Restaurant review: Der Schützenhof, Würzburg, Frankonia

November 21, 2010

Der Schützenhof

A great place to eat and be merry in the town of Würzburg in Franconia is “Der Schützenhof“, a German country inn with a long and strong tradition. The views from it’s terrace are spectacular. You sit above the roofs of the historical city, so to say.

Great views

On top of the world and above the roofs – below: the city of Würzburg

The “Schützenhof” is not only famous for its views, but for it’s traditional German cuisine as well. I just love these tasty, robust, rural dishes made as if grandma had prepared them herself. Look at the pictures below, are they not mouthwatering? The food is just excellent, German country cuisine at it’s best.

Local Franconian sausages

Potato dumplings with roasted pork

Noodles/pasta with salmon

A local Franconian wine

I ordered the house wine, a local drop made from the Silvaner grape. My friends Romy and Friedel prefer other grapes for instance “Gutedel”, also known as Chasselas grape in France. But they also like Mueller-Thurgau, Pinot Blanc and Gris, Kernen etc.

With about 6,000 ha under vines Franconia produces excellent wines. It is famous for it’s dry Silvaner wines bottled in the so called “Bocksbeutel”, a rounded and flattened bottle type.

Franconia is a wine land (or German wine region) which wine enthusiast should explore. You’ll find amazing drops. Check it out.

Address:
Der Schützenhof
Mainleitenweg 48
97082 Würzburg,
Germany
Te.: +49-931-72422 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +49-931-72422      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +49-931-72422      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
www.schuetzenhof-wuerzburg.de

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Franconian treasure: Weingut Schmitt’s Kinder

November 14, 2010

2007 Randersackerer Sonnenstuhl by Schmitt’s Kinder

One of the best Franconia wineries is Schmitt’s Kinder in Randersacker, a lovely village of about 3,500 people along the Main river, about 30 minutes from Wuerzburg, the capital city of Lower Franconia.

We have visited Randersacker in 2008 and cultivate fond memories of this (much too short) visit.

The name “Schmitt’s Kinder” (in English Schmitt’s children) goes back to 1910 when the children of the vintner (Schmitt) did not, as is the custom in Lower Franconia, divide the property after the fathers death among the siblings, but instead opted to jointly cultivate the land.

The winery is currently under the management of the 10th generation of vintners: Karl Martin and Renate Marie Schmitt. The total area under vines is bout 14 ha in the locations “Randersackerer Sonnenstuhl”, “Marsberg”, “Teufelskeller”, “Pfülben” and “Ewig Leben”.

Main variety is Silvaner, followed by Riesling, Mueller-Thurgau, Scheurebe, Pinot Blanc, Bacchus, Domina and Pinot Noir.

The ‘2004 Randersackerer Sonnenstuhl Pinot Noir’ won the 2006 Pinot Noir Cup for best Pinot Noir wine of the world!!!! Can you imagine? That’s just great, a German Pinot Noir beating the best of France and Australia.

The back label, very modest and unassuming

Our friends Romy and Friedel Engisch in Wuerzburg offered exactly that wine when we visited last August. I tell you also the 2007 vintage of this Pinot Noir is first class. Amazing what Pinot Noir wines Germany can produce.

If you have the opportunity to get your hands on a bottle of this wine, do so immediately. Total production is quite limited but the price level is very reasonable.

Romy and Friedel Engisch with their guests from Bangkok

Address:
Weingut Schmitt’s Kinder
Am Sonnenstuhl 45
D-97236 Randersacker
Tel.: +49-931 / 70 59-1 97
Fax: +49- 0931 / 70 59-1 98
www.schmitts-kinder.de/

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Effervescent Silvaner

August 19, 2010

Great Franconian wines in the bocksbeutel bottle

I just love the wines from the Silvaner grape. Most of Silvaner is grown in Alsace and Franconia, one of my favourite German wine regions. Many of the wines from Franconia come in the famous “Bocksbeutel” bottle.

What I did not know is that some Silvaner producers also make the grape into sparkling wine. One of these essences was served to me during a recent family gathering in Reichenberg near Wuerzburg.

2008 Wertheimer Tauberklinge Silvaner extra dry

The ‘2008 Wertheimer Tauberklinge Silvaner sparkling extra dry’ (12.% alc. vol., 3.6 g. acid/litre and 14.7. g. sugar/litre) was a wonderful effervescent experience.

I think this wine from “Tauberfranken” technically belongs to the Baden wine region and not Franconia. However, nice Silvaner are produced their that’s for sure, and it’s just right at the border of these two outstanding German wine regions.

Effervescent Silvaner

This wine was very refreshing, spritzy with zest and round fruityness, very pleasurable indeed. I will have more of it in the future. Thanks go to my folks in Reichenberg for introducing me to this excellent sparkling wine.

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Restaurant review: Weinhaus Spielberg, Randersacker/Franconia

May 13, 2010

Randersacker

The settlement of Randersacker, Franconia

One of my favourite wine regions in Germany is Franconia. My maternal grandparents came from this part of the country. My grandfather, Hans Heinrich Schuessler, was the man who introduce me to the pleasures and the mystery of grape wine. He was a native of Reichenberg, a small hamlet just south of the city Wuerzburg, the capital of the region. Randersacker is situated at the opposite side (from Reichenberg) of the Main river. We visited the place while touring Germany some time ago.

Spielberg1

The inscription on the Bocksbeutel bottle reads: In vino veritas

The market town of Randersacker was first mentioned in a historical record in 779 AC. The historical centre of the town, though small, is quite nice and worth visiting. We were on our way back to Wuerzburg but wanted to have dinner at Weinhaus Spielberg.

Franconia produces outstanding wines, mostly Sylvaner/Silvaner but I like also the Riesling wines. It’s speciality is the Bocksbeutel, a wine bottle in the form of an ellipsoid. This is what we came for when we selected Weinhaus Spielberg as our target.

Spielberg2

A coaster of Weinhaus Spielberg

Weinhaus Spielberg is a traditional country inn where solid German food and good local wines are served. We ordered some local specialities, especially typical Franconian dishes. The two pictures below might give you an idea what food I have in mind. We had the house wine with the food, a very refreshing, young and delicious Silvaner.

Spielberg4

Spielberg3

The service is very efficient, the waiters are friendly and very helpful. At times the Weinhaus is very busy. However, there is no need to fret, you will highly satisfied with what you will get. My credo: visit the place yourself, and see with your own eyes, taste with your own taste buds and have fun in Franconia.

Address:
Weinhaus Spielberg
Stefanie Sokoll
Lurzengasse 3
97236 Randersacker

Tel.: +49-931 / 708391
Fax: +49-931 / 709957
E-Mail: Spielberg-AS@t-online.de
www.weinhaus-zum-spielberg.de

Opening hours:
Monday – Sunday: 11 – 24 h
Friday: open from 17.00 h
closed: Thursday

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German “Brotzeit”

May 27, 2009

Brotzeit

“Brotzeit” freely translated into English means “Time for a bread”; it is a German custom of a meal between meals, a snack one could say, which was very widespread in German lands when most of the population was doing hard physical labour.

During my recent visit to Germany I had the opportunity to indulge into this old German custom. Today, even small bottles of wine are “custom made” to this effect. Ever since my grandfather introduced me to Franconian “Bocksbeutel-wine”, I am a lover of Silvaner from the Main and the Fraconian wine region.

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As the river….

October 24, 2008

Most German wine regions (not all) take their name from the river which runs through the territory planted with grape vines. This is true for the Mosel, Saar, Ruwer, Rhine, and Nahe to name but a few. Vine growing in my native Germany is intrinsically linked to rivers and river systems which is partly due to the availability of steep slopes catching the last beams of sun.

The village of Schoden at the Saar river, in the background, the location Ayler Kupp (photo taken from the location “Herrenberg”)

Recently my writing style has been characterized as “meandering” (by David Harden, thanks David) and meandering I do. In fact the purpose of my whole blog is meandering. Meandering between the old and the new world and its wines, meandering between my actual live in a big Asian metropolitan city and my desired live in a rural place in Victoria, Australia, meandering between the many identities I have acquired over the years working in Asia and my future as an Australian vintner and wine maker.

Wuerzburg at the Main river and its vineyards

The second part of the title sentence goes as follows: “…so the wine”. This is certainly true for Germany. I have to find a similar “alliteration” for Glenburn and the Upper Goulburn Wine Region.

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