spaswinefood: Mosel Valley wine country travels

Just imagine a two-day marathon in the Mosel Valley, one of Germany's most beautiful river valleys. When we gathered here for the 3rd Annual #Winelover Riesling Marathon in May, we came to participate in the Mythos Mosel. This year's Mythos Mosel had thirty wine tasting locations, with four wineries at each location. It was indeed a Riesling Marathon, given there were at least four wines from each of the 120 Mosel wineries available for tasting. Come with me on Day One, as we explore the best of Riesling in this stunning river valley.

Mosel Valley Wine Country © Spaswinefood

Riesling, one of the top three white wines in the world, originated in the Rhine region. Today it is widely planted in the Mosel, Rheingau, Nahe, and Pfalz wine regions. The Mosel Valley, one of 13 German wine regions, is fifth in size, and third largest in terms of wine production. The valley's continental climate makes it ideal for growing Riesling, with over 60% of Mosel Valley vineyards devoted to its production. White grape varieties planted account for over 90%, this leaving less than 10% of the area for red grape varieties, like Pinot Noir and Domfelder. Wine-tasting is popular here, with the Mosel Valley hosting many wine festivals spring through fall.

Before the marathon began we visited the Staffelter Hof Vineyard. From high on the cliff we saw vineyards stretching out for miles along the banks of the Mosel River. We had come to a beautiful place, which is immensely rich in wine culture and wine history.

Staffelter Hof Vineyard, Mosel Valley © Spaswinefood

Over the next two days, we would get a glimpse of the Mosel's rich wine culture and its history. We would visit as many locations as possible to taste Riesling wines of different styles, and from different locations along the Mosel.

The Beautiful Mosel Valley © Spaswinefood

Riesling wines are made in dry, semisweet, sweet and sparkling styles. While Riesling wines are often consumed young their high acidity and fruit flavors gives it aging potential. The aging potential for Riesling is 5-15 years for dry, 10-20 years for semi-sweet, and 10-30+ years for sweet. I was about to experience a #Winelover Riesling Marathon where I would further develop a repertoire of the wide range of Riesling styles. Wine travelers know, it is not just about tasting wine, but it is also about getting that sense of place, the people, and the stories behind the wines.

Mosel Valley: Day One Vignettes

We began our Mosel River travels via riverboat. Our first Mythos Mosel winery visit was at a stunning hillside setting, overlooking Bernkastel-Kues.

1. Bernkastel-Kues

First Wine Tasting Stop, Bernkastel-Kues © Spaswinefood

Time for Bernkastel-Kues Wine © Spaswinefood

Even though we arrived early, the tasting room was filled. I did manage to taste a few wines.

Bernkastel-Kues Wines © Spaswinefood

A Closer Look, Bernkastel-Kues Wines © Spaswinefood

Given that the tasting room was quite busy our visit was brief. We hopped on a bus, and were off to our next stop. After all, we had come to taste Riesling wines. We were not disappointed.

Mythos Mosel Explorations © Spaswinefood

After a quick visit it was onto Weingut S.A. Prüm.

2. Weingut S.A. Prüm
During our Weingut S.A. Prüm visit we were introduced to wines from Weingut S.A. Prüt, Weingut Studert Prüm, and Weingut Marco Adamy.

Weingut S.A. Prüm © Spaswinefood

Weingut S.A. Prüm
My visit here began with a stop at the Weingut S.A. Prüm booth.

Weingut S.A. Prüm Wines © Spaswinefood

Faces of Weingut S.A. Prüm © Spaswinefood

It is always special to meet winery owners and winemakers. Even when interactions are brief it brings that personal connection, and story to the wines.

Weingut Immich-Anker
I was most fortunate to sharing the Weingut Immich-Anker tasting experience with #winelovers.

#Winelovers Tasting Weingut Immich-Anker Wines © Spaswinefood

Weingut Immich-Anker Wines © Spaswinefood

Studert Prüm and Marco Adamy
We also tasted wines from Studert Prüm and Marco Adamy.

Studert Prüm and Marco Adamy © Spaswinefood

Weingut Marco Adamy Wine List © Spaswinefood

3. Weingut Schloss Lieser
It was onto Weingut Schloss Lieser where Weingut Grans Fassian, Weingut Von Hövel, and Weingut Julian Haart were pouring wines.

Schloss Lieser © Spaswinefood

Arriving at Schloss Lieser © Spaswinefood

Here I delighted in tasting wines from Schloss Lieser, Grans Fassian, Von Hövel, and Julian Haart.

Weingut Schloss Lieser, Riesling Kabinett 2017

Weingut Schloss Lieser, Riesling Kabinett 2017 © Spaswinefood

After an exciting morning it was time for lunch however, not before a long walk uphill. Yes, there was lots of walking on a very hot spring day.

4. Lunch
Lunch that day was a casual burger with friends. There were also wines to taste at this welcoming lunch stop.

Lunch with Friends © Spaswinefood

Spring Blossoms, Mosel Valley © Spaswinefood

After lunch we visited Weingut Schumann, and other Middle Mosel wineries before arriving at Weingut Axel Pauly.

Weingut Schumann © Spaswinefood

Visiting Mosel Valley Wineries © Spaswinefood

It was an awesome vine-filled afternoon with great dialogue.

5. Weingut Axel Pauly
Weingut Axel Pauly hosted Weingut Gebrüder Ludwig, Weingut Deutchherrenhof, and Weingut C.H. Berges.

Weingut Axel Pauly © Spaswinefood

Day One of the Mythos Mosel was indeed a great day for Riesling, and walking. Our final stop of the day would be a very special one at Dr. Loosen.

6. Day's End: Dr. Loosen & Friends
Dr. Loosen and Friends (Maximin Grünhaus, Forstmeister Gelte Zilliken, Ansgar Clüsserath, and Philipp Wittmann), all offered both young and vintage Rieslings for tasting. The evening was the perfect opportunity to explore wines in a beautiful setting.

Memories of a Dr Loosen Evening © Spaswinefood

Dr. Loosen winery hosted a stand-up dinner, with some very special wines. Given some of these wines were vintage Rieslings we knew that we were in for a special evening.

An Evening at Dr. Loosen © Spaswinefood

Our evening began with a welcoming drink, an Ayala Champagne from the Ay region of Champagne.

A Champagne Ayala Welcome, Dr. Loosen © Spaswinefood

The following list of wines available for tasting that evening was impressive:

Wine List, Dr. Loosen Reception © Spaswinefood

Let's take a closer look at the Riesling wines shared.

Let me share Dr. Loosen's and Ansgar Clüsserath's vintage Rieslings.

Weingut Ansgar Clüsserath, Trittenheimer Apotheke, Riesling Auslese 1992

Obviously, the vintage wines were quite a hit. For me, tasting vintage Riesling, and hanging out at Dr. Loosen was a pure delight. After all, we had come to explore Riesling at its best. We were not disappointed.

Let me focus on a few young Riesling wines. Amongst those younger wines I tasted an exciting lineup of Dr. Loosen wines.

It is always exciting to taste different styles of Riesling.

I delighted in meeting winemaker, Eva Clüsserath-Wittmann from Weingut Ansgar Clüsserath.

Besides tasting amazing young and vintage Rieslings I did discover Mosel Valley Pinot Noir at this event. Knowing it would indeed be rare to encounter Mosel Pinot Noir outside Germany, I certainly took advantage of the fact that Daniel Twardowski was sharing his Pinot Noir wines.

Pinot Noir, known as Spätburgunder in Germany, with climate change has been edging into that sweet spot, where Germany has slowly become one of the top Pinot Noir producers in the world. While Pinot Noir from Germany's southern wine growing regions is not uncommon Pinot Noir is indeed not the norm for the Mosel. Given that Mosel Pinot Noir wines are still rare I was delighted to see Weingut Daniel Twardowski Pinot Noir on the list of the wines available for tasting.

Daniel Twardowski while a newcomer is described as visionary and talented. He takes a very hands-on approach to winemaking. He uses a Burgundian approach to producing Pinot Noir from his three hectare vineyard.

It was a spectacular evening of wine and food. Day One was an amazing day for this wine enthusiast to discover the uniqueness of Riesling, and other Mosel Valley wines. Even though darkness arrived late on that late spring day, all too soon it was time to return Staffelter Hof. After all we needed to rest for Day Two in Mosel Valley Wine Country. Mosel, home to beautiful vineyards, postcard like towns, and castles make wine travels in the land of Riesling, the very stuff that memories are made of, indeed. I would like to thank Jan Matthias Klein, Staffelter Hof for hosting and organizing this #winelover event. I invite you to join me in my Mosel Valley travels in Germany and elsewhere at Spaswinefood.

Sharon

Mosel Valley, Germany

May 2018

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Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Mosel Valley wine country travels

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