Wine Country

 We spend the morning in Cochem, Germany. This is wine country. We have been traveling through wine country for several days now, but this is the first time we have visited a winery and had the opportunity to listen to the vintner talk about his craft. 

Cochem is located between the 50th and 51st parallel. The Canadian border  in North Dakota was the 49th parallel (I happen to know this because of the k.d. Lang album “Hymns of the 49th parallel.). Wines need heat. The secret is in the sun facing slopes and in the slate pieces that are common in the soil. The slate warms in the sun and then gradually releases this heat into the soil as the day cools into night.

The slopes are so steep most harvesting must be done by hand. We were in Cochem as the harvest was just beginning. The work must be very physically demanding because of steep incline and like harvesting of so many crops seasonal migrant workers play a significant role. Poland provides much of the labor. 

Riesling grapes are the main variety grown here and I can attest that the wine is very good. The vintner purposefully works to produce a wine that is about 10% alcohol which is low for wine. We were surprised that the price was as low as it was - about $12. I can’t imagine paying that in the U.S.. The vintner said that he could not ship wine to the U.S., but wine could be purchased to be taken home.