Wine: Eberbach-Schäfer Trollinger

When I left Germany in 1997, the thing I missed most was the wine. I had never drunk much wine before moving to Germany, but when I moved to Stuttgart I developed a love for the Württemberg wines. The logo on almost all bottles was "Kenner trinken Württemberger" (engl. "Connoisseurs drink Württemberg wine"). I agreed with this statement whole-heartedly.

After I left Germany, I found that Württemberg wines aren't exported. There are two reasons given for this. You can choose who you want to believe. Some say it's because there's no company that is able to gather the bottles from the small vineyards and export the wine in bulk. Others say that non-Germans have no appreciation of good wine, so it's best to keep the good wine in Germany and export the rubbish.

I've spoken to people in England who claim to be experts in wine. They say German wine is awful. I see their point. The German wine available in England really is awful. They don't know the good German wines, and the Germans claim they wouldn't like them even if they were available. They may be right.

When I returned to Germany in 2016, I found that my local supermarket sold a small selection of good wines. I wrote about them in this post. Since then this has changed. The supermarket closed, so I had to go further to buy wine. I bought mostly Besigheimer Felsengarten wines. They're one of the cheaper wines, but very good.

A few weeks ago I discovered that my local greengrocer's sells wine, all from the Eberbach-Schäfer vineyard. This is a relatively small vineyard, active since 1660, that keeps its costs low by direct distribution. The wine is delivered by van directly from the vineyard to shops and private customers, so it can't be found in larger supermarkets. The shop stocks eight different wines, but there are others that are available if ordered. I immediately bought two bottles: a Trollinger, because it's usually my favourite red wine, and a Samtrot, because it's my least favourite red wine.

I was surprised to find that the Trollinger is very mild, milder than other Trollinger wines that I know. It's pleasant, but I need to drink it side by side with another Trollinger for comparison. My final judgement is outstanding. There's a dryer version of the wine available. Maybe that's more typical to the Trollinger wines that I'm used to.

If you read the descriptions by wine experts, all sorts of fancy words are used. Describing this wine, an expert says:

The wine has a very beautiful scent with aromas of raspberries, cranberries, cherries, spices, undergrowth, herbs and floral accents. Juicy, delicately fruity on the palate, nutmeg, silky, medium-bodied, beautiful structure, fresh style, tasty, enormous charm and a long after-taste.

Those are his words, not mine. I just know what I like. I can't detect any of the fruits mentioned above. Maybe my taste buds aren't developed enough. Who cares? I enjoy the wine, and that's all that matters.