*Delayed blog update as the accommodations we stayed in did not have wifi.*
Lots of activities and experiences today as we relocated from Trier to Klüsserath (downstream Mosel). We awoke to an overcast and much cooler morning. We decided to get some exercise so walked through the city streets to the Mosel river and the path along the river upstream. We walked about 4 kms in total. About 1/2 way we rewarded ourselves by sitting on a bench overlooking the river and ate our German pastries = breakfast. This path is shared by cyclists, runners, walkers and even some roller-bladers. Back to the apartment for a shower and organize our luggage and seven bottles of wine. ;-)
Flexible check-out time from our Airbnb was helpful. We decided to grab a casual (cheap) lunch close by our apartment. There is a open-air market located very close that the locals frequent: Viehmarkt. Vendors have all sorts of vegetables, fruit, meats etc. and the locals will come by almost daily. There are vendors who work from the sides of their trucks to sell things like chocolate and various Italian pasta. English is spoken if you ask for it.
Viehmarkt stall.
Randy's order of Schinken Krakauer for 4 Euro. Yes, it is long and I love German mustard (senf). It was a delicious lunch in itself. Lana ordered a Metzger Bratwurst for 2.50 Euro and she loved it. Her first Brat on our trip.
*One general comment about the traffic in this city is it is brutal. Many traffic lights, a lot of waiting and always in long lineups at each light. What should take about five minutes will take 15 minutes. Not sure how the commercial traffic copes on a daily basis? Enough ranting*
This is a map of Roman Trier and the circle is where the Amphitheatre was located relative to the city.
Amphitheatre seating area.
A great view of the floor of the Amphitheatre. Check out how tiny the visitors look. This is a pretty big scale.
Yup, another picture though from another angle.
Why this picture of stones? These are the original stones that Romans would walk on when entering the Amphitheatre. You can even see some ruts on the stones.
Various entrances along the perimeter of the Amphitheatre wall.
An entrance on the one side of the Amphitheatre used by the gladiators, actors and other entertainers. Check out the scale here as Randy views the map.
View of Trittenheim from the road very high above the town and across the Mosel river. Too bad the camera does not do the view justice. Spectacular view down on the town and river. It was a 30 minute drive from Trier to the Weingut.
Another angle of the view down onto Trittenheim.
Mosel grapes closeup and no they are not Riesling grapes.
Yes, another view of Trittenheim. Isn't it so beautiful nestled against the river and the surrounding vineyards?
Lana and I were so grateful that this Weingut was on our list. Their wines were spectacular! Maybe words won't do it justice. We were met by Christopher the son of the owner/winemaker and equal partner in producing incredible wines. Kind of funny that Christopher had been talking with Johannes at Weingut Hofgut Falkenstein yesterday and Johannes mentioned we had visited. They are friends and met at a wine making college.
Very nice and comfortable room for the wine tasting. Their Weingut is located right in the village of Liewen and there are of course no vineyards in the town. This is common that the Mosel Weinguts are located in towns and not beside their various parcels of land. Christopher provided a pamphlet with lots of information and a listing of their many wines. The title of the page is "Alle Weine Im Überblick" or All Wines in Overview. We tasted six delicious Riesling with incredible depth and character. We spent almost 90 minutes and had to race out to make it to our next wine tasting.
Christopher described the 2015 Riesling vintage as "high ripeness and high acidity with perfect ripeness of the grapes." When I asked how he would describe Mosel Riesling "warmer and lower acidity than the Saar. More primary fruit and planted more densely than the Saar/Ruwer." One of the wines tasted was their 2015er 1896 costing 40 Euro which was their highest cost. Great story behind this wine as it was planted in 1896 and is the oldest surviving Riesling vineyard in Europe with many vines 120 years old! It is planted in their famous Maximin Herrenberg site located near Longen. It's base is red slate and all work and picking is done by hand. They press this wine using an ancient press and then the wine goes into the cellar by gravity (no pumping). It is aged in their oldest fudder barrels which are up to 60 years old. The fermentation process stops naturally and they only produce 1,200 bottles per year. There is only 13 grams of residual sugar so it would be described as close to off-dry. We were lucky to purchase a bottle. Plus, we have a great story of the wine making of the 1896. This bottle can be aged for many decades.
Some other notes were that their single vineyard wines use fudder wooden barrels and their 'entry' level wines are stainless steel. Zero maceration is required as they have spontaneous fermentation. How do you stop fermentation usually? Cool the liquid down to stop fermentation and put sulphur in it. Keep the yeasts, filter and then bottle at appropriate time. Weingut Carl Loewen uses their expertise and feel for decisions on timing rather than scientific equipment. Also, Christopher explained that vines more than 50 years old there are big differences in the grapes produced.
When asked about viticulture practices, this is where Weingut Carl Loewen is an innovator. They do not consider yield as being the most important consideration in a quality Riesling. Their goal is tiny Riesling berries. They find tinier berries produce more intense aromas. Lower yield practices tend to produce larger berries. They do normal pruning and no nutrition (fertilizer) is added to their grapes thus low yield with smaller berries. No need for maceration time. Less acidity and more power results from small grapes. This is a unique approach in Deutschland and pioneered by Carl Loewen. Their dries Riesling has never more than 12.5% alcohol volume. Their dry wines have a pure and elegant style and structure. We were awed by their taste and had to double-check the residual sugar numbers to confirm we were drinking trocken style.
Other information is they own 15 hectares on four different sites. They have a 200 year old family history in wine making! On average they produce 100,000 bottles in a year. They are members of the Bernkastel Ring. Most of their pickers are Romanians and then family and friends. They have a reputation for excellent dry wines and we can corroborate that. 50% of their wines are exported.
When I heard about their American exports, I confirmed that they have their wines sold in New York. Chambers Street Wines and Terroir Bars franchise. We are heading there in October!
As an aside, in their grass backyard they had a robot grass lawnmower maneuvering around their lawn. Quite cool!
Blue shirt is Christopher Loewen and to his right is his Dad Carl Loewen in one of their Weingut Carl Loewen vineyards in the Mosel. Photo from their webpage.
Within about six or seven minutes we had made it to the nearby village of Klüsserath and Weingut Bernhard Kirsten. Another great experience of tasting delicious Riesling. Plus, a comment about these Weinguts is how difficult to figure out the appropriate entrance and even where the parking is? It is not like BC Okanagan wineries and their huge and impressive wine tasting areas. These are primarily family-owned operations where they take time from their work to meet with you. The cool thing is you get to meet the winemakers usually.
Our wine tasting guide was Inge von Geldern the wife of the owner Bernhard. This Weingut is noted for ..."making some of the best new-old style Mosel wines. Generally medium-dry with a rich textural quality, but brighter in aroma, more elegant and less funky than Terrassenmosel." We learned more from Inge about the area. Apparently one of Napoleon Bonaparte's edicts in the early 1800s was to take the ownership of the vineyards from the Church/clerics and sell at public auctions. Some of these parcels purchased way back then remain in families. We learned the German word Jahrgang means vintage. We sampled nine (9) bottles of wine over a 90 minute period.
Our wine tasting began with two Sekt (sparkling) Riesling wines which were delicious and unique. One of their parcels (Laurentiuslay) faces west and gets long evening sun. Their Trocken had lots of minerality. Their GG calibre Trocken was excellent as well. They are not associated with VDP. We enjoyed all their wines, but decided to purchase their 1904 Riesling from Languisher Maximiner Herrenberg vineyard. Cost was 22 Euros and comprised of 18 grams of residual sugar. Vines of ungifted roots. This wine was delicious and an interesting story as the vineyard borders the 1896 vineyard that Weingut Carl Loewen works and for which we purchased their similar Feinherb off-dry wine.
Weingut Bernhard Kirsten does not export to Canada. They describe themselves as a "boutique winery." Very steep hills and Inge verified that 2015 was a great year that produced wonderful wines. Lots of great stories from Inge and another fun and educational experience.
Bernhard Kirsten owner and winemaker of Weingut Bernhard Kirsten beside one of his parcels in the Mosel. Check out the steepness. Photo from their webpage. We got a chance to speak with Bernhard for a while towards the end of our tasting.
We arrived within five minutes to Weingut Günter Bechtel around 17:15. This Weingut is located in the heart of Klüsserath. We pushed the buzzer, but no answer. Yikes! T'his is where we are staying tonight and eating dinner. The reason I picked this place was based on a hikers recommendation and for the experience of staying in an actual Weingut and eating at their Weinstube (restaurant). Within about five minutes of pushing buzzer and not getting anything a younger fellow showed up from a couple of doors down. No english. A couple of other people showed up and Lana used her German skills to verify they were aware of our reservation for tonight. We confirmed our dinner for 18:30. Our room is very large and a good sized bathroom as well on the second floor. Interesting that there is a sink in our room (in addition to the adjoining bathroom). NO WIFI so that isn't good although I knew that in advance. Also, when you check for networks absolutely nothing shows up? Never encountered that before.
Weingut Günter Bechtel in Klüsserath
Dinner was at the restaurant beside the Weingut and owned by the Weingut. Weinstube Zue Tenne is the title of the restaurant and they serve the Weingut's wine of course. Very authentic German cuisine/comfort food. No english period. Fortunately, a customer (from Dusseldorf) who was staying at the Weingut spoke pretty good English so he could interpret. We learned the cost of the meal would be added to the bill. After our meal, we went for a walk along the street. Very quiet in the village. Many Weinguts and guest houses on this main narrow street.
Lana's meal of Winzerspießbraten mit Zwiebln, bratkartoffeln und Salat.
Randy's meal of Winzersteak mit Rosmarienkartoffeln.
Lana's dessert of Roter Grütze for 2.50 Euro. Traditional German dessert of red fruit compote. Very enjoyable.
Weincreme for dessert. So yummy and soft!
Our bed in the Weingut. These are typical of Deutsch beds where they separate the sides with their own comforters. No worries about your partner pulling on the sheets. ;-)
Yes, a very enjoyable and long day with so many different experiences!
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