Vineyard in the south of France.
Having finally arrived in Wiesbaden, we wanted to celebrate the first night all three of us were together in Europe. I was still quite tired from the flight so we had a low-key dinner in the hotel restaurant. I ordered a burger and Rosemary ordered chicken soup with tiny ravioli, so the waiter suggested a 2013 Weingut Robert Koenig spätburgunder. It was quite a lovely wine: red fruit, no earth, crisp acidity, light body, lighter in color ~ reminded us a bit of a pinot noir.
How do you say “pinot noir” in German?
We have had a class on the wines of Germany but obviously we haven’t retained a lot. Researching “spätburgunder,” the first thing I learned is that “spätburgunder” is the German word for … wait for it … pinot noir. Spätburgunder: late (spät) ripening pinot (burgunder). No wonder we thought it tasted like a pinot noir!
According to the website Social Vignerons,1 Germany is the third largest producer of pinot noir in the world. And who’s number 4? Moldova. Road trip!
1France is #1 and the US is second. http://socialvignerons.com/2015/12/22/infographics-guide-to-pinot-noir-wine-grape-variety/#top-countries