Winery visit in Poltersdorf, Germany

Visit to a winery in Poltersdorf, one amongst the many wineries in the area

On our road trip in 2014, we got the honour to visit a winery in Ellenz-Poltersdorf, Germany. The visit was arranged by my aunt, Niina, who knows the owner, Bernhard Lenz. She arranged a private tour around the premises and a wine tasting of their delicious wines, presented by Bernhard and his mother.

The winery is situated in a small village by the Polterdorfer Altarberg, by the Mosel River in southern Germany, also known for its delicious wines. It is a small place, normally not open to the public, and we felt very honoured to be able to go there for a visit and see how the famous German wines are made.

The wine tasting

The tasting in itself was very interesting and delicious. My aunt, who has lived in Germany since the 1980s, communicated with Bernhard and his mother in German, since they did not speak anything else. I have a good understanding of the language, but even I had difficulties understanding their dialect.

We got to taste their white wines, rosés and red wines. Some were real quality wines that had been waiting for us for years in their wine cellar! We learned a lot about the quality ranking system that the Germans have for their wines. This helps when you want to choose the quality or even the level of sweetness.

The winery visit in Poltersdorf, Germany, finished with us buying many bottles.

The funniest moment was when Bernhard was telling my husband, Francis, a joke or a tale about something funny, all in German. He had a genuine conversation with Francis who didn't understand a single word, and tried to let Bernhard know about this. Did it help? No!

Bernhard was continuing his story despite Francis trying to communicate his non-understanding. He was laughing about it all by himself, which didn't matter at all since for him, it was a good story!

Burg Metternich in Beilstein

After the visit to the vineyard, we went to a nearby castle on the other side of the Mosel River, and there, we sat down, opened a bottle, and just enjoyed the view.

The castle is called Burg Metternich, and it is situated not far from Poltersdorf. Nowadays, it is not a castle anymore, but the ruins of a medieval hilltop castle with panoramic views over the vineyards of the Moselle Valley, which is a place to stop at if you visit southern Germany.