Wines of Germany

Wines of Germany attract the best to Sommelier Spring Class 2010

Despite the best efforts of the unpronounceable Icelandic volcano, 47 top sommeliers from around the world arrived in Frankfurt on schedule last week for Wines of Germany’s Sommelier Spring Class 2010, excited and ready for four days of fun and German wine discovery…

This year's group was comprised of a variety of nationalities, including Americans, Canadians, Dutch, Poles, Spaniards, Norwegians and New Zealanders amongst others. The UK contingent included sommeliers from some of London’s most famous and respected restaurants, such as Chez Bruce, China Tang, Home House and Lutyens, all eager to learn more about German wine and taste the amazing German Rieslings and Spatburgunders the country is known for.

The trip commenced within hours of everyone arriving on the Friday evening with a visit to Weingut Kloster Eberbach in Hattenheim. The group enjoyed a fascinating talk and tour of the winery, followed by dinner and a tutored tasting by the ever-hospitable Dieter Greiner. By the end of the evening, everyone was getting on famously (despite the rather amusing language barriers!) with everyone discussing the merits of the wines and getting excited about the days to follow.

Day 2 began with a visit to Germany’s top viticultural studies centre, the Geisenheim Institute where the group was officially welcomed by Steffen Schindler from the DWI (German Wine Institute) who gave an insightful talk on the German wine industry, indentifying current trends such as an increase in plantings of white wine varietals and the Riesling renaissance in international markets.

 This was followed by three tutored tastings – namely Rieslings and other white varietals in different terroirs, the ageing potential of German Riesling and Discovering German Pinot Noirs - led by Hendrik Thoma, one of Germany’s leading Master Sommeliers alongside top producers Katharina Prüm and Konrad Salwey. After departing the Geisenheim, there was time for a brief rest before the grand “Ball des Weines” held at the magnificent Kurhaus in Wiesbaden that evening, to celebrate the 100^th birthday of the VDP. The ball, which is attended each year by the German wine industry’s leading figures, was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone, with many sommeliers storming the dance floor until the small hours!

There was no time for hangovers the next day as it was off to Mainz for the VDP’s Weinbörse fair. The DWI had thoughtfully provided everyone with an aspirin for the morning – an inspired idea for which the majority were extremely thankful!

The Weinbörse was a hub of activity with all the VDP’s producers there to unveil their 2009 wines to visitors and peers for the first time. Already being hailed as a historic vintage, feedback from sommeliers suggested they were inclined to agree with many busy discussing business opportunities with producers – German wine importers, take note! For further details on the Weinbörse, read the VDP’s full report here: http://www.vdp.de/en/weinboerse

After the Weinbörse, the group split into sub-groups for their respective two-day regional wine visits to the Mosel, Rheingau and Franken. I was lucky enough to join the Mosel trip which included a sumptuous dinner and a tasting with Johannes Selbach from Selbach-Oster, a tasting of wines produced by members of the Moseljünger group, including Weingut Peter Lauer and Weingut Willems-Willems, followed by lunch with two of their leading producers Florian Lauer and Sebastian Oberbillig from Weingut Deutschherrenhof. Following lunch, the group stopped off in the beautiful city of Trier, where we tasted yet more fantastic Mosel wines from the Mosel Winekulturland, before heading off to see the extremely steep slopes the region is famous for and to meet leading German producer Markus Molitor for dinner (cooked by non other than Granny Molitor!) and a tasting of his extensive and exquisite portfolio.

The final day saw all the sommeliers somewhat sad to leave, but encouragingly all were leaving with a renewed passion for German wines. There was just one winery visit left – this time to the beautiful grounds of Schlossgut Diel in Nahe, where Armin and Caroline Diel welcomed us with a glass of their deliciously elegant Riesling Sekt before giving us a tutored tasting on their top quality wines and a tour of their cellars.

And with that, we were bound for the airport – full of wine, food and memories of a fantastic trip! Huge thanks to the entire DWI team, particularly Ulrike Lenhardt, for all her efforts organising the various itineraries. Roll on Sommelier Spring Class 2011!