Stokes and I arrived in Frankfurt at 700 am with the normal feelings of jet lag, dazed, confused and not really sure where my place on this earth was. Luckily this is a transition I’m used to making. After stokes and I successfully procured our luggage we hopped into our 9 passenger Mercedes bus and took off onto the autobahn hoping that a day of inspiration in wine country would be just the remedy we needed.
The first trip on the Autobahn every year is as big of an adjustment as the jet lag. You think you’re going fast and then your passed by a 7 series bmw doing 200 kph. Before you know it you’re up to speed and it becomes a little more normal but the first time back is always a shock. The drive into the Mosel river valley from Frankfurt is fairly uninspiring, that is until you reach the switchback roads that drop directly down to the Mosel through some of the steepest vineyards in Europe. At our first switchback we could see thick fog blanketing the town of Traben in the river valley below, as a vineyard plummeted off to the right side of our car. What a welcoming sight.
Our hotel was on the waterfront in Traben, perfectly situated and one of the nicer hotels I have stayed at in Europe. Our room was extremely spacious by European standards, with two floors and a deep soak tub. I took a shower to rinse myself of the days travel, followed by a 45 minute nap that was extremely difficult to wake from, before our 100 appointment at Markus Molitor.
Our drive out of Traben gave us a great idea as to what Mosel is about, perfectly sandwiched towns along the river, abutted by towering vineyards to the rear, oxbow turns in the river and what felt like a very gentle way of life. The blue slate in the vineyards was so intense that during this time of year, without leaf cover, the soil appears blue. Like Cote Rotie, you can tell that there is substance to the people that handwork these vineyards, simply by looking in awe at the ruggedness of the vineyards.
I arrived at the Molitor estate only to find it under construction. I met Markus Molitor, who was in the middle of a meal with his wife, and he kindly redirected us to the temporary tasting house in the town of Zeltingen, two kilometers away. After zigging and zagging through the tight streets of Zeltingen we arrived at the Molitor offices to taste some wines. Naturally, my jet lag limited my attention span, but I managed to take quite a bit away from the visit. Molitor is a very large winery by mosel standards. Our guide told us that Molitor makes over 50 different wines. I was struck by the flexibility and individualism that is allowed under the German wine law, more so than its old world counterparts with their “DOC” restrictions. The control that the winemakers have on when to harvest and what to produce varies so much from vineyard to vineyard and producer to producer. One year a vintner might produce a kabinett from a vineyard and the next year that same vineyard might produce auslese, it all depends on the vintage and what nature gives them. It also gives the winemaker a lot of flexibility to tell the consumer about his vineyards terroir through his decisions on when to pick and what to produce. In Mosel there is a lot of single vineyard desgination, the terroirs are unique and demand individual representation. I also noticed a lot of varying vineyard orientations, something that was strange to me being so in touch with piedmont where most nebbiolo vineyards are planted south-southeast. Riesling classifications (from kabinett to TBA) are done by must weight, or density of liquid (sugar concentration) so within a category, say auslese, you can have a huge variation of must weights within the range that defines auslese, as well as the resulting sweetness based on how long fermentation is carried out. Sometimes you will see stars that will indicate the level of must weight within the range. A few producers, including Molitor do this to help their consumers.
We tasted through 8 or so wines, with varying levels of sweetness. Urziger Wurzgarden, Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, etc etc. All wines were very strong examples of mosel Riesling with some pushing 93-94 points. I did not take many notes here as my attention was limited by the incredible exhaustion I was feeling.
After our trip to Molitor, it was off to a pizzeria for a late lunch as we tried to tackle the challenge of not falling asleep too early. 800 rolled around and I was struggling, stokes suggested we hit the town to try and stay up a little longer. From our hotel we could see a neon sign, which turned out to be the only disco in 50 km. I hesitantly followed Stokes into the night. We sat down and had some drinks, greeted by the pungent scent of cigarette smoke that seems to cling to some European bars, despite recent rules to ban smoking. It was a slow night at the disco, but we immediately began chatting with a German kid named Chris. Chris was the dj here, but he also worked selling Audis, this was just his hobby. He grew up in the area and was very welcoming to Stokes and I. Eventually we met his friends as well. We passed the evening drinking and talking about all the things you talk about with someone from another country that you meet for the first time, ways of life, families, hobbies, oddities of each culture etc. Before we knew it we had stayed up far longer than we thought was possible, thanks to new friends and new culture. We made plans to meet up the following night.
The following morning I awoke early to a beautiful morning. The tranquility of the Mosel flowing by our hotel was too much for me to resist, so I threw on my spandex and set out on a run. I stepped out the door of the hotel only to be broadsided by the smell of fresh baked croissants and other German breakfast delicacies. I fought the temptation and headed down to the Mosel where there was a perfectly paved bike path. The path was lined with small houses, almost Hansel and Gretel like, with wood piles stacked to perfection as only Europeans do. After each bend in the river new olfactory surprises greeted me, the steep blue slopes of the vineyards, swans passing time by effortlessly floating down the mosel, an old lady walking her small dog, greeting me with “guten morgen”. This run was sensory overload and I loved every moment of it in the still peace of a Mosel River morning.
After getting my blood flowing we headed off for a day in Bernkastel. We wandered the beautiful Christmas markets, a sensory overload that every human being should experience. I took some photos, but quickly became bored and needed some enological inspiration. I spotted a gluhwein stand. Gluhwein is normally red, but here in Mosel it was white, made from Riesling. Quite tasty might I add. Stokes and I sat down to sip our Gluhwein and take in the sights when a small blue pellet clanked off of the bench. We looked up and two small German boys were shooting at us, nervously poking their heads out from the edge of window when they realized we had spotted them. We managed to cast half joking, half threatening looks at them each time they poked their heads out to prevent further assault. As I looked down I saw pellets everywhere, this was obviously sport for them, one that I envied being too old and mature to partake….well I guess that is debatable.
We felt the urge to head into the vineyards that tower over Bernkastel. We wandered up through the streets until we broke out above Bernkastel into blue sky and vineyards. The view was stunning, the sweep of mountains that followed the Mosel’s oxbow turns, the bustling city below us, castles on distant horizons, vineyards on almost every slope. I headed up into the vineyards to check out the famous blue slate soil. Stokes and I had a bit of a touristy photograph session as the beauty was absolutely stunning. As we headed back into the city I counted myself blessed to be here.
After our descent into the city, we continued on across the bridge over the Mosel to the wine museum. The museum was well appointed with self service interactive displays that covered all of the facets of the region and Riesling production one could imagine. It seemed like part of the museum was closed as it was the slow season, but the interactive displays were enough for me. After acquainting ourselves with the region, we then headed over to the enotec where one can taste up to 150 rieslings in season. There were only 50 or so for us on this day, but I figured it would do. The basement of the building houses large metal racks that ran down two corridors that must have been 150 feet long. On each rack was the producer information, pictures, background information etc. In front of each rack was an open bottle of each producer. To gain entry you pay 5 euros for your glass. The wines are all self service and there were a few groups of people who were clearly taking advantage of the Riesling glut! I tasted through most of the 50 or so available wines, quickly becoming bored with the kabinett section. I generally enjoy these with food rather than on their own which is why I was having a hard time tasting through so many kabinetts. My Riesling sweet spot is something with balanced sweetness and a little more tropical essence as well as that racy acidity to balance.
We headed over to the next corridor where the spatlase and auslese wines were hanging out so I could get my fix. I tasted the first two and clearly we were on the right track. As I proceeded through the room I noticed a lot of empty bottles to my dismay. I then looked to the corner and a group of 8 or so had staked out the room for what had to have been a very long time, because most bottles were empty and they were smashed! Not bad for 5 euro! Shortly after a staff member came through opening more bottles. I tasted through all of the wines. I was still quite jet lagged so my attention and record keeping was not what they normally are. Rather I was just trying to get a feel for the styles and terroir differences between the vineyards. Finally I looked at stokes as we seemed to share the same target, the Zeltinger Sonnenuhr auslese from molitor. We were both on the same page, tasting time was over and drinking time was now. We grabbed the bottle and sat back and enjoyed the 93 pt wine ( my palate). The auslese and spatlese levels from Molitor are wonderfully rich and tropical with bracing acidity and deep aromatics. These wines age beautifully as well. It was a treat to spend the afternoon with this bottle in musty cave under Bernkastel.
We headed back to traben to meet up with our friends that we had met the first night. Michael picked us up and we headed to Chris’s house for homemade pizza. Chris lives in a beautiful apartment that looks over the mosel from a perch high on the west side of the river. We started out with some kabinett Riesling, passing the time chatting about video games and the differences in movies in America and Germany. It turns out that the titles of many movies we would find common get changed for foreign markets…interesting and funny because the translation back to English can be hilarious. I popped a special bottling from molitor, 2004 vintage, and poured it to all at the table. The young lady picked up her glass, and at the same time I looked at stokes, thinking the wine was corked, she pronounced that the wine was corked and that it was too bad. All I was thinking was “that was hot”. I guess women with acute wine sensory abilities are my thing! I complimented her on her wine tasting abilities, but she shrugged it off saying that her family was in wine and saying everyone here knows about wine. We had a great evening and headed off to the disco for more entertainment. The evening passed with dancing and merriment. I felt weird drinking Riesling in a club, but hey, when in Rome! Our time in Mosel came to a close in the same way it started, partying the night away. In the morning we would head off to winterberg for the start of tour.
The first trip on the Autobahn every year is as big of an adjustment as the jet lag. You think you’re going fast and then your passed by a 7 series bmw doing 200 kph. Before you know it you’re up to speed and it becomes a little more normal but the first time back is always a shock. The drive into the Mosel river valley from Frankfurt is fairly uninspiring, that is until you reach the switchback roads that drop directly down to the Mosel through some of the steepest vineyards in Europe. At our first switchback we could see thick fog blanketing the town of Traben in the river valley below, as a vineyard plummeted off to the right side of our car. What a welcoming sight.
Our hotel was on the waterfront in Traben, perfectly situated and one of the nicer hotels I have stayed at in Europe. Our room was extremely spacious by European standards, with two floors and a deep soak tub. I took a shower to rinse myself of the days travel, followed by a 45 minute nap that was extremely difficult to wake from, before our 100 appointment at Markus Molitor.
Our drive out of Traben gave us a great idea as to what Mosel is about, perfectly sandwiched towns along the river, abutted by towering vineyards to the rear, oxbow turns in the river and what felt like a very gentle way of life. The blue slate in the vineyards was so intense that during this time of year, without leaf cover, the soil appears blue. Like Cote Rotie, you can tell that there is substance to the people that handwork these vineyards, simply by looking in awe at the ruggedness of the vineyards.
I arrived at the Molitor estate only to find it under construction. I met Markus Molitor, who was in the middle of a meal with his wife, and he kindly redirected us to the temporary tasting house in the town of Zeltingen, two kilometers away. After zigging and zagging through the tight streets of Zeltingen we arrived at the Molitor offices to taste some wines. Naturally, my jet lag limited my attention span, but I managed to take quite a bit away from the visit. Molitor is a very large winery by mosel standards. Our guide told us that Molitor makes over 50 different wines. I was struck by the flexibility and individualism that is allowed under the German wine law, more so than its old world counterparts with their “DOC” restrictions. The control that the winemakers have on when to harvest and what to produce varies so much from vineyard to vineyard and producer to producer. One year a vintner might produce a kabinett from a vineyard and the next year that same vineyard might produce auslese, it all depends on the vintage and what nature gives them. It also gives the winemaker a lot of flexibility to tell the consumer about his vineyards terroir through his decisions on when to pick and what to produce. In Mosel there is a lot of single vineyard desgination, the terroirs are unique and demand individual representation. I also noticed a lot of varying vineyard orientations, something that was strange to me being so in touch with piedmont where most nebbiolo vineyards are planted south-southeast. Riesling classifications (from kabinett to TBA) are done by must weight, or density of liquid (sugar concentration) so within a category, say auslese, you can have a huge variation of must weights within the range that defines auslese, as well as the resulting sweetness based on how long fermentation is carried out. Sometimes you will see stars that will indicate the level of must weight within the range. A few producers, including Molitor do this to help their consumers.
We tasted through 8 or so wines, with varying levels of sweetness. Urziger Wurzgarden, Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, etc etc. All wines were very strong examples of mosel Riesling with some pushing 93-94 points. I did not take many notes here as my attention was limited by the incredible exhaustion I was feeling.
After our trip to Molitor, it was off to a pizzeria for a late lunch as we tried to tackle the challenge of not falling asleep too early. 800 rolled around and I was struggling, stokes suggested we hit the town to try and stay up a little longer. From our hotel we could see a neon sign, which turned out to be the only disco in 50 km. I hesitantly followed Stokes into the night. We sat down and had some drinks, greeted by the pungent scent of cigarette smoke that seems to cling to some European bars, despite recent rules to ban smoking. It was a slow night at the disco, but we immediately began chatting with a German kid named Chris. Chris was the dj here, but he also worked selling Audis, this was just his hobby. He grew up in the area and was very welcoming to Stokes and I. Eventually we met his friends as well. We passed the evening drinking and talking about all the things you talk about with someone from another country that you meet for the first time, ways of life, families, hobbies, oddities of each culture etc. Before we knew it we had stayed up far longer than we thought was possible, thanks to new friends and new culture. We made plans to meet up the following night.
The following morning I awoke early to a beautiful morning. The tranquility of the Mosel flowing by our hotel was too much for me to resist, so I threw on my spandex and set out on a run. I stepped out the door of the hotel only to be broadsided by the smell of fresh baked croissants and other German breakfast delicacies. I fought the temptation and headed down to the Mosel where there was a perfectly paved bike path. The path was lined with small houses, almost Hansel and Gretel like, with wood piles stacked to perfection as only Europeans do. After each bend in the river new olfactory surprises greeted me, the steep blue slopes of the vineyards, swans passing time by effortlessly floating down the mosel, an old lady walking her small dog, greeting me with “guten morgen”. This run was sensory overload and I loved every moment of it in the still peace of a Mosel River morning.
After getting my blood flowing we headed off for a day in Bernkastel. We wandered the beautiful Christmas markets, a sensory overload that every human being should experience. I took some photos, but quickly became bored and needed some enological inspiration. I spotted a gluhwein stand. Gluhwein is normally red, but here in Mosel it was white, made from Riesling. Quite tasty might I add. Stokes and I sat down to sip our Gluhwein and take in the sights when a small blue pellet clanked off of the bench. We looked up and two small German boys were shooting at us, nervously poking their heads out from the edge of window when they realized we had spotted them. We managed to cast half joking, half threatening looks at them each time they poked their heads out to prevent further assault. As I looked down I saw pellets everywhere, this was obviously sport for them, one that I envied being too old and mature to partake….well I guess that is debatable.
We felt the urge to head into the vineyards that tower over Bernkastel. We wandered up through the streets until we broke out above Bernkastel into blue sky and vineyards. The view was stunning, the sweep of mountains that followed the Mosel’s oxbow turns, the bustling city below us, castles on distant horizons, vineyards on almost every slope. I headed up into the vineyards to check out the famous blue slate soil. Stokes and I had a bit of a touristy photograph session as the beauty was absolutely stunning. As we headed back into the city I counted myself blessed to be here.
After our descent into the city, we continued on across the bridge over the Mosel to the wine museum. The museum was well appointed with self service interactive displays that covered all of the facets of the region and Riesling production one could imagine. It seemed like part of the museum was closed as it was the slow season, but the interactive displays were enough for me. After acquainting ourselves with the region, we then headed over to the enotec where one can taste up to 150 rieslings in season. There were only 50 or so for us on this day, but I figured it would do. The basement of the building houses large metal racks that ran down two corridors that must have been 150 feet long. On each rack was the producer information, pictures, background information etc. In front of each rack was an open bottle of each producer. To gain entry you pay 5 euros for your glass. The wines are all self service and there were a few groups of people who were clearly taking advantage of the Riesling glut! I tasted through most of the 50 or so available wines, quickly becoming bored with the kabinett section. I generally enjoy these with food rather than on their own which is why I was having a hard time tasting through so many kabinetts. My Riesling sweet spot is something with balanced sweetness and a little more tropical essence as well as that racy acidity to balance.
We headed over to the next corridor where the spatlase and auslese wines were hanging out so I could get my fix. I tasted the first two and clearly we were on the right track. As I proceeded through the room I noticed a lot of empty bottles to my dismay. I then looked to the corner and a group of 8 or so had staked out the room for what had to have been a very long time, because most bottles were empty and they were smashed! Not bad for 5 euro! Shortly after a staff member came through opening more bottles. I tasted through all of the wines. I was still quite jet lagged so my attention and record keeping was not what they normally are. Rather I was just trying to get a feel for the styles and terroir differences between the vineyards. Finally I looked at stokes as we seemed to share the same target, the Zeltinger Sonnenuhr auslese from molitor. We were both on the same page, tasting time was over and drinking time was now. We grabbed the bottle and sat back and enjoyed the 93 pt wine ( my palate). The auslese and spatlese levels from Molitor are wonderfully rich and tropical with bracing acidity and deep aromatics. These wines age beautifully as well. It was a treat to spend the afternoon with this bottle in musty cave under Bernkastel.
We headed back to traben to meet up with our friends that we had met the first night. Michael picked us up and we headed to Chris’s house for homemade pizza. Chris lives in a beautiful apartment that looks over the mosel from a perch high on the west side of the river. We started out with some kabinett Riesling, passing the time chatting about video games and the differences in movies in America and Germany. It turns out that the titles of many movies we would find common get changed for foreign markets…interesting and funny because the translation back to English can be hilarious. I popped a special bottling from molitor, 2004 vintage, and poured it to all at the table. The young lady picked up her glass, and at the same time I looked at stokes, thinking the wine was corked, she pronounced that the wine was corked and that it was too bad. All I was thinking was “that was hot”. I guess women with acute wine sensory abilities are my thing! I complimented her on her wine tasting abilities, but she shrugged it off saying that her family was in wine and saying everyone here knows about wine. We had a great evening and headed off to the disco for more entertainment. The evening passed with dancing and merriment. I felt weird drinking Riesling in a club, but hey, when in Rome! Our time in Mosel came to a close in the same way it started, partying the night away. In the morning we would head off to winterberg for the start of tour.
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