This morning we have our breakfast organized for 09:00. The breakfast room is adjoining our room. Church bells are ringing in this small town at 07:00. Our room inclusive of breakfast is only 58 Euro per night so pretty good deal. You must pay by CASH though. The other couple staying there from Dusseldorf is eating with us. We have a good conversation and do discuss the refugee situation in Deutschland and the tensions it is causing everyone. We need to zip out of there though as our wine tasting appointment is for 11:30 in the Nahe. We get everything to the car and can't find our Garmin GPS unit!! Eventually, Lana discovers it in her suitcase and we are off. Neither can recall who had it last and how it might have ended up in her suitcase though--gremlins!!! :) It is a 75 minute drive to Meddersheim which is beside Bad Sobernheim and the location of Weingut Hexamer. Despite the delay we make it in time. Lots of winding and twisty roads through the forest to the Nahe. Many small villages and farms on route.
We are greeted by Petra - wife of owner and winemaker Harald Hexamer. Harald is a second generation winemaker. They own four vineyards in the area. 60% of their wine is Riesling. 150,000 bottles of wine per year on average so a sizeable operation. They export about 50% of their wines around the world inclusive of USA and Norway. No fudder wooden barrels are used in the Nahe. They use Stückfass barrels (1,200 litres volume in German wood). They will use these for their wine after fermentation. They use mostly screw cap on their wine bottles. They believe screw cap preserves freshness.
They ferment their wines at lower temperatures so they are a little fizzy on opening and fresher. They harvest earlier so more acidic. Careful pruning for lower yields. They are near the outermost western edge of the Nahe. Petra described the Mosel Riesling as more acidic due to their slate ground. Nahe difficult to describe as many differing soils. She brought out a number of stone samples from their various parcels to confirm just how different they are. Given Riesling picks up its flavour from the ground it is very important to the tastes. As well, Petra indicated they may pick up to three times in one vineyard over the picking season. Romanian pickers paid by the hour.
Petra clarified that Spätlese Riesling is defined by the sugar content of the grape so they could be dry versions of Spätlese wine. Their last icewine was harvested in 2012. Conditions must be perfect to harvest for icewine.
A really beautiful pamphlet for their wine list and wine tasting. We sampled 12 wines! As usual, we began with the Trocken or dry style Riesling wine first and then you work up to the sweeter Riesling wines like Kabinett then Spätlese then Auslese and then sometimes BA and TBA. All very nice Riesling wine. Their Trocken had a hint of saltiness (good to have). Their number one site is the Meddersheimer. We were thinking of buying their Kabinett as it was brilliant with fruit taste, herbal, apricot, but then she brought out a TBA (Trockenbeerenauslese) they had opened yesterday and it slew us. It had not been listed for sampling or sale (only 45 litres made), but we asked to purchase it. Petra needed to check with her husband on the price. Harald did come out and speak with us so that was pretty cool. The cost was 105 Euro for an exquisite sweet wine that is not sugary, but wonderful balance with the acid. We had smiles on our faces. The wine tasting took two hours.
Weingut Hexamer in Meddersheim. Again, a Weingut located in the village itself.
Located outside of the Weingut.
Soil sample taken from one of their vineyards in the Nahe. As you can see there is no slate present. Very different from the Mosel, Saar and Ruwer. More soil material here for the Riesling vines.
Lineup of some of the wines we sampled at Weingut Hexamer. Check out the rock samples from their vineyards.
Our Airbnb is located very close to the Weingut. Our host met us and we checked in. We confirmed with our host Eleonore, we were wanting to get to the WEINWANDERWEGFEST and she offered to drive us to the first station and drop us off! Wow, what hospitality! Plus, she gave us 30 minutes to be ready.
Our Airbnb located in Bad Sobernheim. We are staying on the top floor. Very steep driveway up to the house. You need to park on the street. Our host is fantastic! Very welcoming and friendly. Our suite is huge with many rooms and fantastic views from all angles. Hardwood floors and a bathtub for Lana. Refrigerator/kitchen/dining table etc. Functioning wifi.
Start of the Weinwanderwegfest for us was in Bad Sobernheim. It is a good uphill walk to the first station which is Weingut Michel. The Weinwanderwegfest trail is 13.7 km long and there is a lot of uphill trails. Not sure the total of elevation covered in walking the entire route, but it is a lot! We arrived at the first 'station' around 14:45 and it was a good start. The clouds were threatening rain so it was difficult to figure out what to wear? During our entire time on the trail it never rained. Sometimes, the sun briefly came out. The temperature was perfect for strenuous long walks. We finished the entire trail by 19:00? We passed a lot of fellow travelers on the trail so we had a good pace going on.
We began on the eastern end of the trail in Bad Sobernheim. You can start on the western end in Martinstein. You walk through the towns of Monzingen and Nußbaum that are between the western and eastern ends. Thirteen stations represented by different Weinguts. Different foods in some of the stations. You can get a 0.15 and 0.21 glass pour or simply buy the bottle of wine. Cost of a glass of wine is usually two Euros. Food varied in cost, but never expensive. We wondered if you could drink a glass of wine at each station and make it physically from one end to the other? Problem is it is a very difficult walk and if you get drunk impossible to walk. We saw one twenty something guy with his girlfriend and he was really drunk at the mid-point. Not sure whatever happened to him? Lots of drinking and laughing going on so a fun time for everyone.
This is the map we utilized to give us an idea of distances. You cannot get lost as everything is marked on the trail in chalk. You will walk through farmer's fields, but mostly walking through the actual vineyards which is really fun! The map was excellent.
Station 13 Weingut Michel. Each 'station' is represented by a local Weingut and offers excellent German comfort food. Yeh! Wine and German food!
Photo from webpage really tells it all. A station with fellow travellers finding a place to stand and sit with friends and family and drink local wines and eat yummy food. Many times when you came to a newer station it was very hard to navigate past. No room for bicycles.
At Weingut Michel station we ordered Spundekás mit Bretzel 3 Euro and Rehknacker (roe deer and wild boar meat in sausage form) mit Brot (bread) 3.50 Euro. Plus, a glass of Riesling Feinherb of course! For your glass of wine you need to give a 2 Euro glass deposit. The Spundekas is like a savoury cream cheese that's been whipped and is quite soft/spreadable. Many people on the trail carry their glasses and sometimes full wine bottles. Many wine bottles discarded on the trail. :-)
Riesling grapes!
On the Weinwanderwegfest trail.
For our reward at the end of the trail, we stopped at the #1 station Weingut Edelberg for a Spiesbratenimbroten (roasted pork shoulder on a bun) and a Bratwurst in broten. Both delicious! A glass of Riesling Spätlese was helpful after a long walk and good food.
After our meal and wine we needed to walk about another 1.5 km to Martinstein to catch either a bus or train back to Bad Sobernheim. It was just starting to drizzle so our timing was good. The bus showed up so we boarded for 1.5 Euro each and got a seat! The bus picks up in the towns that are located along the trail so more people boarded. We got off at Bad Sobernheim and walked back to our Airbnb apartment in the now dark. Into our car to get to REWE to purchase some breakfast for the next couple of days: pastries, buns, yogurt and bananas. It has been a fantastic long day and we are both tired. I decide it is too late to try blogging for yesterday. Very quiet in this neighbourhood.
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