German cider revisited II: a Sparkling Surprise from Joachim Döhne

For various reasons I’ve been into clearing stuff and tidying up recently, cleaning dark, dusty corners and getting rid of unnecessarities. This has been leading to some great discoveries. When I went down to the cellar to grab a sparkling to open dinner procedures the other night, there were those cider bottles, sparkling cider. Fill level was low, my expectations accordingly and I put three bottles in the fridge instead of just one, to be prepared for the worst. Oh, the negativity in me… dear Joachim Döhne, I sincerely apologize. » Weiterlesen…

German cider revisited I: Apple Heaven from Andreas Schneider

I could start this with saying that Ebbelwoi, traditional apple cider from around Frankfurt, doesn’t exactly enjoy a great reputation. But that would be so yesterday and predictable. I could also be totally honest and admit that for some unknown reason, a 12 bottle box just re-emerged from the depth of my cellar, containing 2011 and 2009 (!!!) apple wines from Andreas Schneider in Niedererlenbach near Frankfurt, Germany’s leading cider producer. Kind of embarrassing and unprofessional, I know. However, as life goes, it made for some amazing stuff in the glass. » Weiterlesen…