Stuttgart holds a winefest known as the Stuttgarter Weindorf which converts the city streets and plazas downtown in a cutesy village of cozy restaurants with local Swabian cuisine, wines by the glass of all sorts, and roving jovial musicians and lots of tipsy people. There are dozens of establishments, but most of the wine looks (and, based on my experience last year, tastes) like unremarkable bulk wine under screwcap (and I don't refer to Stelvin). It was hit and miss last year, mostly miss, so I head to a booth operated by Die Württemberger Weingärtnergenossenschaften, which apparently is the representative organization for Württemberg's cooperative winegrowers. I have very little background in Württemberg's wines and wasn't sure what to expect. The area is much more associated with reds and rosés than most other winegrowing regions in Germany.
I focused mainly on reds and rosés. The white grapes were ones which I find often in other parts of Germany and the sparkling wines were mostly made by the charmat process--and in the past I have found some Sekt to be an attempt to make palatable otherwise undrinkable fermented juice (rather unsuccessfully). Though the results were certainly mixed, it was a very neat experience. I got to try some Württemberg classics such as Schillerwein, Trollinger, Lemberger, and Schwarzriesling along with quite a few grapes I was unfamiliar with like Samtrot, Cabernet Cubin, Regent, and Acolon. There were some undrinkable ones, some ones I did not care for, and some with were rather pleasant and I would enjoy. The prices below were for a bottle at the festival--which I hope are completely out of line with the retail prices.
The white
2006 Felsengartenkellerei Besigheimer Felsengarten Württemberg Traminer Spätlese (Württemberg, Germany) 10.4% – appears darker gold, smell soft floral, quite sweet syrup on nose, mouthfeel bit of spritz, quite heavy, taste obvious overtoned sweetness, flat, basic flavor, boring, so rounded there is nothing there to enjoy, slightly trashy as well, a wine I would not care to drink. 18 euro
The rosés
2006 Heuchelberg Kellerei Württemberg Acolon Rosé QbA (Württemberg, Germany) 12% – (According to my server, Acolon is a cross between Lemberger and Dornfelder) appears cranberry red dark, see through, smell faint strawberry, taste obvious sweet syrup, not much character, simple tart spice, not much interesting here, harsh and heavy on tongue, too heavy too lumbering. 15 euro
2006 Weingärtner Cleebronn-Güglingen Cleebronner Michaelsberg Württemberg Schillerwein QbA (Württemberg, Germany) 12% – mix of Portugeiser, Spätburgunder, Silvaner, Riesling, and Müller Thurgau – (According to my server, Schillerwein is a Württemberg specialty where the juice from red and white grapes are fermented together for a rosé) appears peach-melon color, clear, smell simple bright peach, with air, very perfumed, simple very pleasant nose, smell reminds me of the lake, taste acid and water mixed at first, bit odd but interesting, dry at first, sweetness marches in a bit, intro is interesting and I like it, bit carbonated but only hints of sweetness, the sweetness is always more threatening than realized, the finish is again a bit odd and feels like a bucket full of fruit scraps, I found this wine more baffling/intriguing than tasty, though in the right environment it might do just fine (thinking warm and summery instead of the cold and rainy day I tasted it on). 12 euro
The reds
2003 Grantschen Württemberg Cabernet Cubin QbA Trocken Barrique (Württemberg, Germany) 13% – (According to my server, Cabernet Cubin is a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Lemberger that is a pretty recent invention) appears dark impenetrable ink black/red, smell nice soft herbs, leather, raspberry, taste pleasant berry, mouthfiling juiciness, bit spicy, good mix quickly taken over by toasted wood tones, completely overdone on that front, in my opinion, but finish is quite nicely tart and refreshing, this wine had some promise with tartness and herbaceous notes, but the barrique completely hijacked the wine. 20 euro
2005 Eberstadt Württemberg Lemberger QbA Trocken Carpe Momentum (Württemberg, Germany) 13.9% – appears dark cranberry color, see through but quite dark, smell lightly and sweetly fragrant, some grape kool-aid, deep very sweet fruit, with air, very deep sweet raspberry confection, interesting nose, taste very sweet, very spiced on tongue, feels like a boring blend of everything, nothing distinct, unpleasant grapey finish, too much of the wrong things here and no saving graces, nasty wine. 15 euro
2006 Weingärtner Brackenheim Württemberg Regent QbA Trocken Ecovin (Württemberg, Germany) 13.2% – appears dark cranberry black, but see through, smell lots of sweet grapes, jolly rancher, very simple, yet very dark, taste very fruity, hint of spice in and out, simple, not much more than that, yet pleasant enough, parching on tongue, acidic touch, the fruit feels a bit cooked, this feels like a very lazy wine, edges toward flat and dull, some promise, but weight of wine drags it down toward boring. 18 euro
2005 WG Neckarwestheim Neckarwestheimer Herrlesberg Württemberg Samtrot Spätlese (Württemberg, Germany) 12% – appears light cranberry red, quite reflective, smell basic berry, some jam, tons of kool-aid, mouthfeel acidic spritz, some volatile acidity-like elements, taste sweet intro, basic easy jam, quite pleasant simple fruit, lightly toasted, made to slide in without trouble, finish is bright, light, hint of spice, this wine is soft, easy, and basic, I quite enjoyed it, nothing complex, but nothing tiring either. 15 euro
2006 Lauffener Weingärtnergenossenschaft Lauffener Katzenbeißer Württemberg Schwarzriesling Spätlese Trocken (Württemberg, Germany) 12.3% – (Schwarzriesling is the local name for the Pinot Meunier grape) appears very light cranberry red, see through easily, smell faint smoke and bug spray, some very nice grape turnover pastry, taste completely falls apart on first touch, loose acid, flaccid, more remnants of flavor on finish, limpid yet harsh, no promise here, weak and forgettable. 15 euro
2006 Württembergischer Weingärtner Zentralgenossenschaft Württemberg Trollinger QbA Trocken Edition Gourmet (Württemberg, Germany) 12.5% – (Trollinger is also known as Schiava/Vernatsch in the Alto Adige region of Italy) appears very light pale red, smell very slight nose, little bit of berry, quite muted, mouthfeel smooth, easy, taste dull berries, strawberries, nice dryness edges its way in, slight toasted wood, finish blows away rest of wine, intense crunchy berries, bit more tart, bit of spice, finish was the only interesting thing about this wine, but it was quite interesting. 12 euro
2004 Remstalkellerei Württemberg Zweigelt QbA Barrique Trocken (Württemberg, Germany) 14% – appears dark see through purple-black, smell perfumed and high alcohol, hard to pick up much else, but smelled a bit on the tarter side, taste barely any presence upfront, the spice rushes in before any fruit makes itself known, nice thicker texture, occasional odd chemical berry thing coming in, very unpleasant wine, undrinkable. 20 euro
2005 GK Heilbronn Erlenbach Weinsberg Württemberg TROLEDO Rotwein Cuvée QbA (Württemberg, Germany) 11.5% blend of Trollinger, Lemberger and Dornfelder – appears dark barely see through maroon, smell sweet and intense grape juice upfront, syrup, taste spark acid upfront fades, flat, flat, flat juice underneath, noticeable unintegrated tannins, sparky, spicy, deadening, repeated acid kick upfront makes it unpleasant to drink, fruit underneath is thick and pleasant, but wine does a good job covering that up. 12 euro