Swept Away in Stuttgart

For most, Stuttgart is not a vacation destination that leaps to mind. But for me it’s a special place—the home of my dear friend Tom Bloch and, as I found out recently, also a destination for a unique wine experience.

Stuttgart—the capital of the southern German state of Baden-Württemberg—is known as the cradle of the German automotive industry. The surprise of the city is the juxtaposition of ultra modern and ancient—a technological and cultural hub nestled into a historic and beautiful landscape, crossed by the river Neckar, and surrounded on three sides by vine-covered slopes and forested hillsides.

I returned to Stuttgart last week with two of my sons (Anton, 18, and Stefan, 16) so they might see for themselves why I love this place.
 
On our first night in town we had dinner at a local Besenwirtschaft (“broom pub”), the local name here for a type of wine “tavern” that is only open during certain times of the year. During these periods, local winemakers sell their own wine directly to the public without needing a license and with no obligation to pay special taxes—a concept wholly foreign to New Jersey residents.

The word pub or tavern is used very loosely. Often the establishment is located in the basement, living area, or barn of the winemaker’s home. Here, simple regional dishes are served with wines from the previous year’s harvest.

Just a short walk through a wooded area in my friend Tom’s neighborhood is the Besenwirtschaft im Grünen (the broom in the green), so named for being the only tavern in the area with outdoor seating—literally under an overgrown pergola on the backyard terrace adjacent to the vineyard of Frau Margaret Plath-Weischedel. You find your way by following makeshift signs along a narrow path until a primitive broom, tied to a fence, signifies the entrance.

It was my children’s first exposure to hard-core Swabian food: Liver and blood sausages, sauerkraut, and maultaschen (spinach and meat-filled pasta pockets). It was my first exposure to Rotling, a type of rosé wine, made in the regions of Württemberg, Baden, and Franken by fermenting red and white grapes together.

Frau Plath-Weischedel’s Rotling is made from the grapes Trollinger (Württemberg’s signature red variety), Heroldrebe (another red variety), and Riesling. It was refreshing and light—not really a wine on which to meditate but the perfect quaffer for weary travelers and laid back locals about to embark on a little adventure.

Tags: wine | Germany