What I Learned
Monkey Valley, or Affental, in German, has a long history of wine making. Located just south of Baden-Baden, this corner of Baden, Germany long attracted and encouraged monastic foundations. As is often the case, it was medieval religious who established the viticulture of the region, as they needed communion wine. In this case, the 13th century Cistercians from the Lichtenthaler Monastery of Baden-Baden planted Pinot Noir vines in this area of steep slopes with good exposure to the sun.
The practice of viticulture has continued ever since. In 1908, local vintners created the Affentaler Winzer, a cooperative winery. This cooperative focused on red wine production. Although other cooperatives were also in Eisental, Affentaler Winzer has since incorporated them into its cooperative. Affentaler wine has stood out, literally, since 1949, as the Affental Winzer red wine bottles have a raised metal plaquette of a monkey on them.
