We recently ended our trip with a night in Frankfurt. We stayed near the train station at the Bristol Hotel, which was nice and convenient. We really enjoyed our half day doing mostly the RS walking tour of the city. The city has really made itself pedestrian friendly. During our walk we stumbled into a new wine festival(federweisser?).We ended our night in the Sachsenhausen district drinking apfelwein. A nice end to our trip.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
Having tried Federweiss in Cochem at their festival in 2008, my impression is that it is the same as Neuewein, a white wine that ferments quickly and is as good the day it is finished as it will ever be. It has the same kind of carbonated, Applecider taste.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
9222 posts
Federweisser is wine that is still fermenting, thus you can only have it at local festivals. You can't put the lid on the bottles as they will explode, and they have to keep it chilled all the time. It is typically served in small fruit juice glasses and is cloudy. It also often served with onion tart. Needless to say, the next day can be very uncomfortable for some people, when they put these 2 items together. The alcohol content from the wine runs about 4% and red Federweisser is also starting to become more common. The Federweisser Fest was at the Leibfrauenberg, and is held there every year at the end of Sept. going into Oct. This year it ended on Unity Day, 3 Oct. The Harvest Fest was also going on last week though and they also were serving Federweisser. This is one of my favorite 3 day fests as they have all these animals, tractors and fresh produce from the surrounding farms, right in the middle of the city. Great turn-out this year. There will be a Federweisser Fest in Rüdesheim next week. Let me look and get back to you later.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
"It also often served with onion tart (Zwiebelkuchen) and is cloudy". Sounds more and more like Neuewein. Whatever, I liked it.
Posted by
OP
New Hampshire
87 posts
I was under the impression that new wine = federweisser and is only available at harvest time. It is lower in alcohol content and we had no day after effects (If I remember correctly).
Posted by
Atlanta
1358 posts
I love stumbling into wine festivals! (Or stumbling out of them later....) You've discovered one of the greatest parts of travel, the local festival. They've made up some of our best travel memories. And Neuwein and Zwiebelkuchen are a special treat, like going to Germany during Spargel season.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
9222 posts
This is what is going on in the Rhein Main region in the next 2 weeks: * 14 Oct. -7 Nov. Frankfurt, Chrysanthemum & Autumn Flower Show, Palmengarten * 22-24 Oct. - Rüdesheim, Federweisser Festival * 22-24 Oct. - Lorch am Rhein, Onion Tart Festival * 28-31 Oct. - Wiesbaden, European Circus Festival * 29-31 Oct. - Rüdesheim, Federweisser Festival * 30 Oct.- 2 Nov. - Butzbach, 690th St. Catherine's Market in the Old Town * 31 Oct. - Frankfurt, Frankfurt City Marathon