Warmth of a Stone

Dima and Misha are solving the mystery of the Blue Mountain. The northern border of the red winemaking in Germany is outlined by the Ahr valley in the Rheinland-Pfalz land. Dima and Misha are visiting the Dernau village and walking the narrow path up the Blue Mountain, to the vertical vineyard called Pfarrwingert – “Pfarre” being the word for “parish”. The Meyer-Näkel family has been cultivating the vines on these steep slopes for five generations already. Their main allies are the sun and the stone. There are two other Grand cru vineyards in the estate, besides Pfarrwingert: Kräuterberg (Mountain herbs) and Sonnenberg (Sun hill). The Meyer-Näkel estate produces Spätburgunders for the most part – this is what the wine made from Pinot noir is called in Germany and other German-speaking countries. But Dima just wants to know if they produce Riesling. The current owner of the domaine, Werner Näkel, has two daughters. The eldest, Dörte Näkel, acts as a host and tells Dima and Misha about the estate wines. And we owe the existence of the wine called “Hand in Hand” to the marriage of the younger one, Meike Näkel.