STATWORX on Tour: Wine, Castles & Hiking!
Last Sunday, part of our STATWORX crew went on a day trip to the picturesque Rheingau, the famous wine region known for its Riesling. The trip was planned around the three tourist pillars of the region: wine, castles & hiking.
A warm welcome
Full of excitement (which we had already expressed in the days before, by sending each other funny wine and hiking related GIFs), we met at noon at Frankfurt’s central station, where we all took the train to the Rheingau. After a one-hour train journey, sweetened with some delicious self-made puff pastry snacks from our dear colleague Jessi, we arrived at the beautiful village of Oestrich-Winkel. There, our two tour guides Bernadette and Klaus Wolter from RheingauPur picked us up. After a warm welcome to the region, everyone received their own wine glass for the different tastings during the day, and off we went!
Wine tasting can be a real challenge
While walking through the beautiful vineyards, it was hard to believe that we were only a one-hour train ride away from Frankfurt. With the warm sun and the light breeze, the vast landscapes with beautiful castles could evoke feelings of holidays in Tuscany or Provence. On our way, Bernadette and Klaus taught us about the whole wine production process, starting with the right way to maintain a vineyard up to the correct wine-tasting technique. Because some of us had some starting difficulties with this tasting technique (or perhaps they just wanted to refill their glass very quickly 😄), here one more time: Take a big sip of wine in your mouth, close your nose and swirl the wine around a little. Then swallow the wine and open your nose at the same time. This way, you can taste the full flavors of the wine.
Gin at a vineyard?
After around three hours of learning, hiking, and of course, also some wine tasting, we arrived at the beautiful Castle Johannisberg. From there, we had a beautiful view of the Rhine and the surrounding vineyards. In the castle’s shop, some of us bought a bottle of the local Gin – yes, you’ve read correctly, they produce not only wine but also some delicious fruity and smooth Gin – a real treat for our STATWORX Gin lovers. After one last glass of delightful Riesling in the warm evening sun, we headed back through the vineyards to Oestrich-Winkel, where we all enjoyed a tasty traditional dinner.
Off to new adventures!
On the train back, we were still talking about all the lovely experiences of the day. Seeing a grape harvesting machine in action is not something you see every day! And even the non-wine drinkers among us had to admit that the wines we had tasted that day were excellent. Although none of us had the impression that we walked that much during the day, we all felt our feet and legs as we got off the train in Frankfurt. With this feeling and the warmth of the sun still on our faces, we all went home already looking forward to the next adventure on one of our STATWORX trips!
Thank you very much, Bernadette and Klaus, for the lovely tour!
