the Riesling grapes are growing in. This type of material captures the sun/heat for the grapes. Plus, it assists in giving the wine its unique flavours.
Baroque style label with its origin in the Middle Ages. Each corner has a line of wisdom that you need to apply in living your life. All these are relevant to the 21st Century: speak what is truth, love what is rare, drink clear liquids, eat what is cooked.
Lineup of the wines we tasted. The bottle on the far right is a 1999 Anniversary bottle (Auslese style) given the Weingut was 650 years old!
On arrival back at our apartment, Lana had a brief nap and I got started on the blog. I needed to activate my German Vodafone SIM card so we made a short walk to a shop very close. I charged 15 Euro to the card and now have 750 megs of data and 200 minutes of phone/text. Europe is a much deal with the carriers than Canada.
We are walking in the huge tourist area (Hauptmarkt) of Trier. Lana comes across Le Creuset store and a super large red pot. Another picture opportunity, but she says "no way I can get that into my suitcase to take home!"
The famous Porta Nigra. This town gate dates back to the Romans. Very impressive architecture and on a grand scale. Our first tourist site during our trip!
Weinstube Kesselstatt. Restaurant/wine bar recommended by our Weingut host (they own the place). The food was very good and the wines delicious. It is located within the Hauptmarkt. 
Container of Federweißer wine. Interesting container for a wine. Basically, it is a freshly fermenting wine that has to have an alcohol volume of at least 4%. Lana ordered a glass and it was delicious. Very fruity and no real hint of alcohol. We swear the nose was like pears. We will drink more of these during our trip we hope. :-)
Process for this restaurant (outdoor seating) is you see the hostess and she finds you a table outside. Then you get up and head inside to make your order of food and wine/beer/drinks. You pay and they give you a number for your table. When the food is ready they bring it to the proper number.
Lana's dish of fried potatoes with bacon, onion, mushrooms and Lyoner sausages on top. Delicious German comfort food and only 9.90 Euro for a good sized portion of food. I had some thinly cut meats with German bread and a glass of 2015 Scharzhofberger wine that we actually tasted earlier this afternoon at the Weingut.
We are walking back home on a beautiful night although still quite warm. A Champions League game on tv between Borussia Dortmund and a Polish champion team. Tomorrow we have two more Weingut wine tastings and that is pretty much it for organization.
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