producers visit

<p><em><strong>This visit to Koehler-Ruprecht took place in December, 2017.</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Words by Jules Dressner, photos by Jules Dressner and Matty Colston.</strong></em></p> <p>It&#39;s always been my dream to write a Christmas Special visit recap!</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//03/fa/03fa6c5b83a75332b9b7772d02a75fd8.jpg" /><br /> <br /> Well, not really. But we did happen to be in snowy <glossary title="1145">Kallstadt</glossary> late last December. And we got to visit a genuine German Christmas market (more on that towards the end), so I might as well roll with it.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> We arrived in time for a late dinner brought to us by the staff of...&nbsp;INTENSE!&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//bf/2e/bf2e524244a7d4c90df16f6a5304baeb.jpg" /></p> <p>No, I did not make that up. Intense is a new restaurant opened within Koehler-Ruprecht&#39;s historic walls. Run by the very young and very talented Benjamin Peifer and Bettina Thiel, this ambitious tasting-menu restaurant got a Michelin star within months of opening! We had a modified version of the menu since the restaurant was full, and it was fantastic from start to finish. A <glossary title="617">magnum</glossary> of 1997 Saumagen R didn&#39;t hurt in setting the tone for a special night.</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//ab/1f/ab1f250980a70f0cbe1906733b52d462.jpg" /></p> <p>Notice the custom Zalto&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="382">decanter</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Fancy! It was a fairly long meal, so we needed a few back-up bottles.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//98/84/98845deda6e9367e7131063aada6c7fe.jpg" /></p> <p>In a complete non-sequitur, no visit to KR is complete without pointing out their incredible selection of fridge magnets, featuring the three most important places in the United States.</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//33/71/33714e238b22cad4b40eaf14c5d27024.jpg" /></p> <p>If you haven&#39;t been to&nbsp;Cochon,&nbsp;In-N-Out&nbsp;or&nbsp;Chambers Street Wines, you need to take a good long look at yourself in the mirror.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> The following morning, we woke up to a beautiful, snowy day!</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//85/48/854878f9cf03a570d652a0f90b0f0ff5.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//d1/70/d1709de1cdb4cfed0dc7a9dde46d1342.jpg" /></p> <p>Our tour began in the Annaberg vineyard.</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//8f/39/8f39ce19737975b651115e3d9b8047cf.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//73/15/7315e55ad7bbf6ce347d0a3267b90bd8.jpg" /></p> <p>Annaberg is 5.5 <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> shared by two growers, including KR. The <glossary title="271">Chardonnay</glossary> here is amongst some of the oldest in the area, and this site is where most of KR&rsquo;s <glossary title="801">Weissburgunder</glossary> comes from.<br /> <br /> The snow was really dumping at this point, but we still made the effort to go visit KR&#39;s most famed site, Saumagen.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//c9/85/c9851f7f126c7e60f922aa6bec3a876e.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//ab/ba/abbaabfeb85180ee3a26eac836e98ad6.jpg" /></p> <p>The snow, while beautiful, made it impossible to take notes. Since I don&#39;t have any, I&#39;ll just copy-paste info on Saumagen from our profile: Saumagen, which translates to pig&#39;s stomach, is named after the shape of the vineyard and also happens to be the region&#39;s most famous local dish. Established as a vineyard in 1810, this area used to be a <glossary title="596">limestone</glossary> quarry in Roman times. The soils here are heavy in <glossary title="266">chalky</glossary> <glossary title="632">marl</glossary> and full of tiny individual <glossary title="596">limestones</glossary> that reflect heat onto the grapes. Because of a government expansion in the 1980&#39;s, 46 <font color="#7b143e"><strong><glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectares&nbsp;</glossary></strong></font>are now designated as Saumagen- including a conversion of <glossary title="430">north-facing</glossary> orchards into vineyard sites- but Koehler-Ruphrecht&#39;s four <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectares</glossary>&nbsp;are on the original, southeast&nbsp;facing slope. A small part of the Saumagen is designated as&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1021">Terra Rossa</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> with the <glossary title="596">limestone</glossary> taking a red hue due to a heavy presence of <glossary title="547">iron oxide.</glossary>&nbsp;<br /> <br /> From the snowy vineyards, we headed back to the winery to scope out the beautiful underground&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="254">cellar</glossary><span>.</span></span></span>&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//fa/b9/fab9fa34c3edefb8a881f1fbebf5be61.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//31/fa/31fa9aeb8db9afdb9754af03d10c8d99.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//6d/6e/6d6e46e448533e57c614fba673e6445f.jpg" /></p> <p>After being&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="520">hand-harvested</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> the grapes are <glossary title="827">pressed</glossary> outside in the courtyard. The juices settle in <glossary title="986">stainless steel</glossary> <glossary title="1140">tanks</glossary> and then are <glossary title="843">racked</glossary> by gravity into the underground <glossary title="254">cellar&#39;s</glossary> myriad of&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="242">casks</glossary><span>.</span></span></span><br /> <br /> There is no <glossary title="1018">temperature control</glossary> in the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="254">cellar</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> and <glossary title="441">fermentation</glossary> can take weeks or months. Franzi explained that they never check for&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="622">malo</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> it either happens or doesn&rsquo;t. The wines stay on their <glossary title="590">lees</glossary> for about eight months, and a light <glossary title="447">filtration</glossary> is performed before&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="185">bottling</glossary><span>.</span></span></span>&nbsp;<br /> <br /> The quasi-entirety of the wines are <glossary title="441">fermented</glossary> and <glossary title="74">aged</glossary> in <glossary title="1126">wood</glossary> <glossary title="242">casks</glossary> of various sizes.</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//ad/21/ad21da7c8ee4dcba3b0cc40dfd83f1d8.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//c3/cf/c3cff14cd321d0a2062c217b59adc0e7.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//8a/02/8a029db3890076d99b04dd1f552f9322.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//1b/65/1b651be79c2834e3ed26ca44b5d83993.jpg" /></p> <p>The smallest <glossary title="242">casks</glossary> for <glossary title="441">fermenting</glossary> and <glossary title="74">aging</glossary> are 220 liters, the biggest are 2400! They have two 6000 liters <glossary title="142">barrels</glossary> for&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1146">blending</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> and in total there are about 120 <glossary term="Barrel" title="142">barrels</glossary> in the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="254">cellar</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> The higher the quality of the grapes, the smaller the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="242">cask</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> The oldest is 120 years old!<br /> <br /> After sitting down and tasting a good amount of the delicious 2016&#39;s, we got to visit a very special Christmas market!&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//22/31/2231ee013befc1e51fa175412ae7c40e.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//e5/23/e5237c788fe9ff77f0866bc26630e3b5.jpg" /></p> <p>It was packed!</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//3c/be/3cbe7fbee7c715147013f5b44589edce.jpg" /></p> <p>While there, we got to sample some staples like currywurst, and of course Gl&uuml;hwein.</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//7e/64/7e64de2ec4c3129aed3ca0665c230777.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//24/85/24854e00cb6cfc73ae3e59bdc2e30ff0.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//2e/9d/2e9d16b39460b91d8304b44ffdf244a2.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//bc/2e/bc2e445bf0e14174c1bc26de032baec1.jpg" /></p> <p>Josefa convinced me to buy this pickle ornament because of a traditional German tradition: you hide the pickle in the Christmas tree and the first child to find it gets an extra present!</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//10/db/10dbd2609caf57706f32c5eed1add494.jpg" /></p> <p>Post-purchase, I asked Dominik and Franzi about this tradition, and they&#39;d never heard of it. Well, that&#39;s unsurprising since&nbsp;it&#39;s totally made up...<br /> <br /> Before leaving the market, Franzi and I had to do some dramatic posing.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//14/8a/148ad5e96b898885dffc560bbf0f1bb1.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//51/2f/512f20a27a428e57c80e5533de364f55.jpg" /></p> <p>We drove back to&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1145">Kallstadt</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> finished our tasting and it was time for dinner, this time as a much more traditional restaurant. Which of course meant Saumagen, liver dumplings and schnitzel!</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//0e/c0/0ec0067a676119e0e48195ab84c00ae5.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//0e/f0/0ef0f7f0206117a69d550fe03f01edb6.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//f6/5c/f65cfa6763011dd65f5a4c4cfb75a107.jpg" /></p> <p>The whole time, we were being stared down by a picture of this guy, who is apparently the Laurent Cazottes of Germany.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//99/37/993799201a81da2fd0095a6b725b5442.jpg" /><br /> <br /> We really wanted to try his off-beat&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="394">distillates</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> but they were basically sold out of everything. Instead we had to choose some alternative beverages for the evening...</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//04/56/045635a87a383975380ec0bce1cec090.jpg" /><br /> &nbsp;</p>

producers visit

<p><em><strong>This visit to Koehler-Ruprecht took place in February, 2013.</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Words and photos by&nbsp;Jules Dressner.</strong></em></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2020_Sep_24//f3/83/f3839f49474d40ad7c497e873bf195d2.jpg" /></p> <p>Yes, that is an engraving of a jolly man riding a pig stomach.</p> <p>Welcome to&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Kallstadt" title="1145">Kallstadt</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> land of the Saumagen (pig stomach), schnitzel and of course the wonderful <glossary term="Pfalz" title="1319">Pfalz</glossary> wines of Koehler-Ruprecht! This was our final visit after over two weeks of travel in the <glossary term="Loire Valley" title="602">Loire</glossary> and the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Mosel" title="689">Mosel</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> and we definitely went out with a bang. Unfortunately, there are not any pictures of the vines from this visit, but there is still plenty of valuable info and fun anecdotes.</p> <p>On our drive over, David Norris and I decided to make the SINGLE WORST decision of the trip and buy one of these things.</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2020_Sep_24//b2/43/b243d496cf2b8c6f54bbb9b6a2e8e5be.jpg" /></p> <p>Beef, beans and bacon! As of yet unaware of our self-deprecation threshold, we bit into this little morsel of terror. It tasted like an un-microwaved hot pocket. And because I know you&#39;re just dying to know what it looks like:</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2020_Sep_24//c2/40/c2404049e65bbfb77f2a25a07c3b2263.jpg" /></p> <p>Yup.</p> <p>We arrived to <glossary term="Kallstadt" title="1145">Kallstadt</glossary> and were immediately greeted by head honcho Dominik Sona and <glossary term="Cellar" title="254">cellar</glossary> master Johannes Lochner. After exchanging hello&#39;s and checking into our hotels, we set off to the nearby Saumagen vineyard.</p> <p>This is Koehler-Ruprecht&#39;s most famous&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Terroir" title="1026">terroir</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Saumagen literally translates to pig&#39;s stomach, as the site resembles one in shape. It also happens to be the name of the region&#39;s most famous local dish, which is similar to Haggis but actually tastes good (more on that later). If that engraving wasn&#39;t enough to prove that the Kallstadters take their Saumagen seriously, check this out:</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2020_Sep_24//ba/76/ba7686cb6532825220c4d5957506df67.jpeg" /></p> <p>The whole area is rather flat, so it was a big surprise when Dominik explained how Saumagen had been <glossary term="Terrace" title="1022">terraced</glossary> from its creation in 1810 up until the 1980&#39;s. What reason would the government have to pass a bill to destroy the <glossary term="Terrace" title="1022">terraces</glossary> of a historical vineyard site built on the ruins of a Roman <glossary term="Limestone" title="596">limestone</glossary> quarry? Simply to allow&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Mechanization" title="645">mechanization</glossary><span>.</span></span></span></p> <p>Almost no one opposed, and the few that did had&nbsp;no say: the law is the law. As a result, everyone had to uproot their&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Old Vines" title="740">old vines</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> so KR&#39;s oldest were planted in the mid 1980&#39;s. This same bill expanded the Saumagen territory to 46&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectares</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> including orchards <glossary term="Exposition" title="430">exposed</glossary> full North being uprooted to replant vines. Koehler-Ruprecht have four&nbsp;<glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectares</glossary> on the original&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Lieu-Dit" title="594">lieu-dit</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary term="Exposition" title="430">exposed</glossary> full South.</p> <p>Looking around, I had a hard time imagining these relatively flat vineyards ever being&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Terrace" title="1022">terraces</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> I doubt they were as majestic as the ones we&#39;d just witnessed in the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Mosel" title="689">Mosel</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> but I just couldn&#39;t visualize them. Expressing this to Jake Halper, he aptly pointed out how hard it is to imagine what something looks like when it no longer exists. That in turn reminded me of Didier Barrouillet&#39;s final statement in his&nbsp;inspirational interview from two summers ago.</p> <p><em>&quot;Destroying nature is easy. Reconstructing it will take a very long time.&quot;</em></p> <p>Dominik and his team hadn&#39;t <glossary term="Pruning" title="834">pruned</glossary> yet, but some neighbors were done in November! Dominik explained his reasoning for not&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Green Harvest" title="507">green harvesting</glossary><span>.</span></span></span></p> <p><em>&quot;The wines would be too rich and big.&quot;</em></p> <p><glossary term="Yield" title="1129">Yields</glossary> here average 75 <glossary term="hl/ha" title="528">hl/ha</glossary>&nbsp;for the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Pinot Blanc" title="801">Pinot Blanc</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> a little less with&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Riesling" title="858">Riesling</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Every year, the team does up to five&nbsp;<glossary term="Pass" title="1144">passes</glossary> during&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Harvest" title="521">harvest</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> The soils are worked every other row each year, usually in April or May.</p> <p><em>&quot;When it&#39;s not wet!&quot;</em></p> <p>Walking back to the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Cellar" title="254">cellars</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> we passed by Weingut Heinz.</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2020_Sep_24//27/81/278131f18bfcf366a58b894c18ff27b8.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2020_Sep_24//cf/a2/cfa2938bf5ed75ad63dee782f337e590.jpeg" /></p> <p>I automatically assumed that John Kerry&#39;s wife got bored and decided to start an <glossary term="Estate" title="427">estate</glossary> in the <glossary term="Pfalz" title="1319">Pfalz</glossary> with all her ketchup money, but it was actually the other way around! Weingut Heinz has been around for 400 years, and the founder of Heinz ketchup is indeed directly related to this family.</p> <p>After visiting Saumagen, we stepped into the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Cellar" title="254">cellar</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> It is stocked mostly with old German <glossary term="Oak" title="731">oak</glossary> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Barrel" title="142">barrels</glossary><span>:</span></span></span> the youngest are 40 and the oldest are 120! <glossary term="Spontaneous Fermentation" title="976">Spontaneous fermentations</glossary> can last up to 18 months, but usually take four to six. There are also some large <glossary term="Oak" title="731">oak</glossary> <glossary term="Cask" title="242">casks</glossary> for <glossary term="Riesling" title="858">Riesling</glossary> and small French <glossary term="Oak" title="731">oak</glossary> <glossary term="Barrel" title="142">barrels</glossary> for&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Pinot Noir" title="805">Pinot Noir</glossary><span>.</span></span></span></p> <p>What I found the most interesting was the metal pipeline that brings the wine directly from the <glossary term="Pneumatic Press" title="811">press</glossary> -which is upstairs- directly into to the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Cellar" title="254">cellar</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> This prevents excessive <glossary term="Racking/Soutirage" title="843">racking</glossary>&nbsp;and is a great example of engineering. The wine&#39;s <glossary term="Lees" title="590">lees</glossary> are never stirred, and stay in <glossary term="Barrel" title="142">barrel</glossary> for about a year. According to Johannes:</p> <p><em>&quot;Every decision is made by tasting, feeling and time&quot;</em></p> <p>It was now time to taste the most daunting and awe-inspiring lineup I&#39;ve ever participated in. Turns out the five&nbsp;hour Clemens Busch tasting was just a warm up, and we had the pleasure of tasting the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Kabinett" title="562">Kabinett</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary term="Spätlese" title="972">Sp&auml;tlese</glossary> and <glossary term="Auslese" title="127">Auslese</glossary> from each variety and <glossary term="Terroir" title="1026">terroir</glossary> over several&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintages</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> including the noble sweet wines and the <glossary term="Reserve" title="852">reserve</glossary> wines. It lasted the entire afternoon, but fortunately we were able to take a break to reset our <glossary term="Palate" title="756">palates</glossary>&nbsp;with local beer and sparkling water.</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2020_Sep_24//c0/f4/c0f424b9c4dd36839e354647919f6bed.jpg" /></p> <p>Some choice quotes from Dominik over the course of the tasting.</p> <p><em>&quot;Our biggest philosophy is that we want people to finish the bottle. And hopefully open a second!&quot;</em></p> <p><em>&quot;We do 11 months on the </em><glossary term="Lees" title="590"><em>lees</em></glossary><em> contact, which softened them out the 2010&#39;s out. If I worked for a bigger company, maybe I would have considered </em><glossary term="De-acidification" title="377"><em>de-acidifying</em></glossary><em>. But for us, no way!&quot;</em></p> <p><em>&quot;Anyone who works with numbers is either a mathematician, works in physics or is in it for the money.&quot;</em></p> <p>That last one had me laughing out loud.</p> <p>We also learned how the <glossary term="Reserve" title="852">reserve</glossary> wines work. If there is a single R on the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Wine Label" title="573">label</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> it means the wine was aged four&nbsp;years for&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Spätlese" title="972">Sp&auml;tlese</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> five&nbsp;years for&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Auslese" title="127">Auslese</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> If a <glossary term="Wine Label" title="573">label</glossary> states RR, it means six&nbsp;years for&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Spätlese" title="972">Sp&auml;tlese</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> seven&nbsp;years for&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Auslese" title="127">Auslese</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> They use the letter R because you are not allowed to write &quot;reserve&quot; on a label. These wines are not made every year, and are always <glossary term="Barrel" title="142">barrel</glossary> selections from exceptional&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintages</glossary><span>.</span></span></span></p> <p>After this incredible tasting, it was time for dinner. David Norris and I, who felt it was sacrilege that we had spent three&nbsp;days in Germany without drinking a beer, decided to play catchup. Jeff Vierra and I split an order of Saumagen and made everyone who was afraid to order pig stomach jealous. We also got a full order of schnitzel each; I had been fiending for a schnitz (or as Jake put it: &quot;Itchy for a schnitzy&quot;) since arriving in Luxembourg, and this was one of the best I&#39;ve ever eaten. David Norris and I are currently looking for the best schnitzel in NYC, and not having much luck finding anything to match what we ate that night.</p> <p>After a huge meal, the owner of the restaurant came out with a&nbsp;HUGE tray that had at least 50 complimentary pieces of schnitzel on it. We ate it all, and I&#39;m pretty sure I had about seven&nbsp;pieces. Many called it a night after that, but Johannes, David, Jeff and I decided we had to have some&nbsp;<glossary term="Riesling" title="858">Riesling</glossary> spritz (a local tradition) out of comically large glasses.</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2020_Sep_24//9a/aa/9aaab40ff9b40e9afa95609c4c177e1c.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2020_Sep_24//cf/62/cf629ba954a25dc1de7e32dbd4b6e0a8.jpg" /></p> <p>The night ended in <glossary term="Kallstadt" title="1145">Kallstadt</glossary>&#39;s central square having beers outside, celebrating our long but successful trip.&nbsp;</p>