A WINE TRIP TO THE MOSELLE – A.K.A. BLOGGERS EATING AND DRINKING UNTIL THEY’RE FIT TO BURST.
Photos: Patrick Schwanz, Chiara Cigliutti, Antine Yzer, Leonie Kantratowicz
Text: Leonie Kantratowicz
Nittel isn’t exactly the kingdom of Far Far Away. Rather than driving around in an oversized onion, we’re in a family wagon ambling through traffic. Instead of the donkey who periodically asks if we’re there yet, we have Marc in the back seat. The 605 km trip from Hamburg to the Moselle feels like half an eternity. As the car pulls up to the gates of the Karl Sonntag Winery, we’re nearing departure from this world.
Easy Rider is a pretty unrealistic portrayal of how you look after a road trip.
We were as proud as peacocks when we were crowned the Second Best Newcomers in Ballroom B of Berlin’s Grand Hyatt at the 2016 Food Blog Awards. Who could’ve guessed? Our prize, a wine trip to the Moselle, elicited quite a few cheers.
You can read about it all here and here.
We’ll never say no to wine, it’s just not right. We eagerly counted and ticked off the days on the calendar – and now we’re standing in the warm evening sun (wearing a t-shirt at seven in the evening, what the…?!). Beaming, we greet Christoph who had come from no so far away Bacharach.
Squad goals
Chiara taps her watch, “we need to go soon.” We jump into some more adequate clothing and waddle 200m to Zilliken winery’s “Sekt Shed” – in Nittel all paths are short (praise the lord). At the get-together on the deck, we recognise a lot of faces – Sascha and Thorsten from Die Jungs kochen und backen, Mara from Maras Wunderland, Eva and Philipp from Ye Olde Kitchen, and Kathrin from Fleurcoquet. A real reunion, and I’m loving it!
Ansgar Schmitz, managing director of “Weinland Mosel”, organiser of the wine trip, and human wine-dictionary hands me my first glass of the evening. It sparkles and shines alluringly. I like Ansgar. The Elbling sekt really is a good wine, made better after the ten hours spent without a substantial meal. I’m not gonna lie – after two glasses I’m certain I can fly far far away.
The Zilliken Winery is a third-generation, family-run business. In addition to wine, the enterprise began to produce sekt just over a century after it was founded in 1881. That’s now all done in Trier. There’s also a guest house next to the restaurant. “Shop, eat, sleep, that’s what we thought would work well”, Annelise Zilliken smilingly tells us over dinner on the upper floor of what was once the stables. I know that lifestyle has worked out pretty well for me so far.
You know it’s been a boozy evening when the question “how did I get here” permeates through your head. I stand shivering in my bikini in the crisp night air, sharp stones poking into my feet and the dark water of the Moselle lapping at my stomach. “Plastered” is a good describing word. Antine is squealing next to me in the water and the boys are sitting out of arm’s reach on dry land. Two days later Ansgar tells us that the blue-green algae content in the Mosel is not so insignificant. But hey, at least we had fun.
Cheeeeeeeers!!!!
SOME SAY THAT THE BEST CURE IS TO HAVE MORE OF WHAT AILED YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE.
Hearty food – that’s also a classic remedy. Down here though, it’s a little different: who said we’re to drunk to drive? The spinning head, hazy sight, and upset stomach combination has always had the appeal of sweaty, used bowling shoes.
On Saturday morning at ten, we sceptically watch Ansgar at the boat wharf loading everybody, one after the other, into the massive red plastic canoes and pushing them enthusiastically into the Saar.
Even though it’s not the way to Mount Doom, it still seems just as daunting.
Our group soon takes the form of a few red dots on the horizon. Choosing an alternative route, Chiara, Antine, and I manoeuvre purposefully through the riverbank’s flora and fauna. As we drag half the Saar’s vegetation behind us, we start to find our rhythm. The current continues to carry us softly through the river’s only remaining natural greenery.
Here and there, large tree trunks reach into the water, herons watch our journey from the branches, and the vineyard’s hills tower above us. Our voyage through the water is just as graceful as Pocahontas’ would have been, though something leads me to believe that the chief’s daughter would not have glided through Virginia’s rivers roaring “CHANNING TATUM!!” as a battle cry.
Despite all the premature scepticism, I’m almost a little sad when the finish line begins to appear from behind the trees. Though I’m a little all over the place, I still had quite a bit of fun during the hour spent on the water. And the best part: no sign of that pesky hangover.
Canoeing was good and well, but… where is the wine? Granted, a winery is only part of a wine trip. But as you know, you shouldn’t judge a day before the evening. I can promise you this: at the Moselle, appetites and livers are strong – we’re not scared of anything. After all, you can handle anything once you’ve got some experience!
Teaser for part II: Will our heroes withstand the wine flood? Will our ladies finally manage to be on time? And who even is Gunther Jauch? You’ll find out, next time!
THE BLOGS:
These wonderful humans accompanied us. Sexy, smart and good at cooking. They also have some pretty sweet blogs.
WEBSITES:
Knows everything about wine and the region (and everything): Ansgar Schmitz
To sleep:
To sleep, eat, drink, and buy delicious wine from:
To do some canoeing:
