| If you are looking for fine German wine and food, | | | | purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian |
| consider the Rheinhessen region of southwestern | | | | food store, here are a few suggestions of what |
| Germany. You may find a bargain, and I hope | | | | to eat with indigenous wines when touring this |
| that you'll have fun on this fact-filled wine | | | | beautiful region. Start with Zweibelkuchen (Onion |
| education tour in which we review a local red | | | | Pie). For your second course enjoy Haxen und |
| Dornfelder. | | | | Bratkartoffeln (Pork Hocks and Home Fries). As a |
| Rheinhessen is a relatively small area, sometimes | | | | dessert indulge yourself with Frankfurter Kranz |
| called the land of the thousand hills, nestled | | | | (Buttercream Cake). |
| between the Rhine and the Nahe Rivers. It | | | | OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we |
| already was known for its wines in the days of | | | | taste and review are purchased at the full retail |
| Charlemagne. To some extent it is famous or | | | | price. |
| infamous for Liebfraumilch, to be reviewed in | | | | Wine Reviewed Rappenhof Dornfelder Trocken |
| another article in this series. Of all the German | | | | 2004 13.0% alcohol about $15.50 |
| regions Rheinhessen is the one with the largest | | | | Let's start by quoting the marketing materials. |
| area planted in wine grapes and also has the | | | | Dornfelder is a cross, bred in 1956 by August |
| highest wine production. Rheinhessen alone claims | | | | Herold. In its genealogy, the grape claims every |
| over a quarter of the German wine acreage and | | | | important red vine grown in Germany. |
| wine production. It is also produces the highest | | | | Fortunately, it has inherited most of the positive |
| percentage of generally low quality table wine, | | | | attributes and very few of the negative. The |
| coming in at almost 12%. More than 60% of | | | | wines are deeply coloured, velvety in texture with |
| Rheinhessen wine is middle quality QbA wine, and | | | | hints of floral. Slightly off-dry, this example gives |
| a bit more than 25% is higher quality QmP wine. | | | | good aroma replays on the palate. Serve with |
| About seven of eight bottles contain white wine, | | | | Wiener schnitzel. Now for the review. (By the |
| but the percentage of red wine is increasing. The | | | | way, I thought the color was more of a dark |
| most widely grown varieties are the German | | | | rose.) |
| hybrid Mueller-Thurgau and Silvaner. The usually | | | | My first pairing was with a barbecued, marinated |
| higher quality Riesling represents about 10% of | | | | rib steak with potato patties, potato wedges, and |
| the total production. Dornfelder is the most widely | | | | a commercially prepared eggplant and tomato side |
| planted red grape variety. The marketing | | | | dish. When I ate the meat and potatoes the wine |
| materials, quoted below, present one viewpoint of | | | | came out very short with moderate fruit. It crept |
| this German-bred grape. | | | | back into the woodwork when faced with a fairly |
| Mainz has a population of about eighty thousand. | | | | powerful eggplant dish. |
| It is one of the centers of the German wine | | | | The next tasting involved a cheeseless broccoli, |
| trade. It is the capital of Rheinland-Pfalz, the only | | | | mushroom, and zucchini quiche with mashed |
| German state government that has a wine | | | | potatoes. The Dornfelder tasted sour and I |
| minister. The city is built on the site of a two | | | | sensed some sort of strange fruit in the |
| thousand year-old Roman citadel. In this part of | | | | background. I finished the glass with beer nuts. |
| the world two thousand years is a short time; a | | | | The wine was fairly flat but the sourness did |
| local museum contains three hundred thousand | | | | disappear. |
| year-old artifacts. In season the Marktplatz | | | | The final meal consisted of meatballs in a tomato |
| (Market) and Höfchen (Little Courtyard) buzz | | | | sauce with rice and green beans. The wine was |
| with farmers selling their wares on Tuesday, | | | | somewhat rounder than before but was still ever |
| Friday, and Saturday. Check the exact dates for | | | | so short. I thought I was drinking an alcoholic fruit |
| the annual Sektfest (Sparkling Wine Festival) held | | | | juice. |
| in late May or early June and then Johannisnacht, | | | | The initial cheese pairing was with a French goat |
| another wine festival several weeks later. | | | | cheese that really resembled a Camembert. While |
| Other sites to see include the Dom (Cathedral of | | | | the wine was a bit flat it did taste lightly of black |
| St. Martin and St. Stephan) which broke ground | | | | cherries. Then I went to a Swiss Gruyere. The |
| shortly prior to the turn of the first millennium. | | | | Dornfelder did become a bit more robust but lost |
| Because of seven fires most of the Cathedral is | | | | some of its fruit on the way. I terminated this |
| newer, dating from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth | | | | disappointing bottle with a locally produced, fairly |
| Centuries. The cloisters contain a museum of | | | | sharp Asiago cheese that I prefer to its |
| religious artifacts. Right near by is the Gutenberg | | | | presumably more authentic Italian cousin. Finally a |
| Museum. Other local museums are devoted to the | | | | decent pairing; the wine was pleasant. |
| Middle Ages, Roman warships, art, plants, animals, | | | | Final verdict. I had no intention of reviewing two |
| and fossils. If all this touring makes you thirsty for | | | | Dornfelders one right after the other. But we |
| more than knowledge visit the Kupferberg | | | | don't get many of them in our neck of the |
| Sektkellerei (sparkling wine cellars), the deepest on | | | | woods so I figured why not give it a try. I am |
| earth. There are several concert halls, theaters, | | | | definitely not planning on a third round before the |
| night clubs, and wine bars. Not far from the city | | | | cows come home. I fail to see why such a grape |
| are the Mainz Sand Dunes, a tiny area home to | | | | should cost more than many better grapes from |
| plants and animals rarely seen in Western Europe. | | | | German and other countries. Needless to say, if |
| Before reviewing the Rheinhessen wine and | | | | this wine were better... |
| imported cheeses that we were lucky enough to | | | | |