Winemaker Tim Bernard presents interesting facts, easy to understand. Credit: Wolfgang Junglas
Wine lovers obviously feel at home in this vinotheque. Credit: Wolfgang Junglas
Lovers of wine are on tour with vintage cars. Five of them are gathered in the centre of Paulinenhof winery’s vinotheque in Selzen, holding drawings of amusing cartoon caricatures. “Imagine yeasts were little people – there are good yeasts and bad yeasts!” explains winemake Tim Bernard.
Katja Campe organises tours in the style of an actual vintage car rally. Credit: Wolfgang Junglas
The group is on the road with cars like this. Credit: Katja Campe
Bernard studied oenology and is able to explain complex microbiological processes in the fermentation cellar very clearly in just ten minutes, so that even the most inexperienced wine lover can understand.
The group of visitors arrived in fancy vintage cars, including an old Benz. Art historian Katja Campe had organised the tour in the style of an actual vintage car rally.
Roadbook with “Chinese characters”
During the tour, participants receive a total of six wine bottles in a specially branded box. Credit: Wolfgang Junglas
Each team received a “road book” with historical maps and so-called “Chinese signs” – they give clues to the route. The Mainzer selects the route according to scenic beauty, cultural highlights, and six interesting wineries with high-quality wines. The participants’ provisions include a packed lunch and an empty wooden wine box: Each team receives a bottle of wine per winery as a souvenir of the visit and by the end of the rally, the box is filled.
Nevertheless, the credo is – “Don’t drink and drive”: This means that the wines are only to be tasted after the tour and at the participants home. Tim Bernard gives the visitors a bottle of “Cuvée Terz feinherb” with “strong aromas of mango and gooseberry” to take with them and poses a quiz question for them: When they get home, the wine lovers should write to him which three grape varieties were “married” here.
The wine wood box is slowly filling up
The “Landpartie” is warmly welcomed in pretty rooms and courtyards. Credit: Wolfgang Junglas
After a small snack, we continue along the idyllic Rhine-Hessian country roads to the next wine experience. Heike Dettweiler from the Dätwyl winery in Wintersheim welcomes the Landpartie in its lovely little courtyard. The winery was one of the first to open its courtyard to visitors. Different wine experiences are presented here: Concerts in the vaulted cellar, wine times with snacks and cellar tours. They also have three guest rooms for overnight guests.
Culinary delicacies are served with the wine. Credit: Wolfgang Junglas
In the cosy vinotheque found in the historic fortified tower dating from 1344, the Rheinhessin presents her cuvées: “Zeebra” is a refreshing cuvée of Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc, “Strauß” is an unusual combination of German Lemberger and the international grape variety, Cabernet Sauvignon with its berry-fruity notes. This wine also goes into the specially branded wooden box.
More wineries follow with new ideas and more exciting wine stories. After about six hours, the wine rally comes to an end, with the participants taking home many new impressions and a full wine box.
Passion for classic cars, culture and wine
The vinological rally through the region lasts about six hours. Credit: Wolfgang Junglas
Katja Campe has been taking part in vintage car rallies with her husband for years. She appreciates art history, iconic old cars, and wine – all in equal measure. That’s how she came up with the idea of expanding her “Mainzer Kultouren” (Mainz Culture Tours) to include vintage car rides to Rhineland-Hesse wineries. The wine experience tours are mainly attended by genuine classic cars – but young timers, convertibles, classics of the future and e-cars are also permitted.
On request, Katja Campe organises original rally plates for each vehicle and hands over a commemorative trophy. And for those who don’t own a classic car, one can be arranged.
A maximum of ten teams take part in the tours. Everyone gets their money’s worth at the “Genuss Dating” with Katja Campe: On the one hand the winegrowers expand their customer base, and on the other hand the classic car fans get to know the local region and the wineries.
The prize for the Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism Award 2023 in the category “Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences” goes to “Mainzer Kultouren”.
The successful combination of the vintage car rally market with wine and culture convinced the jury.
More information
To learn more about “Mainzer Kultouren” visit the website.
About the blogger:
TV- and wine journalist Wolfgang Junglas is responsible for tv broadcasts such as “The Election of the German Wine Queen” in the entertainment editorial department at SWR Television in Mainz. He is also a writer, president of Weinfeder e. V., president of FIJEV and lecturer at Geisenheim University, Geisenheim.
Learn more about Rheinhessen and its wine capital Mainz on their page: Mainz | Rheinhessen