Rieslingfeier is an annual event in New York City that celebrates Riesling, in particular German Riesling. The cornerstone event is the Rieslingfeier Gala Dinner. Inspired by Daniel Johnnes’ famous Burgundy fête “La Paulée” it is very likely the greatest German wine BYOB dinner in the world, with both winemakers and guests bringing special bottles from their cellars to share.
Rieslingfeier is orchestrated by Stephen Bitterolf of the vom Boden wine importing company.
This year, the Rieslingfeier took place on Saturday January 27, 2018. The 2018 Rieslingfeier consisted of 2 events: The Gränd Tasting at Craft Restaurant in New York City Downtown during the day and the Gala Dinner at Reynard/ Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg in the evening.
13 top German wine producers and (for the first time) 1 top Alsacian producer were in attendance.
For previous Rieslingfeier events, see:
2017
The Annual "Slaughterhouse" Riesling Feast in New York: Rieslingfeier 2017, USA
2016
A German Riesling Feast in New York City: Rieslingfeier 2016, USA
Rieslingfeier 2016 in New York – Gränd Tasting: The Winemakers of the Rieslingfeier 2016, USA
Rieslingfeier 2016 in New York– Gala Dinner, USA
2015
A German Riesling Feast in New York City: Rieslingfeier 2015, USA
The 11 Winemakers: Rieslingfeier 2015 in New York City, USA
Riesling Crawl in New York City– Or, Where to Buy German Wine in Manhattan: Schiller's Favorite Wine Stores, USA
The Gala Dinner of the Rieslingfeier 2015 in New York City, USA
Participating Winemakers
13 top German wine producers and (for the first time) 1 top Alsacian producer were in attendance. Annette Schiller, who organizes wines tours (ombiasyPR and WineTours), and Christian Schiller, who blogs on schiller-wine, joined the 2018 celebration of German Riesling. We were happy to meet the participating German elite winemakers. Many of them we know personally. Some of them we call our friends. Most of them we have visited on a recent ombiasy wine tour.
Trimbach
Alsace
100 hectares
Jean Trimbach
Pictures: Christian Schiller with Jean Trimbach at Maison Trimbach in Ribeauville in Alsace. See: Visiting Jean Trimbach at Maison Trimbach in Ribeauville in Alsace (2011)
Koehler-Ruprecht
Pfalz
13 hectares
54% Riesling, 20% Spätburgunder
Louis - Dressner
General Manager Dominik Sona
von Winning
Pfalz
49 hectares
80% Riesling
Skurnik/ Theise
Deputy Managing Director Andreas Hütwohl
Dreissigacker
Rheinhessen
28 hectares
60% Riesling
Schatzi Wines
Jochen Dreissigacker
Leitz
Rheingau
43 hectares
98% Riesling
Schatzi Wines
Johannes Leitz
Spreitzer
Rheingau
21 hectares
95% Riesling
Skurnik/ Theise
Andreas Spreitzer
Diel
Nahe
25 hectares
60% Riesling
Skurnik/ Theise
Caroline Diel
Sylvain Diel
Pictures: Christian Schiller with Armin, Caroline and Anouk Diel at Schlossgut Diel in Germany. See: Tasting with Sylvain Taurisson Diel at Schlossgut Diel, Nahe– Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
Dönnhoff
Nahe
28 hectares
80% Riesling
Skurnik/ Theise
Cornelius Dönnhoff
Immich-Batterieberg
Mosel
9 hectares
100% Riesling
Louis - Dressner
General Manager/ Winemaker Gernot Kollmann
Willi Schaefer
Mosel
4 hectares
100% Riesling
Skurnik/ Theise
Christoph Schaefer
Selbach-Oster
Mosel
22 hectares
97% Riesling
Skurnik/ Theise
Johannes Selbach
Egon Müller
Mosel
8 hectares
98% Riesling
Egon Müller
Hofgut Falkenstein
Mosel
8 hectares
80% Riesling
Owner Johannes Weber
Owner Franz Weber
Lars Carlberg
Lauer
Mosel
9 hectars
100% Riesling
Vom Boden
Florian Lauer
Rieslingfeier: Gränd Tasting
Saturday, January 27th, 2018 | 10:30am-3:00pm
Craft Restaurant
43 East 19th Street, New York, NY
The first of the 2 Rieslingfeier events was a walk-around tasting with the 14 participating winemakers. All producers were in attendance pouring 3 to 4 of their wines.
Gränd Tasting: Trimbach
Alsace
100 hectares
Jean Trimbach
2014 Reserve Magnum
2015 Sélection Vieilles Vignes
2008 Cuvée Frédéric Emile
Gränd Tasting: Koehler-Ruprecht
Pfalz
13 hectares
54% Riesling, 20% Spätburgunder
Louis - Dressner
General Manager Dominik Sona
2016 Saumagen Kabinett Trocken
2015 Saumagen Spätlese trocken
2016 Steinacker Kabinett
2015 Saumagen Auslese
Gränd Tasting: von Winning
Pfalz
49 hectares
80% Riesling
Skurnik/ Theise
Deputy Managing Director Andreas Hütwohl
2016 Paradiesgarten 1e Lage Trocken
2016 Kalkofen GG
2016 Sauvignon Blanc "I"
Gränd Tasting: Dreissigacker
Rheinhessen
28 hectares
60% Riesling
Schatzi Wines
Jochen Dreissigacker
2016 "Organic" Trocken
2016 Bechtheimer Trocken
2015 Bechtheimer Trocken
2013 Geyersberg Trocken
Gränd Tasting: Spreitzer
Rheingau
21 hectares
95% Riesling
Skurnik/ Theise
Andreas Spreitzer
2016 "Muschelkalk" Trocken
2016 Wisselbrunnen GG
2016 Jesuitengarten "Alte Reben" Feinherb
Gränd Tasting: Diel
Nahe
25 hectares
60% Riesling
Skurnik/ Theise
Caroline Diel
Sylvain Diel
2016 "Von der Nahe" Feinherb
2016 Eierfels Trocken
2016 Goldloch GG
Gränd Tasting: Lauer
Mosel
9 hectars
100% Riesling
Vom Boden
Florian Lauer
2016 "Barrel X"
2016 "Senior" Fass 6
2016 Stirn Fass 15
Gränd Tasting: Dönnhoff
Nahe
28 hectares
80% Riesling
Skurnik/ Theise
Cornelius Dönnhoff
2016 Kahlenberg Dry
2016 Krötenpfuhl Kabinett
2016 Kirschheck Spätlese
Gränd Tasting: Immich-Batterieberg
Mosel
9 hectares
100% Riesling
Louis - Dressner
General Manager/ Winemaker Gernot Kollmann
2015 "CAI"
2016 Escheburg
2014 Ellergrube
Gränd Tasting: Egon Müller
Mosel
8 hectares
98% Riesling
Egon Müller
2014 Kanta (Australia)
2015 Château Belá (Slovak Republic)
2016 "Scharzhofberg" QbA
2016 Scharzhofberg Kabinett "Alte Reben"
2016 Scharzhofberg Spätlese
Gränd Tasting: Leitz
Rheingau
43 hectares
98% Riesling
Schatzi Wines
Johannes Leitz
2016 Berg Kaisersteinfels "Terrassen" GG
2016 Berg Roseneck "Katerloch" GG
2016 Berg Rotland "Hinterhaus" GG
Gränd Tasting: Selbach-Oster
Mosel
22 hectares
97% Riesling
Skurnik/ Theise
Johannes Selbach
2016 Schlossberg "Böhmer" Trocken
2016 Sonnenuhr Spätlese Feinherb "Uralte Reben"
2016 Sonnenuhr Spätlese
Gränd Tasting: Hofgut Falkenstein
Mosel
8 hectares
80% Riesling
Owner Johannes Weber
Owner Franz Weber
Lars Carlberg
2016 Herrenberg Kabinett Trocken #1
2016 Sonnenberg Spätlese Trocken
2016 Herrenberg Kabinett Feinherb #4
2016 Herrenberg Spätlese #11
Gränd Tasting: Willi Schaefer
Mosel
4 hectares
100% Riesling
Skurnik/ Theise
Christoph Schaefer
2016 Himmelreich Kabinett
2016 Himmelreich Spätlese
2016 Domprobst Spätlese #10
Rieslingfeier: Gala Dinner
Saturday, February 18th, 2017 | 7pm
Reynard | Wythe Hotel
80 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
There were 14 tables with 1 winemaker and 10 guests at each table.
The five course meal was customized by Reynard’sExecutive Chef Christina Lecki to pair with dry and off-dry Riesling.
The wine service was presided over by Rieslingfeier Chef Sommelier Raj Vaidya along with a group of the country's top sommeliers.
At each table, about 20 wines were served, provided by the host winemaker and his/ her guests. At the table of Egon Müller, for example, you would be served about 10 Egon Müller wines and 10 wines the guests brought from their cellars.
All the wines were outstanding, but some of them were out of this world. You could walk to other tables and taste the wines poured there. Guests and winemakers also walked around and shared the wines with other people.
The evening began at 7pm with a Weingut Dreissigacker Sekt reception. Dinner started at 8:00pm and ended at around midnight.
Reception with Dreissigacker Sekt
The evening began at 7pm with a Weingut Dreissigacker Sekt reception.
The Gala Dinner
Following the Sekt Reception, Stephen Bitterolf welcomed and introduced the visiting winemakers. The 28 sommeliers (2 at each table) started to pour the wines and the first course was served. During the next 4 hours or so we all enjoyed a wonderful dinner with amazing wines, from the table where you were seated but also from the other tables. People - winemakers, consumers and reps/ importers - tend to walk around at the Rieslingfeier Gala Dinner, either with their own wine or with a glass exploring what is being poured at other tables.
14 Tables at the Gala Dinner
There were 14 tables with 1 winemaker and 10 guests sitting at each table.
Gala Dinner: Lauer Table
Mosel
9 hectars
100% Riesling
Vom Boden
Florian Lauer
Gala Dinner: Willi Schaefer Table
Mosel
4 hectares
100% Riesling
Skurnik/ Theise
Christoph Schaefer
Gala Dinner: Dreissigacker Table
Rheinhessen
28 hectares
60% Riesling
Schatzi Wines
Jochen Dreissigacker
Gala Dinner. Leitz Table
Rheingau
43 hectares
98% Riesling
Schatzi Wines
Johannes Leitz
Gala Dinner: Spreitzer Table
Rheingau
21 hectares
95% Riesling
Skurnik/ Theise
Andreas Spreitzer
Gala Dinner: Dönnhoff Table
Nahe
28 hectares
80% Riesling
Skurnik/ Theise
Cornelius Dönnhoff
Gala Dinner: von Winning Table
Pfalz
49 hectares
80% Riesling
Skurnik/ Theise
Deputy Managing Director Andreas Hütwohl
Gala Dinner: Selbach-Oster Table
Mosel
22 hectares
97% Riesling
Skurnik/ Theise
Johannes Selbach
Gala Dinner: Koehler-Ruprecht Table
Pfalz
13 hectares
54% Riesling, 20% Spätburgunder
Louis - Dressner
General Manager Dominik Sona
Gala Dinner: Immich-Batterieberg Table
Mosel
9 hectares
100% Riesling
Louis - Dressner
General Manager/ Winemaker Gernot Kollmann
Gala Dinner: Trimbach Table
Alsace
100 hectares
Jean Trimbach
Gala Dinner: Hofgut Falkenstein Table
Mosel
8 hectares
80% Riesling
Owner Johannes Weber
Owner Franz Weber
Lars Carlberg
Gala Dinner: Egon Müller Table
Mosel
8 hectares
98% Riesling
Egon Müller
Gala Dinner: Schlossgut Diel Table
Nahe
25 hectares
60% Riesling
Skurnik/ Theise
Caroline Diel
Sylvain Diel
This year, my wife Annette Schiller and I were sitting with Caroline Diel and Sylvain Diel, Schlossgut Diel. Ryan Plas/ Coquette/ New Orleans and Andrew Algren/ Cherry Circle Room/ Chicago were pouring the wines.
The Menu
The food was excellent, but, of course, a bit on the backburner with all these outstanding wines being poured into your glass, at your table as well as on all the other tables.
Our Wines: 2 GGs
We brought, as Stuart Pigott commented on facebook, a "cool couple" of wines: a Riesling from the up-and-coming producer Weingut Schätzel in Rheinhessen and a Pinot Blanc from an off-the-beaten-track wine region, Saale-Unstrut in the eastern part of Germany. Both producers are not (yet) available in the US market.
2016 Weingut Schätzel, Hipping, Riesling GG - Rheinhessen
2016 Weingut Lützkendorf, Hohe Gräte, Weisburgunder GG - Saale/ Unstrut
The End
The 2018 Rieslingfeier ended around midnight. Again, it was an unforgettable event with amazing wines, including a 1939 Riesling from Weingut Spreitzer and a 2009 G-Max from Klaus Peter Keller (with trades at the seconday market for US1500 currently), to single out 2 wines among the many outstanding wines that I was able to taste.
Going Back to the Hotel
Stephen Bitterolf
Rieslingfeier was founded in 2012 by Stephen Bitterolf, a passionate advocate for Germany's culture of winemaking. He was the Wine Director at Crush Wine & Spirits in New York where he helped develop one of the largest German wine programs in the country before founding his own import company, vom Boden.
Opera
Annette and I travelled to New York on Friday, January 26. We had bought tickets for the Metropolitan Opera. We also went to 2 wine bars.
Pocket Bar NYC: A tiny neighborhood wine bar.
Ardesia (510 W 52nd St): Le Bernardin veteran Mandy Oser’s iron-and-marble gem offers superior wines in a relaxed setting.
schiller-wine: Related Postings
Ombiasy Wine Tours 2018: 3 x France and 3 x Germany - Ombiasy Newsletter December 2017
Tasting with Sylvain Taurisson Diel at Schlossgut Diel, Nahe– Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Leitz in Rüdesheim, with Johannes Leitz – Germany-North Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
Tour and Tasting at Weingut von Winning in Deidesheim, Pfalz– Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015), Germany
Tour and Tasting at Weingut Koehler Ruprecht in Kallstadt, Pfalz, with Franzi Schmitt – Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015)
Wine Tasting and Cellar Tour at Weingut Dönnhoff with Christina Dönnhoff– Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
Visiting Jean Trimbach at Maison Trimbach in Ribeauville in Alsace (2011)
At Maison Trimbach in Alsace with Hubert Trimbach – Germany-South Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
Back in the Washington DC Area: Jean Trimbach Presented Maison Trimbach Wines at a Winemaker Dinner at Open Kitchen, USA (2013)
Tasting the Wines President Obama was Served: At Weingut Dreissigacker in Bechtheim, Rheinhessen, with Ute Dreissigacker – Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015), Germany
Tour and Tasting at Weingut Spreitzer in Oestrich, Rheingau, with Bernd Spreitzer – Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015), Germany
Tasting and Vineyard Visit at Weingut Immich-Batterieberg in Enkirch, Mosel, with Gernot Kollmann - Germany-North Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
Post-Rieslingfeier and Pre-Big Glou Dinner with 3 Top Winemakers from Germany at BToo in Washington DC: Clemens Busch, Immich-Batterieberg and Koehler-Ruprecht, USA
Cellar Tour and Wine Tasting at Weingut Selbach-Oster in Zeltingen, Mosel, with Johannes Selbach– Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
Germany’s Best Winemakers and Wines– Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2018 Awards: The Award Ceremony in Mainz, Germany
Germany’s Best Winemakers and Wines – Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland 2016 Awards: The Awards Ceremony in Mainz, Germany