Old vine from the old winery

Riesling with chicken

Probably you wonder that ze German guy almost never talks about THE German grape, the Riesling. Well here we are!

For sure, Riesling is the best known German grape variety. It is well aromatic, usually of ripe peaches and flowers and it has a tangy acidity caused by the continental climate here in Germany. The wines of the Riesling are real all-rounders, to pair with a lot of dishes. And the wine is very long lasting, indeed it evolves quite well the longer you preserve it in the bottle (given that you store it dark and cool).

This one here in my glass is called “Alte Reben” which means “old vine”. But this refers to the age of the vines rather than to the age of the wine. It is said that the older the vines the better the quality of the wine. Old vines have a very huge rootstock to bring up the best of the soil and this makes up the quality of a wine.

Probably you can decipher the year date on the emblem of the winery, the Staatliche Hofkeller located in Würzburg, the heart of Franconia. The number is 1128 and yes, this is the year when the winery was founded. By this the Hofkeller is one of the oldest wineries in the world.

Today we paired our Riesling with a roast chicken, prepared with a marinade of honey, oil, paprika and herbs. Together with a fresh salad really delicious.

About bread and grape varieties

A German Brotzeit with wine

There are almost innumerous grape varieties in Germany but have you ever heard about how many variations of bread we have? Over 1,000! Yes, bread... different! And I am not talking about different shapes but of different recipes. Bread is kind of a national heritage and national pride. No surprise that we have an own meal we “celebrate” regularly, called Brotzeit (bread-time), like the tea-time in good old Britain.

Most common is sourdough rye bread, which you can have as basis for either sweet or savory toppings. Especially in the southern part of Germany you have a cold dish in the evening, with sausages, ham, cheese and pickles in all different variations. This is a Brotzeit.

I had goat cream cheese as basis layer and a topping of tomatoes, fresh and dried, with some green garnish from the herb garden. A perfect summer dish.

And what would suit better than a summer wine? The typical summer wine, in my point of view, is a chilled rosé. This one is a rosé of the Muskattrollinger grape from the Württemberg region, which is the main growing region of this grape. Muskattrollinger is a blue grape also known as Muscat Hamburg, which originally is a table grape. But the crazy Germans make wine of everything, even from table grapes.

The spicy, highly aromatic flavor is a reminiscent of the Muscat aroma and the slightly sweet taste pairs perfectly with the creamy cheese and the tomatoes. With 11% vol. alcohol this is a nice fellow for these warm evenings on the terrace.

What are your favorite terrace pairings?

Stay tuned

Lentils love Pinot Blanc

Pinot Blanc with fish and lentils

And I love lentils, yes and of course do I also love Pinot Blanc. You wonder why I talk about Pinot Blanc all the time but you can’t see anything of this in the picture? Well, this is because Pinot Blanc translates into German as Weissburgunder and that’s what you find on the label here.

In German all Pinots have this ending “-burgunder”, which means Burgundy grape. Pinot Noir is Spät_burgunder_, Pinot Gris is Grau_burgunder_ and Pinot Blanc is Weiss_burgunder_.

A ripe Pinot Blanc, preferably matured on the lees, has got the perfect creamy mouthfeel to pair with this smooth and earthy texture of the lentils. Yes of course, in this case the lentils are just the side dish for the pickerel but they are the predominant taste on the plate. The fish is fine with the white wine anyway so lets concentrate on the higher intense flavors on the plate to pair with our wine. This is quite often the sauce or the side dish rather than the main component.

Who loves lentils as much as I do (and as the Weissburgunder does)?!