What I Learned
The Bodensee wine district lies in a true garden spot for Germany, Switzerland and Austria, where fruit trees, truck gardens, and vineyards are tucked among small villages and ancient religious foundations.
It is located on Lake Constance. It is known in the German-speaking world as the Bodensee, and fondly referred to as the “German Sea” because it is shared between Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The lake itself has three distinct parts: the Obersee , the Untersee, and the Seerhein. There are vineyards along much of all of it.
Along the Untersee, literally the Lower Lake, which is the western arm of Lake Constance, viticulture was fundamental from the start of recorded history in this area. The island of Reichenau in the middle of the Untersee has a rich tradition of viticulture, dating to the foundation of the first monastery on the island. As other monasteries along, or within sight of the lake, developed, their need for wine prompted further plantings, and thus the tradition spread. While over the course of more than 1200 years the region’s viticultural traditions have waxed and waned, in a neat parallel today, current wineries on Reichenau and elsewhere have settled into buildings, or the footprint of buildings, of the original monasteries.
In contrast, Gaienhofen’s viticultural tradition dates only to the 1300s. Situated on the beautiful Hoeri peninsula, on the shore west of Reichenau, the small vineyards capture lots of sunlight in a (relatively) warm, bucolic site. Bohlinger Galgenberg, near Liggeringen, more inland, is another historic vineyard.
The Swiss have many vineyards fronting the Untersee. The tiny Swiss enclave of Stein am Rhein on the northern shore (technically on the Rhine, not the lake) has vineyards sandwiched between its medieval castle on a hill high above town, and its medieval monastery on the waterfront.
On the southern side of the Untersee in the Swiss canton of Thurgau, there are many more vineyards. This area may be familiar to wine connoisseurs as childhood home of Hermann Mueller. Born in Taegerwilen, a suburb of Kreuzlingen (the Swiss town abutting Konstanz), he taught school for a while in Stein am Rhein, before moving on to study botany, specifically oenology. He later developed the Mueller-Thurgau varietal in order to help the vintners of the area deal with the sometimes less-than-favorable ripening conditions in his home canton. (See the Wine Notes for Switzerland’s Thurgau region here.)
The two most commonly cultivated varietals in this lake region are Spaetburgunder and Mueller-Thurgau. While Mueller Thurgau is a little over 100 years old now, it has become very well-established within this region, as well as elsewhere in Germany. By contrast, the Spaetburgunder grape has a much longer history here. Not native to the area, it arrived in 884 A.D. from France, where it is known as Pinot Noir. Most likely, the monks imported it in order to make their own communion wine.
Although Mueller Thurgau is predominant throughout this area, other white wine varietals include Gutedel, Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris), Kerner and Muscateller. For the red varietals, Spaetburgunder pretty much dominates the red wine scene. Note that unlike much of the rest of Germany, Riesling is not present here in any significant amount!
What I Tasted
2016 Spaetburgunder Rose, Trocken, Qualitaetswein, Weingut Rebholz (Radolfzell-Liggeringen, Germany): A dry rose wine with very light salmon color; a floral perfumed nose of red apple, and slight flavors of red berry and wood; very mild tannins.
2016 Grauburgunder, Konstanz Sonnenhalde, Trocken, Qualitaetswein, Spitalkellerei Konstanz (Constance, Germany): A dry white wine with medium minus gold color; nose of grass, citrus, and green apple, with citrus, green apple, and slight vanilla flavors, medium acidity.
2014 Weissherbst, Trocken, Deutschland Bodensee Wein, Spitalkellerei Konstanz: A dry red wine with medium salmon color; herbaceous and cherry nose, with red berries, floral and herbaceous flavors; low acidity and no appreciable tannins; with a slight prickle on the tongue
2014 Mueller-Thurgau, Kanonenputzer, M & M Stadler (Triboltingen, Switzerland): A semi-dry white wine with very pale gold color; a slight grape nose, and fruity and floral flavors; medium acidity.
2013 Mueller Thurgau, Bodensee Reichenauer, Trocken, Qualitaetswein, Winzerverein eG Reichenau (Reichenau, Germany): A dry white wine with very light gold color, herbaceous nose, herbaceous flavors and slight floral and vanilla notes; medium long finish, medium plus acidity.
2012 Spaetburgunder, Reichenauer Hochwart Spaetburgunder, Augia Felix Edition, Trocken, Qualitaetswein, Winzerverein eG Reichenau: A dry red wine with smoky, with slight honey undertones and subtle floral notes; soft tannins and a full mouthfeel.