Munich has been outed as Germany’s secret wine capital
If there’s one drink one associates with Munich, it’s beer. Or, at a schickimicki push, prosecco. But few of us would ever dream that the Bavarian metropolis is also Germany’s wine capital. Believe it or not, Münchner get through more than 40 liters of vino per head, per year, which is six liters more than the national average.
But we’re not just sitting at home glugging the stuff as a welcome antidote to all that beer. Oh no. As with most things Münchnerisch, there’s a “culture” involved. It’s a question of drinking the right stuff with the right people in the right places—and knowing the right things to say. It’s no coincidence, therefore, that as wine consumption has increased, so too have the number of “vini-versities,” wine academies and the like. Now, for as little as € 30, even those who think tannin refers to a stint in the sun, can wise up enough to impress their next dinner-party guests. And, what’s more, you don’t even need to understand a word of German to do so. The trend has taken off to such an extent that Munich-based wine guru Bernhard Messmer has decided to launch a series of wine events and seminars in English, prompted by demand from Munich’s English-speaking community.
“It started when I was asked to run a course for Siemens staff in English,” says Messmer, who grew up among the vines of Germany’s Palatinate (Pfalz) region, where his family runs a successful winery. “Since then, I’ve been approached several times by individuals from the international community keen to learn that bit more and enhance their wine enjoyment.” As a result, the founder of wine-experience business www.einfachgeniessen.de has teamed up with the ess-art cookery studio in Schwabing and this month, they launch their English-language wine and cookery courses (the first takes place on June 24 and costs € 90). Messmer is also organizing English-language wine-tasting sessions and courses aimed at sharpening people’s tasting sense (July 5, € 33). To register, check out the aforementioned Website.
Messmer’s strategy is a good example of the sort of initiatives undertaken by the German wine industry in general to boost a reputation that had fallen victim to a severe lack of inspiration. Having rested on their laurels too long, German growers began to realize they could no longer expect internationally unknown wines with old-fashioned, complicated labels to be a success on what is an extremely dynamic, competitive market. Therefore, companies began redesigning labels and marketing the “wine experience” as a whole.
“When I started out, two years ago, I knew I had to offer something different,” says Messmer. “So I began running things such as wine-tasting games, wine and chocolate-matching sessions and wine and book-reading evenings.”
He’s not the only one to think of combining the good things in life. Ludwig Beck and wine dealer Garibaldi put their heads together as long as 13 years ago, to come up with the Dichtung und Wahrheit wine and bookstore at Burgstrasse 2. “Wine and literature have always gone hand in hand,” says Frank Heumann, from the store. “And even though more people are turning to discount supermarkets to buy their wine, it’s good to see that an increasing number of young customers are coming to us instead, because they appreciate the unique atmosphere we offer.” With staff happy to offer tips on which wine matches the mood of the book you’re reading, Dichtung und Wahrheit is all about creating an experience—and preferably one that will provide good dinner-party conversation fodder.
The mother of all wine experiences, however, has to be that planned for Munich’s Olympic Stadium this month. In an attempt to soften the financial blow of losing one of the world’s most successful soccer teams to an arena down the road, stadium bosses knew they had to come up with something big. So they decided to try and appeal to this affluent, wine-quaffing public by organizing Weinwelt München—a four-day international wine extravaganza from June 2 to 5. As well as various wine- and cheese-tasting events, readings and screenings of wine-related films, the event will also feature a Guinness Record attempt at hosting the world’s largest wine-tasting. In addition, the main grandstand will be planted with 20,000 vines, to make it look like an entire vineyard. The plants will then be sold to the public on the final day of the festival.
“Munich has never seen anything like this before,” said Wilfrid Spronk, Managing Director of the Olympiapark. “With representatives from 20 countries, the event will be a celebration of how wine can unite different cultures.”
Indeed, what could be more multicultural than sommeliers from Finland, Sweden and Norway, among others, talking visitors through wines from Portugal, California, Chile, Greece and Moldavia? With a basic entry fee of € 10, which includes a special tasting glass, organizers are hoping to capitalize on Munich’s current enthusiasm for all things grape-related and attract some 40,000 wine fanatics over the course of the event.
This enthusiasm, however, is not something new. Long before Munich became renowned for its beer, the city was a key center for the wine trade and historians from the 1600s rarely mention beer in their records. In fact, in many regions of Bavaria, laws were passed prohibiting the brewing of beer so as not to damage the wine industry. The trend was further influenced by links with one of Germany’s key wine-growing areas—the Palatinate region, which was ruled intermittently by the Bavarian Wittelsbach family between 1180 and 1915. Indeed, the Pfälzer Weinstube in Munich’s Residenz is a nod to the fact that, for years, the Bavarian court was supplied with wines from the Palatinate.
Today, of course, there is no need for Münchner to trek 300 km to stock up on wine. The city is now home to numerous wine dealerships, cashing in on, or perhaps fueling, the city’s wine culture. “Munich has always been Germany’s secret wine capital, possibly due to its proximity to Italy and its southern flair, but over the past few years, wine has really become part of a life culture,” says Nicole Rung, Head of Sales for Garibaldi wine dealers, which opened its first shop in Schellingstrasse, in 1983. “We’ve really noticed an increase in the demand for wine knowledge—the new generation want to experiment and they want to learn. They wouldn’t want to be at a business dinner and not know which wine to order.”
In keeping with demand, Garibaldi now has five shops throughout the city (see www.garibaldi.de for details). It also runs a wine bar in Schellingstrasse and organizes various wine events. Once a year, for example, regular customers are invited to join 30 Italian wine growers to taste some 300 wines. It has also just extended its range, after 21 years of focusing on Italian wines, to include products from France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Austria and South Africa.
Another venture that is certainly “not-your-average” wine shop is Munich’s World of Wine (www.worldofwine.de). As well as four outlets, owner Karl-Heinz Krawczyk even has his own vineyards in Bordeaux, Tuscany and the Rheingau. In 1999, he also set up an Internet wine business, “Weine per Mausklick” (www.weine-per-mausklick.de), offering a catalogue of 650 wines from 19 countries, with free delivery anywhere in Germany for those ordering at least 12 bottles, or € 5 delivery for fewer than 12 bottles.
If you prefer to try before you buy, you can’t beat a trip to one of Munich’s Jacques Wein Depot outlets (see www.jacques.de for shop addresses). Part of a Germany-wide franchise system, each store offers a wide selection of wines from around the world, with focuses on France, Italy and Spain. The beauty of the concept is that all the wines are lined up open, and customers simply take a glass and help themselves to the wines they wish to try. Prices are extremely reasonable and staff tend to be passionate about their products.
All in all, it is hardly surprising that Munich tops the wine consumption ratings. What does start alarm bells ringing, however, is the fact that we’re also supping an average of 120 liters of beer per person, per year. Quite what that indicates about us Münchner is probably best left unsaid…
<<<