A wine fan in Rheingau and Rheinhessen

At half past eight I get coffee at the Starbucks at The Hague Central Station and less than five hours later we are already in front of the first winery. “Just getting a few bottles of Sekt,” says Jérôme, the owner of BottleStops who invited me for a weekend in the Rheingau and Rheinhessen.

Jérôme currently lives with his family in The Hague, but regularly visits his hometown of Mainz. With BottleStops he regularly organizes wine tours to the wine regions surrounding the city: Rheingau, Rheinhessen and Pfalz.

Welcome to Mainz

The program begins with a short tour of Mainz, where we pause for a moment in front of the Schoppenstecher Standbild (Schoppen Market). It's a little man holding a glass—a Schoppen. Order a Schoppen in Mainz and you'll get a Riesling schorle; a Riesling with sparkling water. It's December, so we can't avoid a visit to the Christmas market. It looks cozy, and I can't resist ordering a pretzel and a glass of mulled wine. After all, we're here now 😉

Wine bar Laurenz

Afterwards, we'll head to Weinbar Laurenz, a charming wine bar in the heart of the city where you can also enjoy delicious food. Highly recommended!

Rehrücken im Tramezzini Mantel, Maronencreme, fermentiertes Rotkraut, Süßkartoffel, Erdnuss. YUMM!!

Nightcap in the Weinbank

Then Jérôme takes us to the WineBANK . And it's just as cool as it sounds. Here you can rent a locker—small or large—to store your wine. Not just storage, you can also bring your guests along for a drink. There are cozy seating areas, wine glasses are ready for you, and there are even other wines you can tap—for a fee. A small locker (for 50 wines) starts at €49 a month.

Back in time at the WINEbank. Thanks, Jérôme!

A look inside Eberbach Abbey

The next day we start at 9:00 a.m. with a glass of Riesling Sekt. A simple, fruity Sekt—aged for 10 months on the lees—made from 100% Riesling. We're at Kloster Eberbach, and while that might sound quaint and artisanal, it's anything but. From 2006 to 2008, the place underwent extensive renovations. They created a forty-meter-deep cellar in the Steinberg vineyard. In total, Kloster Eberbach boasts 1,000 square meters of cellar space and processes nearly two million liters of wine. Yes, they make fine wines here, but they also produce wines for everyday use.

Small monastery? Think again.

Although I do feel very zen here.

Lunch and wine tasting at Rheinweinwelt

It might be a bit of an exaggeration to say Rhine Wine World It's a mecca for wine lovers, but it's certainly nice. It's a wine bar where you can get about seventy wines by the glass. You can taste it. You can also enjoy a delicious lunch there – everything is local and/or homemade. Another convenience: you can buy your favorite wines right here.

The wines come from the Rheingau, Mittelrhein, Rheinhessen, and Mosel regions. From small wineries to larger establishments. How can they offer so many wines by the glass? They've created a Coravin-like system. You need a coin to pour the wine. That's enough for a 0.03-liter tasting glass. Isn't that fantastic?

Hey Jérôme, can I have some more coins? ( Julia Teine Photography )

You understand that I couldn't go home empty-handed and bought the following wines:

• Chat Sauvage Pinot Noir, 2011
  A German who calls his Spatburgunder Pinot Noir, intriguing .
• Eva Vollmer Scheurebe, 2017
  Who run the world? Girls.
• JB Becker Riesling Spätlese, 2008
  An aged Riesling, who wouldn't want that?
• Schloss Westerhaus Riesling Kabinett, 2016
  I just love Kabinett. That balance of sweet and sour is amazing.
• Dr. Kauer Riesling Spätlese Feinherb, 2017
  Even more residual sugars.

Don't remember what Feinherb means? Then check  this article  from Perswijn.

A look inside Georg Breuer's home

Over the past two years, I've visited quite a few beautiful wineries. Take the Champagne house, for example. Billecart-Salmon , the Tuscan winery Ornellaia and Chateau de Beaucastel in the Rhone. These houses exude wealth and opulence.

Georg Breuer may not have a kilometer-long driveway, but it certainly has a wealth of riches. This is evident in the eyes of Therese Breuer, who, along with production manager Hermann Schmoranz and winemaker Markus Lundén, oversees the winery's operations. She speaks with immense enthusiasm about the Rhine, the vineyards, and the beautiful Rieslings they produce.

"Last year, 2018, was a fantastic one; we were able to harvest twice as many grapes as usual. The tank we normally use for blending had to be used as a fermentation tank." The Georg Breuer winery owns 34 hectares of vineyards, spread over 120 plots in the Rheingau, with 27 hectares in Rüdesheim and 7 hectares in Rauenthal. Just over 60% of the vineyards are located on steep slopes. The majority (81%) is, of course, planted with Riesling, supplemented with Pinot varieties.

Georg Breuer produces nine different Rieslings, including the Grand Crus Berg Roseneck, Berg Rottland, Berg Schlossberg (Rüdesheim), and Nonnenberg (Rauenthal). Only the finest grapes from the best plots are used for the Grand Crus. The plots that are good, but not good enough for the strict Grand Cru selection, are used in Terra Montosa. Think of it as Georg Breuer's second wine. We tasted, among others, the Riesling Terra Montosa 2016 , a blend of four Grand Crus with a fantastic balance between fruit, acidity and minerality.

In addition, various Deutscher Sekt are produced. I previously tasted a 1999, which had recently been disgorged. This time, the Georg Breuer Brut 2010 Right in front of me. It's a blend of the three Pinots: Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Gris. The 2010 Brut spent a long time on the lees and was disgorged in August 2018. A delicious wine, with a fine mousse and notes of apricot cake and hazelnuts.

The winemaker's hipster corner. (Julia Teine Photography)

Vollrads Castle

Before leaving, we'll stop by Schloss Vollrads, a large castle on the hills near Oestrich-Winkel that has stood here for 800 years. It's truly impressive. We'll be given a tour by the winemaker, who will explain the castle's history.

A few months ago, while I was in the region for WSET Diploma classes, I also visited Schloss Vollrads. We were given a tour by someone else, who told us about the castle in a less enthusiastic way.

Overnight stay in Mainz

During our wine tour of the Rheingau and Rheinhessen, we stayed at the Me and All Hotel in Mainz. It's less than a five-minute walk from the train station. The city center, where we visited the Christmas market, is also within walking distance. The hotel is brand new, fully equipped, and has a very trendy interior. Check These photos . Oh yeah, breakfast was amazing. From pancakes to brownies, fresh fruit, all kinds of cereals.

Fancy a trip to the Rheingau? Go for it! Jérôme can tell you all about its history and wine traditions. Find out more at BottleStops.com

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