Schwarze Katz
Ah, my sweet little Schwarze Katz. You are so fresh and soothing. You make my tastebuds purr and my mind curl up into a comfy little ball, like a favored pet on a late summer evening.
This humble white wine is the pride of the Mosel Valley. Actually, it is more than that. It is the lifeblood of the Mosel, as important as the river for which the valley is named. It comes in three varieties, from sweet to dry-ish, and filled with light, pleasing fruit flavors and a mild effervescence. It is PERFECT for drinking with schnitzel, or weisswurst, or sauerbraten.
Why is it so good with these hearty dishes? I wondered that too. Then it hit me - what goes great with pork...? Apples, yes, or apricots, yes. What might you eat after a large meal...? Sorbet, yes, or fresh berries, yes. It is the same with this wine - the fruity, clean complement that rich meatiness cries out for.
And rich meatiness is what we got.
Our first night in Zell. My hunk of meat had a caper sauce. Andrew's had a mushroom sauce. Marissa's was breaded and fried. They were all made of pork or beef or veal. And they came with fries, crispy and golden. Andrew had a Fanta. I had the Fanta of wine, a Zeller Schwarze Katz.
This was the typical scene, up and down the Mosel as well as along the Rhine. Deliciously meaty dishes paired with delightfully refreshing white wine.
A typical scene, repeated over and over: me, looking a little too satisfied. Marissa, looking like she knows I am full of it. The wine, looking like it needs to be drunk. From Zell on our first night to Frankfurt on our last, the food and wine of this part of Germany left us happy and rejuvenated.
We were lucky enough to stay in a quaint little apartment above one of the many wineries in Zell, and we were able to drink some of their wines.
Herr Weis had a variety of wines. My favorite was his version of Prosecco, called Fransecco. It was sweeter than the Italian original, with a lower alcohol content, but shared the same light carbonation and went very well with a game of cards.
Nightly we would play, sipping the Fransecco and eating local strawberries and German milk chocolate, a breeze blowing through the open windows to dispel the heat and humidity of Germany in late spring.
The one thing I think the wines of this region need is more marketing. My time there inspired a bit of copy. The slogan? "Bring on the cat". Example (cue loud music, show pictures of young women in bikinis):
Having a barbecue this weekend? Skip the beer. Bring on the cat - The Zeller Schwarze Katz.
Hmmm.. I just may be on to something.
