A silvaner lining (Franken, Germany - Day Two)

The Franken region doesn’t export very much, at most about 20%. The wines that are exported tend to go predominantly to Scandinavia and BeNeLux, with very little leaving Northern Europe. I’m not sure why this is, as the Franken produces more wine than the more famous Rheingau and Mosel regions. It may be the very traditional nature of the region, particularly the Franken bocksbeutel they use, which although unique is harder to store in cellars and stock in retailers. It also looks a bit old-fashioned. Another reason may be that the general quality of wines in the region aren’t outstanding, and don’t have a history of being so, different to the Mosel and Rheingau. This may be something to do with the choice of varieties, but may also be the nature of the climate. In my humble opinion there is huge potential in the region, as there is great diversity of sites and soils, but they have to modernise and focus on certain varieties in certain areas.

Weingut Hans Wirsching

The Main vein (Franken, Germany - Day One)

Ask most Germans and they will agree that Frankfurt is a pretty boring, mostly functional/financial city, and serves as mostly a transportation hub to Europe and the world. So it was with no regret that I left after only one day in Frankfurt for Franconia, one of the most traditional regions in Germany. Thankfully the weather started to get a bit warmer, but still didn't get to zero degrees. Today it snowed again, which made this region look gorgeous with forests and vineyards covered in white. The Franken region in northern Bavaria sits on the banks of the Main River, which used to be much bigger several million years ago. As such there are large deposits of alluvial soils and limestone in different areas, and make the cultivation of grape vines on the mostly south-facing banks perfect for a range of varieties, including riesling, sylvaner, muller thurgau, spatburgunder, weisburgunder and more. The region is very large, and there are three major areas for viticulture; the Mainvierick (Main Square) in the west; the Maindreieck (Main Triangle) and the Steigerwald.

Escherndorfer Lump vineyards of Weingut Horst Sauer