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German Wine

Wine Travel

Two Nights in Bacharach: Wine Travel in Germany

September 12, 2016
A wine tasting flight at Weingut Karl Heidrich in Bacharach, Germany.

I discovered Bacharach on a travel forum, where it was described as a slightly less touristy option for wine travel in Germany. Inspired by our discovery of Bernkastel-Kues in 2013, I made it the first stop of our epic German travel adventure this July. It did not disappoint.

Bacharach lived up to its billing as a traditional German wine town that, while full of things to discover, was not so packed with summer tourists as to make exploring stressful. It had all the charming nuances and stunning vineyard views I love about Germany and two nights was more than enough time to fully explore the area.

Bacharach is full of fabulous traditional buildings!

Day 1 in Bacharach:

Wine tasting at at Weingut Karl Heidrich in Bacharach, Germany.We arrived early after our flight and an hour’s drive from Frankfurt airport (the train is also an easy and central option), and well before we could check into our hotel, the charming Hotel Am Markt, which is a lovely gem located in the centre of town. We spent our time before check-in exploring the nearly empty town and then walking up to the Burg Stahlek to take in the stunning views. This trail is great for those who want to enjoy an activity that combines physical fitness and local history with breathtaking vineyard views.

The rooms at Hotel Am-Markt in Bacharach are comfortable and clean.After a quick snack, we checked into our spacious, clean and comfortable room at Hotel Am Markt (note there’s no elevator, if that’s an issue for you), took a quick nap and then headed out again to enjoy some of the local charm.

The Riesling gelato at Italia-76 Eiscafe is a can’t miss for wine lovers and something I’ve only ever seen in Bacharach. The family who runs the store is lovely and they also make a rose gelato that is so unique and flavourful. The small portions of a one scoop cone is easily walked off by a walk along the Rhine or an afternoon strolling the cobblestone streets. I love how not everything is super-sized in Germany, making it easy to enjoy small indulgences.

Sampling the local wine is a must-do and we settled in to taste a flight of trocken (dry) wines from Weingut Karl Heidrich. Their adorable patio was so relaxing that we visited twice during our stay and were impressed both times by the service and the wines. Our flight came in traditional Mosel-style glasses, which aren’t ideal for swirling and sniffing, but we opted to make this a relaxing travel adventure and not a structured tasting. We purchased our favourite wine from the flight, the 2015 Riesling Spatlese, as most of the local wineguts offer bottles for sale as well as lunch and/or dinner menus.

 

Pasta a la Bacharach at Hotel Am-Markt is named after the quaint town!For dinner, we returned to our hotel and Hotel Am Markt filled our bellies with delicious German cuisine. I had the pasta ala Bacharach (spaghetti in mushroom sauce) with a glass of local Riesling and Shawn had the schnitzel with a Fruh Kolsh beer. Both were very good and it was lovely to enjoy a summer evening on the outdoor patio.

It was an early night for us after a long travel day, but many of the beer gardens stay open until 11 or so on the weekends, if you want an evening out. Keep in mind that this is definitely not a late-night hot spot, but I suspect if you’re visiting a tiny German wine town that isn’t what you’re looking for.

The Rhine River as seen from Bacharach, Germany.Day 2 in Bacharach

I started my morning with a run along the Rhine, with fantastic views of the river and the vineyards. I had the path along the water practically to myself and it was a great way to start the day.

Afterwards, we opted to take a Rhine cruise, which is easily done from the waterfront. We went from Bacharach to St. Gore and back, which took about 45 minutes on the way there and an hour on the way back, due to the currents. In retrospect, I would have liked to take the train to a city a few stops ahead of Bacharach on the route in order to see more of the region. It really is magical to see from the boat tour and with drinks, snacks and full meals available on board, it’s easy to cruise for hours if you’d like.

St. Gore is another charming town similar to Bacharach, but we found there was less to do. We enjoyed visiting an artisanal beer stein emporium and marveling at their amazing creations and had a lovely walk around their old town before heading back to Bacharach on the next boat (depending on the timing, they run once an hour or so, but sometimes they skip an hour so be mindful of how much time you want to spend in a place).

Discover delicious flammkuchen in Bacharach, Germany.Back in Bacharach, we spent more time exploring the town and then had some of the best flamkuchen ever on the patio at Postof Bacharach. While the town isn’t huge, there are lots of small local wineries to explore and several interesting shops. After a glass of wine on the patio at Weingut Karl Heidrich, we headed back to the hotel for another early night, fully charmed by this wonderful wine town.

Have you been to Bacharach? Share your travel tips in the comments below or on social!

 

Wine Travel

Hamburg, Germany’s Heart Attack and Wine

September 30, 2015

Having spent a week exploring the Mosel Valley in 2013, Shawn and I expected it would be easy to find good German wine during our recent visit to Hamburg. We were surprisingly off point on that one. Not that there isn’t good German wine to be had in the city, which we are both quite smitten with, it just wasn’t quite as easy to come across as we hoped.

Almost all of the restaurants we visited during our three nights in the city had no wine list  at all and a house wine that was both cheap and Italian. Shawn had no issue with this, since he was happily choosing between dozens of ales and lagers on the ten-page beer lists many offered instead. I had researched potential wine-based restaurants and did enjoy the wine at one, but Shawn said it felt like he was at an awkward business dinner with exceptionally slow service. He had a point.

So when I saw the sign for Heart Attack and Wine during a walk along the Hamburg waterfront, I was primed for disappointment. Instead, I found a perfect German wine oasis. Part wine shop and part wine bar, Heart Attack and Wine is the type of place where you can buy a glass of wine and sit outside enjoying the sunshine or pop in to grab a reasonably-priced bottle to go.

With a name taken from the Tom Waits song “Heart Attack and Vine,” this place has a hip, urban quality, but also comes across as friendly and relaxed. I happily quizzed the proprietor about the German wines he suggested. We tried four wines altogether (two half glasses each) and the selections were a good fit for wine geek vacation patio sipping.

Shawn and I are both fans of German Riesling, but we are also excited by the many other grape varieties growing in the region. In this case, the Riesling was a favourite for both of us, but we also really enjoyed the Muskateller. I liked the 2014 Juliusspital Silvaner so much, I bought a bottle to bring home.

For wine fans planning a visit to Hamburg, I highly recommend stopping in. It’s a great addition to a trip to the waterfront and is just a few blocks away from Hamburg’s famous fish market.

Do you have any favourite wine bars in Germany? Share them in the comments or on social.

Food & Wine

Wines of Germany with iYellow Wine School

July 3, 2015
German Pinot Noir

Two years ago, Shawn and I spent a week driving around the Mosel Valley, one of the most stunning parts of German wine country. It was an unforgettable trip and I loved tasting through such a varied selection of Rieslings and other German wines.

My passion for German wines was on display at iYellow Wine Club’s recent Wine School class. Known for their wine events, iYellow also offers a fantastic range of classes that are perfect for those new-to-wine and looking for a quick and fun entrée into a region. Angela Aiello walked us through six German wines – five whites and one red – and provided good information about the various German wine regions and how the terroir affects the wines.

German wine tasting at iYellow Wine School

We started with an entry-level Gewürztraminer from Boden, which was quite nice for the price-point. It had all the typical Gewürztraminer characteristics – floral notes, a hint of sweetness and a good mouth feel. Perfect for take-out Thai food or any spicy Asian dish.

We followed that with a Salwey Pinot Gris, not a varietal I’ve had much experience with from Germany. Pinot Gris is like the more complex cousin of Pinot Grigio and I felt like this was a wine that would be better served with food. Lots of citrus, lime and green apple on the nose with high acidity and tart lemon/lime on the palate. An interesting wine.

A Sander Pinot Blanc was up next, another unusual choice for Germany, which was much more floral than I expected. There was still some tart citrus on the nose, but it was more muted overall. This was a lighter wine, with the great acidity that German wines are known for.

The Rieslings followed – very much the hallmark grape of Germany—and a personal favourite. The first wine, a kabinett from Uber, is a style I really enjoy. It was off-dry and fruity. I like kabinett’s especially as a compliment to spicy foods. This one was definitely entry-level, though, so lacked some of the nuances that can make a Riesling truly great.

The second Riesling was Loosen Bros 2014 and was likely also kabinett (the label does not say). An off-dry wine with a fruit-forward nose that had a lovey, complex sweetness. This was much more to my tastes and very much in the Mosel style.

The third Riesling, a 2011 Bollig-Lehnert spatlese was a pleasant surprise. The strong petrol note of an aged Riesling can, in my opinion, be the hallmark of a great wine experience to come. Many of those in attendance had never experienced an aged Riesling before and the gasoline notes on the nose were off-putting, but then the taste experience was a much more pleasing one. It was nice to see people discover one of the fascinating things about German Riesling and to see them enjoying this wine as much as I did.

Our final wine was a rare find in Ontario – a German Pinot Noir. While fairly easy to come by in Germany, it’s rare to see them in Canada. It’s a shame, as Germany has a great climate for Pinot and there are some good wines being made. This one, a 2012 Runkel, likely suffered a bit from being served after sweeter whites, but it had good body and I’m looking forward to enjoying the bottle I recently picked up from the LCBO to get a better sense of the wine.

Many thanks to iYellow Wine School for the invite to attend. Interested in taking a class? Visit their site to for the schedule and to register.