Travel Series: Central Europe
Are you familiar with the saying “Travel is Food for the Soul”? It energizes the spirit and broadens the mind through exploration of new places and cultures. We have been fortunate to have ‘fed our souls’ through travel to over forty countries. As the name implies, a reason we began ‘Wandering Vine’ was to bring people the opportunity to explore through food and drink. To sample a little piece of the World - no passport required. Now we invite you to go with us now as we retrace our travels through these stories.
Our first stop will be the culturally related areas of Southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Alsace of France and the Tyrol region of Northern Italy. We begin here because we lived in Switzerland for four years, learned the culture at a deeper level, and found it to be a fabulous base for exploring Europe.
Switzerland has a well-deserved reputation for stunning natural beauty and medieval towns. Favorite destinations for those who love the mountains are Zermatt featuring the Matterhorn and the Jungfrau, starting in the village of Grindelwald. This is the scenery that most people associate with the Swiss Alps and is one of the world’s great ski destinations. Switzerland is also rich in beautiful and fascinating medieval towns on the shores of Alpine lakes. One favorite is Lucerne, a small city on a beautiful lake with architectural highlights dating back to the 1300s - quintessential Switzerland.
The Swiss are legendary in their punctuality and fastidiousness, but alas the national cuisine is as bland as you would expect from such courteous, protective, punctual and law-abiding citizens. There are three ‘national dishes’. First is fondue. A pot of melted cheese, into which cubes of bread are dipped. Second would be rösti, which is hash-brown potatoes covered with pieces of meat in gravy. It’s quite comforting, but short on creativity.
The last of the national dishes is raclette. To prepare raclette you place a large section of raclette cheese under a heat lamp until the surface melts. Then, you scrape the melted cheese from the surface and eat it with little boiled potatoes. That’s it - the pinnacle of Swiss cuisine. Almost without fail Americans having their first raclette dining experience would say “That was nice. When does the dinner start?”.
If it is food and wine you are seeking, in my opinion you can do better traveling in any direction outside of Switzerland in the surrounding area. Southern Germany is the Black Forest and Bavaria. The Black Forest city of Triberg is home to the traditional clock makers, and where we purchased the cuckoo clock we have on display at the Castle. Here we find the traditional pork roast Schweinebraten and an array of pork and veal sausages, like Weisswürst, and of course pretzels. Even the salad of the region, Würstsalat, is made from sausage. Knōdel are common here, as is Spaetzle, including a version you might consider the precursor of macaroni and cheese, which is Käsespätzle.
To the East is Austria, the homeplace of the Hapsburgs, who ruled Central Europe from the 13th century until World War I. Austria is known for Wiener Schnitzel and fabulous pastries, and also some excellent, but unfamiliar wines. Gruner-Veltliner is the main white wine, a lighter white wine with bright acidity and aromas of citrus and white pepper. Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch, the two primary reds are related and similar to each other, with spicy cherry flavors. Come explore these wines of Austria with us at Wandering Vine.
Over the Alps to the South from Switzerland are the Northern Italy regions of Trentino, Lombardy and Piemonte, an area famous for scenery, food and wine. This is the home of Nebbiolo, considered in Italy to be the “King of Wine”, with the most famous from Barolo and the neighboring Barbaresco. These wines are known for the balance of acidity and soft tannins, resulting in extraordinary aging potential. The other end of the spectrum here is Barbera, low tannin with distinct acidity. At Wandering Vine we have an excellent selection of wines from this region.
Let’s head West into France and the Alsace, where German and French influences combine in culture, food and wine. Characteristic foods include both savory and sweet tarts - like quiche, fromage blanc, and apple tarts. The wine is the star of the local cuisine, with Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Cremant - a sparkling wine made in the traditional Champagne style, but much more affordable. Too few people are familiar with Gewurztraminer. The floral and fruit aromas are so powerful that the wine seems sweet even though it isn’t.
Let’s finish our tour by traveling back across the border from Alsace to the German wine country. Here are the two areas which produce the most valued wines in this entire region, the Mosel and the Pfalz. Rieslings from the Mosel are among the World’s most expensive white wines. The Pfalz has a uniquely warm climate for this region, and produces high quality, fully expressive Pinot Noir.
For now it is time to pack up our suitcases and head home. Rest up. We will be heading out again soon to explore more of our favorite destinations.
