Paula Maia's Wine blog

Trier is known as the oldest city in Germany, founded by the Romans around or before 16 BC. The vineyard-covered university city lies on the east bank of the Mosel and has been producing wine for as long as it exists.

Not too far from Porta Nigra- the best preserved Roman city gate- and across from the Cathedral, is the city’s largest Weinstube, with its cellar right underneath the City Hall. The adjacent wine bar has a gorgeous garden, which happens to be City Hall’s garden, is a favorite hang out spot amongst locals and visitors.

It was there that I had my first Federweisser, a young wine that’s mostly must. Almost like a grape juice with about 4%alc that’s not entirely fermented. Sounds complicated, goes by many different names, but nonetheless delicious. It’s worth googling both Federweisser and Trier.

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Piesport is a well known wine town in the Mosel. Home of the oldest Roman grape pressing house, it shows that steep-site viticulture has been a part of Piesport for nearly 2,000 years. We didn’t get to see the press house, but were quite impressed to hear about it.

Weingut Reinhold Haart is only a stone-trow from the Mosel. Immediately behind their house lies the Piesporter Goldtröpfchen vineyard, supposedly the best vineyard site in the area. The Haarts are probably Piesport’s oldest wine-growing family and one of the oldest private wine estates in the region, with wine making documented since 1337.

It was gloomy and we wanted to get to Trier early. Obviously we couldn’t be in Piesport and not try a Piesporter Riesling. We chose Weingut Kurt Hain as the place to have our last sip on the Mosel. There we had a really nice range of full-bodied Rieslings from soft fruit to rich, luscious TBA.

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Mr. and Mrs. Junk spoiled us rotten at Weingut Kranz-Yunk in Brauneberg. First there was a very long talk about their wines, the region, the soil, the climate, the VdP and then a ‘hands on’ tour of their cellar, where Josef taught us the ins and outs of his wine making followed by a barrel tasting. After selecting the wines we were buying, Mr.Junk labeled them right on the spot, just for us!

Even though Weingut Kranz-Junk is located in Mittelmosel, the wines are quite dry. The residual sugar can be high, but it goes almost unnoticed giving the high acidity that balances it out. At the time they were not a member of the VdP, but the wines were certainly one of the best we had on the entire trip.

Sadly you won’t find Junk’s wines in the US, but next time you are in the Mosel make sure you grab a bottle or stop by. For a chance to sleep amidst the vines you can stay in their gastehaus and won’t be disappointed.

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As we continued our journey south, the wines started to get sweeter and sweeter due to the warmer climate, vineyard position and soil composition. There were Kabinetts with RS of a Spatlese and higher. We love the Mosel Rieslings, but we quickly learned that we prefer them with a much higher acidity and much lower residual sugar than we were getting.

Bernkastel is a town located right in the middle of the Mosel and it is over 700 years old. It has a medieval market square surrounded by many well preserved half-timbered houses that today is home to restaurants and cafes.

Kues is just opposite the river. The wines are very well known, being viticulture and tourism their main industries. I couldn’t believe the buses loaded with tourists and the cobble stone streets full of souvenir stands. I had no choice but by a post card and move right along.

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With the rain it was hard to see what was around, but the shape of the steepy vineyards gave room to the imagination. We were staying in a guesthouse right on the Mosel in Briedel, and arrived just on time to order a Sekt and chill on the porch overlooking the river. I wish I could stop time and live in that idyllic scenario forever.

The good news is that early in the morning we went straight to Graach, where we visited Weingut Kees Kieren. I had had one of their Rieslings before and went there knowing how good they were, however, I was blown away by the quality of their other wines as well as their sparkling grape juice!

Production is limited and rarely comes to the US, so the only way of tasting Kees Kieren wines is there, in Germany. Oh well, twist my arm.

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Here we are, in our most anticipated wine region.  I had seen many pictures of the Mosel, but it didn’t do any justice. The cliffy, terraced vineyards of the valley on the river banks with its million loops is like a dance of nature. Breathtaking; simply stunning.

At Weingut Heymann-Lowenstein, in Winningen, Reinhard Lowenstein was incredibly generous and talked to us for hours. He passionately explained how the concept of terroir is so important and that his elegant and subtle Rieslings are only possible because of the marginal climate in the northern Mosel. So captivating, one can listen to Mr. Lowenstein brilliance eternally, hopefully in the company of any of his magnificent wines.

We left in owe and went straight to dinner down the road. Naturally we ordered one of Mr.Lowenstein’s best wines, a Riesling Uhlen Blaufüßer Lay, a ‘Erste Lage’- similar to Erstes Gewachs, First Growth or Grand Cru (for detailed explanation go to German VDP). The wine was ethereal, with complex lush layers of minerality, herbs and exotic fruit. It was one of the happiest moments of my life. Thank you Reinhard!

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