Our trainees on a wine excursion

"I learned a lot about the cultivation of wine, the different varieties and the process of making wine, which is really helpful for the upcoming final exam. Whether in the sparkling wine museum in Koblenz or at the Wegeler winery in Oestrich-Winkel, we immersed ourselves in the history of wine. Among other things, we learned a lot about the different fermentation processes. During the wine tasting, we were allowed to taste, for example, the Geheimrat J Riesling or the wine of the winery offered in the Waterkant. The highlight of the trip was the vineyards in Rüdesheim. Here we were given a guided tour with wine tasting. All in all, it was a very educational and enjoyable trip and I'm glad I got the opportunity."

– Carina Winkler (Apprentince)

"When we were at the Wegeler winery, they explained Riesling production with traditional, natural viticulture and a lot of handwork. The production of Riesling is an art in itself. There are so many different Rieslings. The white wine grape Riesling has minimal needs when it comes to the soil. Depending on the soil type and climate, the vine can become very different in taste. The Riesling from Rüdesheim has mainly passion fruit notes and the taste of ripe yellow fruit. It is acid accented and appears more powerful than other Rieslings.

– Vincenza Casamassima (Apprentince)

"For 0.7 liters of wine, about one kilo of grapes are used. These must first be freed from their stems and crushed, the resulting mass, also called mash, is then set aside for a certain time to rest. Once this is done, it is pressed so that the seeds and the peel can be separated. The resulting liquid is called must. Sulfurizing the must makes it more durable, which is important for fermentation. For this purpose, the must is filled into fermentation tanks and supplemented with yeast cultures. Now the alcohol can form. After that, the yeast is separated from the wine again and stored in steel tanks or wooden barrels for aging. The production of different types of wine can vary in the order in which they are made. It's impressive to see how many steps are behind a bottle of wine."

– Lina Mock (Apprentince)

"In the sparkling wine museum in Koblenz, we were immersed in the world of sparkling wine. For 200 years, first-class sparkling wine has been produced here using the traditional bottle fermentation process. For this, the wine that has already been produced is simply processed further by first filling it into individual bottles and then adding yeast. The bottles are then stored for about nine months and placed in a riddling rack. Here they are turned daily until the yeast settles in the neck of the bottle and can be removed. Once this has happened, you have the perfect sparkling wine to toast with.

- Anonymous