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Wine with a new friend at the Breitenholzer Weinfest…

Yesterday, Bill and I met up with one of Bill’s co-workers and the three of us went to the annual Breitenholzer Weinfest.  We would not have known about the wine festival had Bill’s co-worker, Travis, not stumbled across it last year with his wife.  Travis told Bill about how a winemaking family in Breitenholz was serving and selling their wine during their yearly Weinfest, which happens the last weekend of every August.

Breitenholz is located in Ammerbuch, a county just south of Herrenberg.  Bill and I lived in Ammerbuch the first time we lived in this area, from 2007 until 2009.  It holds a special place in our hearts, since that was where we first experienced life in Baden-Württemberg together.  Bill lived in Bavaria in the late 1980s, well before he knew me, and I had visited the Rhein and Bavaria before we met.  But BW was a new place for both of us during our first tour here.  We lived about two villages south of Breitenholz when we were here the first time, in a town called Pfäffingen.

Ammerbuch is so beautiful!  It’s always nice to visit our old stomping grounds.

Travis had asked Bill if we’d like to accompany him to the wine tasting, since his wife is out of town this weekend.  Bill said yes, although there was a period yesterday during which we wondered if the weather was going to hold for us.  If you live in the Stuttgart area, you may have noticed that the weather suddenly got rainy and chilly yesterday.  I also wasn’t feeling very well.  Fortunately, wine was a good cure for what ailed me and the weather didn’t turn out to be so bad.  We stayed several hours at the fest, enjoying conversation, locally produced wines, light food, and fellowship with wine loving Germans.

Below are some pictures from yesterday’s fun, which continues today, starting at 10:00am.

First thing’s first.  At an event like a Weinfest, proper facilities are a must.

We arrived just before things got into full swing.  You can either go up to the counter and self serve, or wait for one of the young women to wait on you.  Most of the people working yesterday spoke excellent English, but were very willing to let Bill and Travis practice their German.

A small “wine trail”, where one can see the process of making these local wines.

The price list.  There were four wines offered yesterday, all of which I managed to try.  They also had snacks and sandwiches.

Smoking is also allowed.

An inviting road into the orchards.

Travis talked Bill into trying “Schmalzbrot”, which is basically bread smeared with bacon grease and topped with dried onions.  I tasted it myself and enjoyed it, although it’s not the kind of thing my stomach can take too often.  

The men chat while I busied myself with vino and people watching.  A family with two adorable little kids was sitting next to me.  I was amazed by their boy, maybe aged three, who was climbing up and down the tentpole like a little monkey.  He had very impressive upper body strength!

This is a fest for friends.  We saw lots of people gathering, enjoying the food, wine, and fellowship with their neighbors.  It was really kind of cool to be a part of it.

As we were leaving, Bill and Travis decided to buy some wines.

Lots of people were enjoying the fest yesterday, despite the showers and clouds in the sky.  There are more tables behind the tents, too.

And there’s something for the kids to do while the adults enjoy the wines or non alcoholic beverages, like coffee and Apfelschorle.

Grapevines.

We were blessed with beautiful skies as the sun was starting to set.

The guys and their haul.

There’s plenty of free parking.  You just have to walk up a slight hill to find the festival.

Germany is so pretty.

 

As I mentioned before, the fest continues today, starting at 10:00am.  If you are in the area and inclined to try some rustic German wines, I highly recommend visiting.

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Baden-Württemberg

Dinner at Agais in Entringen, Germany…

When Bill and I lived in Germany last time, we were living in a little town south of Stuttgart called Pfäffingen, which is close to both Herrenberg and Tübingen.  To go north from where we lived, we had to drive through a town called Entringen, which had B28, the highway between Herrenberg and Tübingen running right through it.

Bill and I really enjoyed Pfäffingen and the whole Ammerbuch kreis and we were kind of hoping to move back down there with this tour.  As it turned out, we moved to Jettingen, which is not too far at all from our old stomping grounds, though it is– just barely– in the Böblingen kreis.

Last night, Bill asked me what I wanted to do for dinner.  We are still waiting for our furniture, so we have to eat standing up.  We have very limited refrigeration space and few cooking utensils.  And I have been cooped up in our new house in the country all week and was ready to have a little fun.  I said, “Why don’t we go visit the Mad Scientist?”

Naturally, that’s not the actual name of the restaurant I was wanting to patronize.  The Mad Scientist is just a nick name we used to call the proprietor of Agais, a Greek restaurant in Entringen where we used to eat quite frequently.  We call him that because he has wild, curly hair and a personality to match.

Prior to last night, it had been about five years since our last visit and we were itching to go back and see if our favorite Greek place was still operational.  Moreover, it’s just plain beautiful near Entringen, which, as it turns out, is only a short drive from where we live now.

Bill was agreeable, so we changed clothes and hung around the house for a few minutes until our dogs quit protesting our absence (they get a little upset when we leave them).  To be honest, I was a little worried Agais might have closed, but it was lit up brightly last night and when we entered the place, it was just as we remembered it.

The Mad Scientist was there, looking a little grayer and moving slightly slower.  He offered us a table, then did a double take.  He said, “I remember you!  You are back in Germany?”

Bill explained that he retired from the Army and now works for the Army as a civilian contractor.  Our host was delighted.  I’m sure he enjoyed having us as customers because we used to be pretty regular patrons.  I was glad to see his restaurant was doing a brisk business with several tables occupied.  The man’s son, who was a gangly teen the last time we saw him, is now a poised, friendly young man who was helping serve everyone and obviously knows the business.

Bill and I enjoy a glass of Nemea, a dry Greek wine, before dinner.  I noticed the proprietor’s wife, who is the cook, in the back.  She gave us a big smile and looked like she hadn’t aged at all in the past five years.

I had my old favorite, the gyros platter, with potatoes, tzatziki, and a small salad.  Bill had souvlaki.  Afterwards, we enjoyed ouzo and eucalyptus bon bons.  Sometimes he also serves pistachio nuts, though he didn’t last night.  The bill came to just under 50 euros.

The outside of Agais.

We didn’t get much of a chance to talk to the Mad Scientist last night because he was pretty busy with his tables.  But when we got up to leave, he said he was glad we were there and he hoped we’d be back as he’d been wondering how we were doing.  I told him we would come back to see him again soon.  He advised us that he now only does lunch on Sunday, though he’s open for dinner from 5:30pm.  There’s plenty of parking near his place, which also has a garden area for those who like to eat al fresco.

Though the food is good, it’s not so much the food that I like best about Agais; it’s the company.  The Mad Scientist is a very charming guy who, if he knows you, will go out of his way to show you a good time.  Last time we were in Germany, we brought several of our houseguests to his restaurant and they always left it impressed and entertained.

Anyway, it’s good to know he’s still in business and still remembers us, even after five years.  While we no longer live two kilometers from his restaurant, we are close enough to visit often and we very likely will.

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