 Weingut Ratzenberger-in the beautiful Renaissance town of Bacharach-Steeg, about forty minutes from the Frankfurt airport-has become our favorite first stop and base station in the Mittelrhein. The guest apartment is one of the most comfortable places we stay, with the view through the bedroom window dominated by a wall of vines marching up the towering black slate slope of the Steeger St. Jost. Bacharach is a favorite stop too for the sweet, family ambiance of the Ratzenberger home: Carmen's wonderful cooking, Jochen Sr.'s musical German, and the look on his face as he watches his son Jochen Jr., the current winemaker (seen here with his daughter), presenting us the intensely flavored, crystalline wines. |
