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.

Affen means monkey in German. Obviously, monkeys are not native to the foothills of the Black Forest. But it turns out that monkeys likely have nothing to do with the name of the valley. Some historians believe that due to the presence of chapel devoted to Mary, and the tolling of the bells for the traditional Ave Maria prayer, the valley became known as the “Ave” valley. (To understand this, know that the German F sound and German V sound are close. Thus, “Ave”- over time became “Afe” -tal.) Other historians believe that the name Affen derives from the old German personal name of “Affa”. Whatever the cause, the valley ultimately became known as the Affental.  And now, the winery, as well as the Pinot Noir wine from this area, has taken its name and mascot from it.

 

What I Tasted

2017 Spaetburgunder, Deutscher Qualitaetswein, Trocken, Affentaler Winzer (Eisental-Buhl): A dry red wine with medium ruby red color; green wood and slight berry nose, with oak and slight red berry flavors; medium plus tannins.

2017 Affentaler, Deutscher Qualitaetswein, Trocken, Ortenauer Weinkeller: A dry red wine (Spaetburgunder/Pinot Noir) with medium garnet color; a spice and dried cherry nose, with dried cherry, oak and vanilla flavors, medium plus tannins.

2015 Affentaler, Deutscher Praedikatswein, Auslese, Ortenauer Weinkeller: A dry red wine (Spaetburgunder/Pinot Noir) with dark minus garnet color; a spice and green wood nose, with cherry, green wood and spice flavors, medium tannins. (This labelling was a case of another cooperative from further south, labelling its Pinot Noir produced from grapes from the area as “Affentaler”.)