31 Days of German Riesling - Victoria's first European vineyard and winery visit

“Can I see your visa?” a young lady at the check-in desk asked me.

“What visa?” I replied, puzzled. I thought she meant my British visa, but I was flying from London to Frankfurt.

“To Germany,” she clarified.

“But I don’t need one,” I said confidently. I’ve been traveling with this passport for the last five years and I know I don’t require any visas for the EU.

“There’s something wrong with your passport,” she said, and my heart stopped.

Thankfully, it took the airport worker just a minute to recheck my document and hand me a boarding pass. And that’s how my first wine trip started...

“You’re standing on the vineyard where the history of Riesling began. In 817, there was the first documented mention of the Johannisberg vineyards. By 1720, the entire domain was planted with Riesling, creating the first closed Riesling vineyard in the world,” explained Stefan Doktor, the Managing Director of Schloss Johannisberg, as he gave us a splendid tour of the vineyard and winery located in the Rheingau region, about an hour’s drive from Frankfurt airport. (By “us,” I mean me and several others from the UK wine industry — Miles Platt (Head of Jascots), Claire Harries (Assistant Editor of Wine Merchant magazine), Marcus Breese (The Grape to Glass Wine Shop), Miroslava Kohutova (The Salusbury Wine Store), and myself, Viktoriia Vereha (Cellar Door Wines).

Schloss Johannisberg winery and cellar, Rheingau, Germany

Our first tasting in Germany was in the vineyard. Vintage 2023, Gelblack (top-quality). Probably the best collection of Schloss Johannisberg Riesling ever, according to Vinum (a Swiss wine guide) and James Suckling (an American wine critic). Fruity, floral, aromatic, with stone fruit on the nose, complex and with high acidity.

“Riesling needs many sunny days, so Germany is perfect for it. We play beach volleyball until 10 pm,” Stefan shared.

Schloss Johannisberg vineyard

We had a charming picnic on the vineyard with another tasting, and Stefan told us fascinating stories about the outstanding German writer Goethe, who visited the site in 1814. Goethe would drink 4-5 bottles of Riesling per day, and his favourite vintage was 1811. Unfortunately, no wine from that period remains, but I had the privilege to taste Cuvee 100 (Spätlese — late harvest), which is a blend of vintages dating back to 1915. This wine was created in anticipation of the 250th anniversary of Spätlese's discovery in 2025. Few people have had the opportunity to taste a 100-year-old wine, and now I’m one of them. Amber in colour, clean on the nose, with high acidity well-balanced by light sweetness. The “wow” effect was achieved.

Ex-Bibliotheca Cuvee 100 (Spätlese)

The last tasting of the day was in the evening with a mouth-watering dinner (in total, we had four tastings that day). Picture this: Riesling soup paired with dry Riesling wine, and the view of the Riesling vineyard. Marvellous!

The Riesling soup

Returning to the UK, I carried with me not just a bottle of sophisticated, precise, fresh, clean Riesling, but also a renewed passion for my work at independent wine merchant, Cellar Door Wines in St Albans. I was eager to share my experience with my colleagues and customers, to introduce them to the wonders of German Riesling, and to continue exploring the diverse and fascinating world of wine.

And so, my first wine trip concluded, but it was just the beginning of a lifelong journey through vineyards, each one offering new adventures, new flavours, and new stories waiting to be told.

That’s how my first wine trip went, and I can’t wait for the next one.

Check out the Schloss Johannisberg wine that we now stock:

Schloss Johannisberg 50 Degrees Dry Riesling 2022

Schloss Johannisberg Gelblack Riesling Trocken Rheingau

Watch a video of my wine travels on our Instagram page.