I had the privilege of attending Winefest in Hambach, Germany, located in the center of the Pfalz wine region. I met up with Erwin, a friend of my Dad's from the IBM-SAP relationship days. I could not have had better hosts. His wife Christiana, greeted me in their exquisite home high on the hill above town (see picture), with a huge selection of cakes and pastry with local fresh raspberries, strawberries and plums. Washed it all down with coffee and a walk in their terraced picture book garden, I thought this place could not get anymore perfect. Then, a looped drive to the main town of Neustadt an der Weinstr in Erwin's rock star late 60's cherry red Alpha Romeo Spider was a hoot. Erwin walked me around the sites of Neustadt which I found interesting, but honestly I couldn't wait to get back to the car! Back at the house, the wine began to flow. We had a tasty 2009 Sauvingon Blanc from a local vintner (Jochim Hilldenbrecth (sp) ). Sauvingon Blanc is a new varietal where the predominant grape is Reisling. Jochim is the elder vintner with his son (UC Davis grad) as the wine maker. Next, 5 of us walked to the Hambach village where Winefest was in full party mode. The village was decked out with 'wine gartens', an antique merry-go-round with punch card music, and German flags. Immediately, we were given two large high ball glasses with mixture of dry reisling wine with sparkling water. The tradition was to share the two glasses amongst the table of friends. Ok then -- Prost! My first thought was the reisling was going to taste watered down. Surprisingly, the concoction ended up tasting more like a zippy, refined sparkling wine. The glasses were constantly replenished too. Then a wonderful hearty meal of salad, roast pork meat, and knudel (dumplings) followed. Oh yeah, more wine and great conversation too. I left Hambach later in the evening not wanting the day to end. A clear sign of a great time!
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