Day 10, Wednesday May 19, 2016

Stephanie Price

Overview:

• Riverboat cruise
• Weingut Haxel winery and vineyard

The single goal of today? Relax, according to our guide Hans, and throughout today I would agree that we did! It was chilly but bright outside when I woke up at 6:30 AM to get ready for breakfast. We had agreed on a 7:00 AM breakfast, but when our group met up at the bottom of the hostel for breakfast, we learned that breakfast actually began at 7:30 AM! However, the hostel employees managing breakfast were very kind and opened it up at 7:15 AM for us. My favorite food at breakfast were these soft and flakey croissants; I made sure to eat several.

After breakfast, we boarded our bus and drove for two hours. Most people slept during this time, but those who stayed awake were blessed with beautiful scenery. As the bus drove down the hillside on a narrow road, we saw from our windows thickly forested valleys and yellow fields of canola and lush green fields of wheat. We went around and around, going lower and lower until finally by 10:30 AM we were in Cochem, Germany! We were greeted by the sight of the Cochem Castle, a structure looking as if it better belonged at Disneyland than on the green hills of Germany. Next we saw the river coursing through the town, wide and calm and green. It was the river Mosel. On it, mute swans gracefully floated and barn swallows flitted and loons dived. Many boats were spaced throughout the river, each with a little ticket booth inviting visitors to hop on for a ride.

We boarded a beautiful boat named Wapen von Cochem. Everyone sat on the top deck at these long benches and tables. The weather was perfect for a riverboat cruise: sunny and bright! We rode the boat upstream. To our left and right were steep hills covered with vineyards and forest. One side of the river’s edge were many houses, and on the opposite river bank was a road tracing the hillside. Hans recommended trying the cheesecake and many people ordered some.

Finally, we disembarked at Beilstein where the Burg Metternich castle was located. Beilstein is a small town that survives from tourism. The entire town consisted of cobblestone pathways, and being that it was built on the hillside, was essentially a winding path uphill leading straight to the castle. Indeed, many stores were actually located inside the hill and in their interior were jutting pieces of stone in places not plastered over.  Among the shops were many restaurants and cafés, and a store selling handmade ceramics, and a store for rocks and gemstones. Our group walked up to the Beilstein Castle which was at the top of the hill. The Beilstein castle is preserved, not restored, so it contains only its original stones and structure and many parts of it are destroyed. The main attraction of the castle was to climb its tall tower. The tower contained a spiraling staircase so narrow that only one person could climb up at a time. The top of the castle had an amazing view of the city of Beilstein, the Mosel river, and the forests, fields, and vineyards of Germany. Another attraction at the castle was a medieval stock that people could use for photographs. After climbing the tower, our group either ate at the restaurant at the castle or walked back into town to try local cuisine.

We boarded the boat at 3:00 PM to float back to Cochem and on to our next destination, the Weingut Haxel winery. Our tour guide at the winery was named Robert. He and his wife were managing the wine business that his father originally started. The winery was unique in that it did every step of the wine-making process itself starting from growing the grapes in its own vineyard to fermenting, bottling, and even independently selling its bottled wines. We started first with a wine tasting of several red wines. During the wine-tasting, we also discussed about wine-making and asked questions about it. Ancient Romans built the first vineyards in Germany to provide their armies with wine because wine was part of a soldier’s daily ration. I learned the difference between sweet wines and dry wines. Dry wines have all their sugars fermented to alcohol. Medium wines have fermentation stopped before all the sugar has fermented to alcohol. Sweet wines have fermentation stopped very early. Dry wines generally have more alcohol because of this and sweet wines have less. More acid is present in sweeter wines to balance out the sweetness. The slower the fermentation, the more flavorful the wine is. We also learned about how regulations have affected the wine industry. From 1787 to 1986, growing red grapes along the Mosel river was forbidden until finally the rule was appealed. Additionally, watering grapes in vineyards here is not allowed unless a vineyard is new. New vineyards can be watered during the first three years. Wine is traditionally made from grapes but can also be made using other fruits. Wine not made from grapes are called fruit wines. In Cochem, it is not allowed to add sugar, water, or any other additives to wines but they are allowed to be added to fruit wines.

After the wine tasting, Robert led us down to the wine cellar to see the stainless steel tanks where fermentation happens. Stainless steel tanks are much easier to keep clean compared to traditional wooden barrels. Weingut Haxel produces 20,000 liters of wine each year. We learned other facts about wine-making as well. When making wine, the entire grape is fermented. The length of fermentation affects the color and taste of the wine. Fermentation for several weeks creates dark red wine while fermentation for shorter amounts of time creates a lighter red wine that tastes fruitier. Wine barrels or tanks must be full or else microbes and oxygen will spoil the wine. To make sure a barrel is full, rocks from the vineyard are added to fill the barrel. Rocks have other important uses as well. The rocks in every vineyard contains minerals that are washed into the soil when it rains. Because of that, wines taste differently depending on where their grapes were grown since each location has a unique rock composition.

Then, we walked out to their vineyard and learned how grapes are cultivated. A grape plant can live 30 to 40 years. Growers must combat both disease and pest. We learned mildew is a major disease that wine growers must combat. Mildew originated from the United States and spread into Europe. Once grapes are affected with mildew, they die, so they must be sprayed to prevent the disease. However, spraying is expensive, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. Spraying also damages the reputation of the winery because consumers do not like that their wine’s grapes were sprayed with chemicals. One of the wines we had tasted earlier was made from Regent grapes. Regent grapes were the first hybrid of European and American grapes; they still require some spraying, but less because their American genes give them resistance to the mildew. Roses are traditionally seen in vineyards, a tradition first started in monasteries. The roses act as an indicator plant for mildew because the roses will be affected by mildew before the grapes do. Another problem growers face is birds. Birds like to eat grapes, especially red grapes. To counteract this, farmers plant red grapes in the middle and white grapes on the edges. They also put nets over the grapes or use special noise-makers. We also learned that grape plants tend to be grafted; that is, they have the root system of American grapes and the leafy part of European grapes to provide additional disease resistance.

Weingut Haxel is conscious of their impact on the environment. They use straw and compost in their vineyards for fertilizer. This is because chemical fertilizers can wash into the river. The straw also functions as a ground cover to prevent weeds. The walls terracing the vineyards are very important to the environment. The walls are made out of loose stone. The loose stone’s gaps in the middle provide a place for red moss to grow. The red moss provides a place for a special species of butterfly to lay its eggs. Additionally, lizards live in gaps of the rocks.

After our tour we stopped inside the store one more time. Many people walked away with one or more bottles of wine to take home with them. We had an exciting day and hopped back on the bus for our ride home to Maastricht. With full bellies and happy palettes, the bus was soon full of sleepy people.

Key Takeaways

• Legislation strongly impacts what crops are grown in an area and how products are made from those crops.
• The local soil and rock conditions impact the mineral content of grapes and thus how the wine tastes.
• Variations in harvest and fermentation times create changes in a wine’s composition.
• Many small villages rely on tourism as a main way of making money.