blooming where i'm planted: New Appreciation for an Old Craft

The view from the garden at the Spindler Winegut.

I was raised in a home that only spoke about drinking alcohol in whispers. Oh, gosh...you know what I'm talking about.

"I think Hank has been drinking again...did you see the
way he hugged Grandma Pooky Bear?"

"What a shame. I heard that Uncle Tiny was at that nasty bar downtown
last night dancing with that girl who graduated with Billy back in '72. So
sad...bless his heart....that drunk."

Whispers.....

And so I have no stories of magical wedding toasts or tasting "my first champaigne" or bike rides through Napa Valley or win tasting of any kind and really - I am okay with it. But, I have to tell you that living in Germany poses somewhat of a funny situation because I just happen to be postured in the most fantastic Wine Valley of all time....The Famous WineStrasse of Deutschland. When you drive down Autobahn 6 (A6 to we adjusted "locals") you can look to the left and to the right at the prettiest manicured vineyards....they really becon you to come a little closer. Last night, I took the ultimate plunge and went with 9 girlfriends to the Spindler Winery and tasted 5 different kinds of wine....and what I discovered is that wine is not really wine.....it's a heritage. It's lineage and family history and legacy. It is an offering from the heart from the people who love it and bottle it. Herr Spindler had my full attention for 2 hours and now I feel like we are family...I'm not sure he feels the same way...but I choose to believe we are now long lost cousins....bless his heart...

Donna and Ellen....Ellen's last name is "Spindler".....interesting...

The Spindler Winegut sits on property that the Spindler family has been on since 1723. Nope...that's not a typo. As we "oooed and ahhed" Herr Spindler corrected himself as he pointed to part of the house and said, "Dis pahrt of de house is not so old. It is newer. I sink it was built around 1850 or so and the windows ah new.". 1850??? Dude...in America we tear down buildings built in 1973....I'm impressed....I'm easy.

Herr Spindler is the smartest and most charming wine making fellow I know....to date.

(Note: "Herr" means "Mister")

Seriously...as much of a non-drinker I am...I enjoy wine tasting because I come with NO thoughts (except..."Gee, I wish I had a Diet Coke...") and a clean, virgin palate. I'm so unrefined but wine tasting intrigues me. People swirling and gazing, slurping, cleansing, evaluating, taking notes, asking deep questions, nods of approval, scrunchie noses of disapproval, stories of how the wine came to be, words like "fruity", "woody", "dry", "sweet", "legs" (that one cracks me up), "body", "bouquet","aroma". Now let's turn our attention to drinking Kool-Aide...."Hey, taste this for me...is iot too strong? Need more sugar? Less water"....No? It's good....okay...get yerself a cup and pour some."....That's it....no aroma....legs....color.... Of course it's fruity - it's tropical punch flavor!

The Spindler Family Home

I think this wine is a mighty fine specimen...

"Und dis is why we trink wine and not Kool-Aide my

pretty little fraulines!"

Old old old old old wine jugs....in the scary cellar....under the house....in the dark....where the wine sleeps....in big contaners...until you wake it up and slurp it down.

So I sipped and listened last night and really just enjoyed the company of sweet neighbors and a very enthusiastic wine maker and the beauty of German farmland. It was breath taking and sweet....or dry....or should I just say that the trip had LEGS...because it truly stood alone in my memories of Germany.

PROBST!

When wine sleeps...it apparently has gas (hee hee hee hee) and the gas comes out and is heavy and will kill you. Yes....kill you. So, they light candles and when the candles go out in the cellar, you need to GET OUT and breathe fresh air.