Bernkastel-Kues Wine Festival

After the vineyard we took a little trip farther into the Mosel valley to the town of Bernkastel-Kues.  This wine festival is pretty big, and people come from far and wide to drink Riesling all day and watch the fireworks show at night over the castle ruins. 

Vineyards all the way up!

Later on in the evening that bridge would be packed with people!

 In the tiny town square there was a stage where different community groups were performing all day.  Anna and I laughed because they were playing mostly American top 40 hits.  The house behind the stage is famous for being turned into a larger-than-life Advent calendar at Christmas.  All the alleys between these buildings were filled with tiny shops and restaurants.

Food booths and wine booths as far as you could see!

Altes Brauhaus- old brewery

Anna and I heard about this tiny house called the Spitzhaus, and we wandered the alleys looking for it.  We finally had to ask for directions to find it.  I can't imagine living or working in such a narrow place!

Riesling, Potato pancakes and applesauce.  *fat kid dance*

Evening fireworks over the castle!

Weingut am Rosenburg

I have to interrupt Maverick rocking out.....

...to tell you about a trip I took back in September with my friend Anna.  We went on a tour that included a stop at a vineyard in a German town called Osann.  I thought it was pretty funny that we left Osan AB and came to Germany where I found another place called Osann.  This town was surrounded by vineyards going up every hill.

The name of the vineyard was Weingut am Rosenberg, and has been in Herr Brösch's family for over three generations.

 This is the beautiful entrance.

 Herr Brösch took us out to the grapes and told us about their growing season, how they cultivate and harvest them, and how different wines are made.  It was really very cool and he seems to know everything there is to know about winemaking.  They make mostly Rieslings, but also a few others.  The amount and types of grapes they use are regulated very strictly.

 

 They harvest the grapes all the way to the top by hand!

We got unlimited tasting of whatever kind we wanted.  So, I did.

 This one is called a Dornfelder, which is a relatively new type of wine- developed about fifty years ago.  It is grown and produced primarily in our region of Germany, but is not as popular as the Riesling wines.