German Wine Country in 3 Days - Day 1 (long)

Hi - Earlier this month I was sent on a whirlwind tour of the Rhein and Mosel Valleys through my work. It was an intense trip, and had it been a personal vacation I definately would have spread it out a bit to at least a week. However, because I loved the area so much, checked out some fantastic and friendly wineries, and enjoyed some wonderfully prepared food, I thought I would share here in case anyone has plans to be in the region.
Day one was really more like two days. We left O'Hare on a Wed. afternoon and arrived in Frankfort on a Thursday morning at 6 a.m. After waiting a couple of hours at the airport for others in our group to arrive from Denver & Minnesota, we piled into a couple of vans and drove off for the Hans Wirsching winery in Franconia - another 1 1/2 hours away! We reached our destination at about 10 a.m. and happily, they had anticipated that we would be STARVING by then. Dr. Matheus had a spread of open-faced sandwiches laid out for us in their foyer and steaming carafes of coffee. Being a person who does not eat red meat or poultry, I have to admit I was a little concerned about venturing into the land of sausages & pounded veal. My fears were totally unnecessary. I found Germany to be very vegetarian-friendly. Vegans, however, might have a tougher time.
Anyway, back to the sandwiches. They were on round crusty rolls with soft centers. Four toppings were available - shaved turkey w/ cornichon, a type of pate, pimiento cheese spread with diced green olives (this was very tangy and obviously homemade - not at all like what comes out of a jar here,) and thinly sliced baby swiss w/ sliced hard-boiled egg. You would not believe how good these tasted after 3 meals of airplane food! After a few sandwiches and some coffee - on to the tasting room. Briefly, the Hans Wirsching winery was founded in 1630, is one of the biggest private wine estates in Franconia and is in its 15th generation of operation. We tasted 13 of their wines from very dry to a very sweet Silvaner Eiswein. This winery specializes in dry wines which means they are well fermented and their content of sugar lies under 4 g/l with a moderate acidity. They are not wines that most Americans associate with German wine (aka - sweet.)
After the tasting we got a tour of the cellars and then we were off on another long drive to Ruedesheim.
Ruedesheim is on the Rhein and is very charming, if a bit "touristy." We were able to explore for about 40 min. before departing on a dinner Rhein cruise on a paddlesteamer built in 1913. This tour was one of the highlights of the trip - I highly recommend it. It is a very relaxing 4 hour trip from Ruedesheim to Koblenz. Dinner is optional and extra $ but I think worth it as the dining room seats are very comfortable, at the front of the boat and offer great views. Our meal started with a very creamy wild mushroom soup. Next came a composed salad with mixed greens, marinated shredded carrots, red cabbage and beets. Surprisingly, our entrees were baked pasta with roasted vegetables, chicken and marinara sauce. (A veggie only version was prepared for me.) For dessert, a kind of tapioca pudding served in a wine glass with Champagne and red currants. All of this the 12 of us washed down with 16 bottles of Fritz Allendorf Reisling. Well, it was a four hour cruise.
We arrived in Koblenz around 8 p.m. Our luggage had been taken to the hotel in the vans ahead of us so we walked from the boat rather easily to check in to Hotel Brenner. This place was old-school charming, had a very nice staff and the rooms were very clean. We were told wake-up calls would be at 6am with breakfast served at 7am. So, I probably should have just called it an early night....however, I discovered that there is nothing like a day of Reisling tasting that just makes you crave a beer. A group of us walked a few blocks from the hotel and came upon a self-advertised "sports bar." I'm not sure exactly what made it a sports bar, other than the fact that it had a few tv's, but I do know that I have never had a Bitburger on tap in the United States that tasted that good! Maybe it was all the Reisling. In bed by 10pm and ready for day two.
Day 2 to follow...eventually. Lynn

Hans Wirsching Winery
www.wirsching.de
phone - 09323-87330
I know some of their wines are available at Binny's, I would guess Sam's may have some as well.

Hotel Brenner
Rizzastrabe 20-22
56068 Koblenz
phone - 0261-915780

HI,

I am getting quite addicted this week to armchair gourmet traveling.

Keep the details rolling as I am really enjoying your escapades.

Regards,