On my first trip to Germany in 2006, I didn’t have the time to do a wine country trip. This time, I knew that I would have adequate time to visit at least one winery, which is what we did on Sunday. We traveled by train from Frankfurt to Geisenheim (about an hour) and then by taxi the remaining kilometers to the winery.

Schloss Johannisberg sits atop a hill overlooking the Rhine valley – one of the premier riesling regions in the world. And German wine is mainly about riesling. Germany showcases the complexity and variety of riesling in a way that (outside the Finger Lakes Region in upstate New York) you can’t find anywhere else.

The tasting room had four rieslings available: a trocken (dry), a kabinett, an auslese, and a spätlese. In these four you can get an appreciation for the range available from just one varietal. Not available for tasting was beerenauslese and trockenbeerenauslese, which tend to be very low production wines only available when the weather allows for these to be made from any grapes that are in the proper condition for the sugar concentration required.

The day was sunny, cold and beautiful as we enjoyed a glass of wine in the courtyard before walking back down to Geisenheim for dinner. We stopped for tea and cake along the way to give us a break from the cold and also because we wanted tea and cake.

Here’s to another memorable day in Germany!