Hocheimer Market

I was in the Hocheimer Market last night. It is a 500 year old tradition that is in between a typically traditional market, a wine festival and Oktoberfest and continues until November 8th. The rides amusement park rides and the booths selling all sorts of things attracts thousands from all over but of course It was the winestands that held my attention. Every winery in Hochheim had a tasting stand and I was able to meet the owners of Franz Kuenstler, Schrieber, and W.J. Shaefer.  They were all very modest people, especially considering they produce some of the finest white wine in the world. Most wines (with the exception of Kuenstler who has a real international name) were just as modest.

My experiences last night highlighted some observations I had previously noticed about Germans and their wine. There is an attitude (among some) that aging wines is unnecessary.  I find this baffling, given the mouth puckering acidity of young German Rieslings and comparing previous vintages plainly shows the benefits of time. Perhaps they are applying rules for beer (the fresher the better) to wine.

 The people last night (who were of this mindset), learned of my sommelier training and quizzed me about what was going on with a particular 2010 Riesling we were drinking. I felt uncomfortable, a bit defensive and had to resist the urge to Bullshit them with winespeak.
 
The wine in question was a baby. If I was on my first glass  I could maybe have given some deeper insight as to what these wines will evolve into but the honest answer was underwhelming: "It's peachy, lots of acidity, some minerality."

I would compare it to asking about the musical tastes of a toddler.  The answer is unlikely to be a preference for Brahms and the occasional Miles Davis tune and more likely to be Old MacDonald and the Itsy bitsey Spider song.  It is only after these wines 'grow up' that their personality becomes more specific and refined. This is true with the vast majority of fine wine.

A few days on the Mosel

So I went to the Mosel early last week and had some really great experiences. In the 'Kues' section of Bernkastel-Kues I met a really cool older Hippie named Sammy who runs a popular bar in the old train station.  I had gone in to find out where Wehlen was so Sammy took me over to another section of the station out of which he rents bikes. He gave me an awesome map showing every bike route in the Mosel region and then invited me to have a coffee.  He really liked my bike and we talked about that and life in the town. I told him how I had climbed the famous 'Doktor' vineyard whose steep slopes flank the town and how I had found it to be a real meditative experience.  He liked that and invited me to have breakfast with him and his wife.

It was just one of those experiences that reminds you of the goodness one can find in others if you are open to it.  This theme continued after I had left Sammy and his wife and arrived at S.A. Pruem where I met Raimund and his wife. I had expected a guy with a big ego, someone who sees my visit as a huge favour or a chance to revel in his own greatness (the description of him on the website gives you this impression).  Who I met instead was a soft spoken gentleman with the kindest eyes I can remember. He appologized that he could not take me through his wines, but he had his wife take me through the selection. They were showstoppers. All 19 that we tried.  Pirjo his wife (second wife from Finnland where she owns and runs a successful fine dinning restaurant) was perfect to talk with since we could talk about these wines from a restaurant wine list perspective.  Three hours later  it was time to leave and it had started to rain. I rode back the way I had come assuming that if Bernkastel Kues had an old train station, then the would surely have a new one somewhere.  My assumptions get me into so much trouble. So after seeing Sammy's wife returning home from I found out that I had to get back to the town I arrived at: Wittlich which was almost 20km away.  That distance really isn't too bad especially after the uplifting day I had I felt up to anything. 

Once I began the ride out of Bernkastel it started to rain harder, but was still nothing to worry about. It wasn't untill I hit the 5 km mark that it really started raining.  At this point it was 5:15 and I really wasn't sure when the next train back to Koblenz was leaving.  That uncertainty spurred me on despite the increasingly heavy rain fall.  There came a point where I was completely soaked. While this is not pleasant (especially when it is only 13 degrees out) I still had the wonderful experiences of the day keeping my spirits up. Finally I made it to Witlich and waited for the train.  That is when the cold began to get to me (since I had stopped moving). I was frozen and once I got on the train I gathered the driest clothes in my bag and hit up the smelly bathroom to change. By the time I got home (2 1/2 hours later) I was pretty much dry, although I had to put back on my soaked cycling shoes for the ride back to Juergen's.