On my last visit to Mövenpick Weinkeller on Rotenwaldstraße, the man ringing up my wine was kind enough to let me know about the store's 15 Year Anniversary Celebration on September 19th. The store would be having a small celebration with a tasting and some snacks, and might I be interested? Yes, please!
And so this past Friday, Matt and I headed out with a few friends to Mövenpick to taste some of the wines they had on offer for the special event. In addition to their usual selection, representatives from Domaine Perrin from the Rhône region, Staatskellerei Zürich from Switzerland, Azienda Vitivinicola Condé from the Emilia-Romagna region, and Rainer Schnaitmann from Fellbach were on hand to offer a number of wines from their respective vineyards.
It was truly a special occasion, and there were tons more people there than at normal tasting events. Over the course of the evening, we struck up several conversations with other tasters and even compared a few sampling notes!
Among the wines I tried, here were some of my favorites:
- 2013 Weisser Burgunder Trocken, Nahe, Mövenpick (8,50€/bottle) -- Yes, I know it sounds awkward to recommend the store's branded wine, but this white was surprisingly good. It was fruity and citrusy, but very creamy, making it one of those wines that I can imagine being easy to drink at the end of a long day.
- 2013 I Frati, Lugana DOC, Cà dei Frati (12,50€/bottle) -- This wine is made from 100% Turbiana (Trebbiano) grapes. Pale yellow in color, it was dry and crisp, tasted of apples, and had a hint of sweetness on the finish.
- 2012 Riesling Steinwiege, Württemberg, Weingut Rainer Schnaitmann (9,20€/bottle) -- This riesling was one of the varietals on display from the local Fellbach winery. I found it to be surprisingly tasty for a local wine, very fruity and smooth, and I will be returning for more on our next visit.
- 2011 Spätburgunder Simonroth, Württemberg, Weingut Rainer Schnaitmann (32,50€/bottle) -- From the same Fellbach winery, this bottle was definitely a splurge, but oh-so-good for a region that struggles to produce strong reds. I found the flavor to be light on the acidity with hints of oak and jammy berries, making it the surprise find of the evening.
- 2009 Chateau Pey La Tour, Réserve du Château, Bordeaux Supérieur AOC (11,60€/bottle) -- This lovely dark red is what I expect a red to be: deep and complex with flavors of rich red and black berries. It's what Matt would describe as a "cake wine".
- 2011 Camenère Max Reserva, Valle de Aconcagua, Viña Errázuriz (14,80€/bottle) -- This spicy Chilean red was nicely balanced between fruit and acidity, tannins and smoothness. I could see enjoying this one over some hearty chili or other spicy beef dish.
In addition to our tasting, we ended up walking away with a bottle of our favorite 2011 Tinto Pesquera (Bodegas Alejandro Fernández) and 2012 Anniversario Moscato D'Asti (Michele Chiarlo), which you'll recall I mentioned in my last post on Mövenpick.
This event was particularly nice because in addition to all of the wines on offer, there was a small jazz band playing in the corner of the store. It was the first time I'd seen a live band at Mövenpick, and so their presence added a sense of festivity and, dare I say, sophistication to the evening.
For hungry visitors, Mövenpick hired the Erna & Co. Schwäbische food truck, which was serving free homemade maultaschen. They come out to Degerloch on Tuesdays, but I'd never had food from there before Mövenpick's anniversary celebration. I got the Schwäbisches Menü (normally 5,50€) with two maultaschen topped with caramelized onions and German-style potato salad. The maultaschen was meaty and super tasty -- I wish I'd have gotten seconds! The food truck also offers chicken maultaschen, vegetarian maultaschen, spätzle, linsen und spätzle, and meat patties called fleischküchle.
Sadly for us (but probably thankfully for the busy store managers), the celebration only lasted until 8pm when the store closed up shop. Still, it had been a truly special event, and I only wish that Mövenpick would have an anniversary celebration like it at least once a month. Based on the popularity of the store on Friday night, though, I suspect that they'll have several more anniversaries to come.
Mövenpick Weinkeller is on Rotenwaldstraße 132, which is easily accessible by taking the U2 towards Botnang to the Herderplatz stop and walking down the hill about 5 minutes from there. Also be sure to visit the Erna & Co. truck around town for lunch, available in locations including Degerloch and Leinfelden-Echterdingen. Check out their schedule for more information, or to order them for catering.