European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 19, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 16 the stars and stripes tuesday november 19, 1985 a i table hut far a win tatting in the cullor under the re Idem in Vonburg. A taste for wine by Linda White travel editor admit a weakness for wine cellars. The arched Stone ceilings the dim Light the Musk smell the rows and rows of bottles aging in cellars May or May not be attached to restaurants. Many will provide formal tastings for groups with a set selection of wines and bread and sometimes cheese to nibble. But a visit to the vintner s estate especially a Small one. Can be an informal olten Spur of the moment occasion. Visitors descend into the cellar the vintner brings out glasses and one of the Many corkscrews lying around and serious discussions and tastings begin. There is no obligation to buy but if the cellar is Good it takes a Strong person to leave without at least one bottle of his favorite. At the vintners one also gets an insight into the work that goes into wine exactly what depends on the season. Jutt la evil time i visited the property of Marcel Boc Quenet at units Saint Georges near the wine capital of Beaune France. After a look at the cellar and a Tew tastes my Little group wandered up to look at the fermentation vats. Boc Quenet stripped to swim trunks wine red and a to shirt and climbed up to one of the vats. The men in the crowd started up the ladder too and motioned Lor me to join them. No no cried Boc Quenet. Keep her superstition says that if a woman looks on the grapes while they Are fermenting the wine will go sour. Sure enough chalked on the Side of the vat was the message during the time of viticulture women please keep your so i sat in a Corner on the Steps feeling like a Leper As i listened to the Cascade of wine get louder and louder As it poured through a Hose to the next tank. Boc Quenet had crossed himself before going into the vat. Baun is the win Caner of the Cote a or of Burgundy wines. In the Middle of town is the Marche Aux Vins the wine Market where for 20 francs about $2.50 one gets a a Szevin a win easter s shallow cup and the Opportunity to Sample As much As he likes of the 37 wines for Sale. The Market is made up of cellars a Chapel Ard a Large Hall discreetly Iii and hushed with bits of statuary Here and there. Buyers can use Little Metal baskets to gather up their favourites. The serious make notations on the cards they received at the front desk. The Market is across the Street from the hospice. Tasting is done in the cellars Here Loo. The Porter draws wine from the wooden casks with a Glass contraption from a chemistry lab. 01 course most of the cellars Are years and years if not hundreds of years old. But not Long ago i visited a new one. Concrete. Air conditioned. Probably As Large As its owner s entire Vineyard. Containing Fine wines Worth enough to keep me in haute couture dresses for three lives 300,000 bottles molding away just As they would in a Dank old cellar. It All belongs to Franz Keller and his Schwarzer Adler restaurant in Oberberger in the Kaise Stuhl. French friends swear that this is Germany s Best restaurant i Haven t found better. The tiny Village near the French Border is not easy to find but it is Worth the search. Keller is a colleague of French gourmet guru Paul soc use and his Kitchen reflects a similarity of taste with the Light touch of Nouvelle Cus be. On my visit. I revealed in the seven course menu Lor 98 Marks about $37. Winos from the adjacent cellar can Cost As Little As 21 Marks about $8 per bottle and Are uniformly Superb. Reservations Are a must Telephone 07662-7 j 5. Her i my action of other wine cellars that particularly like. Rene Schneider s in Fli Beauville Alsace France. One sits in the tiny cellar and sips wine in the company of members of the family from grandpa to the children and their hamsters. The Kupperberg sekt cellars in Mainz Germany deepest sparkling wine cellars in the world. Some of the cellars which go seven stories deep Date from roman times. The original tasting room from the German wine Trade at the 1900 world exhibition in the proper grip for o wine tatting. Paris is preserved Here. A. A. Ferreira port cellars in Oporto Portugal tastings at the riverfront warehouse include boat Tripson the Douro River. Germany s oldest wine cellars in Trier belonging to the hospice of St. Ilminen. The cellars were opened m the 4lh Century when Constantine thereat was emperor of Rome. There Are even cellars in maastricht the Netherlands where . Penis proprietor of g v nes behind his wine and a the i auction Al be Bach cloister in , one of the biggest wine tastings around. It ones a a year " spfi"9 and Lulu and a guest has the Opportunity to taste More than 50 ,is May 23 tickets Are 30 Marks Vailahi 1 i l enl Ormarion an reservations will be Ltd to Start s � next year con act the
