Wine bars in Trier – “Weinsinnig”

August 14, 2011

That’s how it started

Near my mother’s place in Trier, there was a car parked on the street, which had caught my attention.

It advertised for a wine bar and shop of which I never had heard off before. “Weinsinnig” was the name of the place.

It took me a while until I had the opportunity to check it out myself. I learned that “Weinsinnig” had already opened in 2009. As a creature of habit I patronize the places I know since many years and somehow neglected the search for the new.

The brochure

We had seen the window of the bar in the daytime and knew it was opening only after 17h (Sunday closed). On our last evening in Trier, a warmish Tuesday night, we went to gain a first hand experience of it.

The wine list on the wall

“Weinsinnig” was a very pleasant surprise. Made for the young, with innovative ideas and concepts, it offers with a wine experience of a different kink. It starts with the absence of a wine list. Instead one can “walk the wine list”, which means along the wall the wines on offer by the glass (see photo above) are displayed (a bottle and a short description of the wine/winery). You walk along an select your wine.

A larger shelf displays the wines sold by the bottle either for home consumption or for enjoyment on thew premises.

Food is limited to “Flammkuchen”, the German-Alsatian equivalent to a simple pizza. Once a month a tasting with a wine-maker is scheduled in the form of a quiz, which seems to be a lot of fun.

Since we had sampled a lot of the local wines from the Mosel during the past couple of days, I went for a wine from the Pfalz (Palatinate). My choice was a ‘2007 Kalkmergel Pinot Noir’ by the Knipser winery, in Laumersheim.

The first Knipser wine was ‘credenced’ to me by my old friend Norbert in 1991 when we both worked in Beijing, China.

2007 Knipser Pinot Noir, Pfalz

2011 has been a ripper year for the Knipser family. Three of the most respected wine guides awarded the Knisper Estate the highest recognition level (5 stars/grapes, etc.). It’s white wine collection was awarded by the Eichelmann wie guide “the best collection of the year” for the Knipser Riesling, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay wines.

2007 “Kalkmergel” Pint Noir by Knipser, Pfalz

The wine is round and full with aromas of raspberries and cherries. It has fine tannins, a good balance of the acids and a good structure. I liked the long finish.

Trier at night

“Weinsinnig’ was a true find. The service is excellent, the wine prices moderate and if you need blankets or cushions because the temperature outside is a bit on the lower side, they will oblige and help to keep you warm.

If you visit Trier, I recommend you reserve an evening for a wine tasting at this young and modern wine bar.

Address:
Weinsinnig Weinbar und verkauf
Palaststr. 12
D-54290 Trier
Tel.: +49-651-9790156
www.weinsinnig.com

Weingut Knipser
Johannishof
Haupstraße 47
D-76229 Laumersheim/Pfalz
Tel.: +49-6238-742
Fax.: +49-62384-377
www.weingut-knipser.de

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Wine bars in Trier: Weinstube Kesselstatt

April 10, 2011

Wine bar Kesselstatt in Trier

A place I just love to visit while in my home town Trier, Mosel is a cosy wine bar-cum-restaurant near the cathedral, called Weinstube (wine bar) Kesselstatt.

It is housed in the historic administrative building of the Estate Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt, a well known winery with a long tradition (more than 600 years – difficult for us Australians to comprehend).

In front of the building is a replica of a tomb stone called the “Roman wine ship” found in Neumagen-Drohn, a village at the Mosel river, in 1878. In 220 it used to be one of two stones marking the grave of a Roman wine merchant. Honestly, I would love to get such a tombstone set on my own grave. What a hoot.

Today the winery is owned by the Reh family. Annegret Reh-Gartner manages the 36 ha of prime vineyards located along the rivers: Mosel (12 ha), Saar (12 ha) and Ruwer (12) ha. 98% of the area is under Riesling. The estate calls itself “the Riesling winery”.

When I strolled through the town at the end of March, I could not resist its magnetism and dropped in for a quick glass of wine.

The inside of wine bar Kesselstatt

Because the Kesselstatt estate owns vineyards along the three rivers constituting the former wine region of Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, one has a great choice of different Riesling wines.

I ordered a semi-dry Riesling from Scharzhofberg, a grand-cru of the outstanding Saar Riesling wines. Normally I avoid semi-dry wines but because of the early hours of my visit I just could not go for a dry Riesling.

2010 Scharzhofberger Riesling semi-dry, Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt

What a delight this wine is! I dissolved, so to say, this is Riesling at its best, and I tend to argue that none in the world is better. Lush and full, round but with zest, a titillating pleasure for the palate.

Below you will find pictures of the inside of the bar. There are old barrels filled with bottles, a old wooden press, and a side room with a map of the estates’ vineyard locations and other interesting wine paraphernalia.

Wine bottles in old barrels

A huge wooden wine press with a church bench in front

The function room

When I left the Kesselstatt wine bar revitalized and in high spirits, I walked out to a cherry tree in full blossom with a splendid view of the adjacent church of St. Liebfrauen and the cathedral (Dom, left).

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Di Vino – wine bar in Thonglor, Bangkok

February 7, 2011

The entry of di Vino wine bar in Thonglor

If you walk through the Thonglor-Ekkamai neighbourhood in Bangkok you might come to the conclusions that wine bars are like mushrooms, sprouting everywhere.

A good place to hang out, enjoy a glass of wine and have some Italian cuisine, is di Vino, a small and cosy wine bar in Thonglor, Bangkok. The play on words is funny too, is it “divine” or “of wine”? Both I suggest.

Roberto, the manager-owner, is a very sociable guy and a pleasure to talk to. He loves quality in wine and food and he is also a good cook. For my wife he made a fegato dish (liver), very difficult to make indeed, which was just superb. And he offers some great wine choices.

For instance the ‘2003 Il Lemos Negroamaro’ by Leone di Castris. The wine is not displayed on the website of Leone de Castris any more. You will fnid there only younger vintages. But the company has a wide selection of different wines on offer.

Leone de Castris was established in 1925 and the winery was the first in Italy which bottled rose wines. Many of its products are made from indigeneous grape varieties such as Negroamara, Primitivo and Aleatico.

2003 Il Lemos by Leone de Castris

This Negroamaro from Puglia produced in the Salento region, the heel of Italy, is just wonderful. It is a very earthy wine, rustic in character. Often it is blended with the highly scented Malvasia Negra as in the case of Salice Salentino. The grape produces some of the best wines of southern Italy.

Roberto has still some bottles left of the 2003 vintage, but you have to hurry to taste it before it is gone.

Address:
Di Vino
Penny’s Balcony, Thong Lo Soi 55,
Sukhumvit Road, Watthana, Bangkok, 10110

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