On June 16 of this year, the canton where I work celebrated Corpus Christi. I skipped the Corpus Christi festivities but fully enjoyed the two extra days off I had. It was the perfect opportunity for a new Wine Tour and I chose to explore Canton Thurgau, part of the German Swiss Wine Area (more about this area in Blog Graubünden).
I left early in the morning in the rain for the train station but luckily I knew that the weather was going to get better. From Sargans I took the train to Wil. Once there, it was dry, sunny and very pleasant in temperature.
I arrived in an authentic village with beautiful half-timbered houses. Because I didn't want to be a tourist with my camera right away, I decided to just enjoy it and cycle out of the city. Soon I was cycling through a friendly hilly landscape with lots of apple trees.
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I mainly studied the wines while planning and I had forgotten that this region is also known for the apple wine, also called Most. I really like an (alcohol-free) Most while skiing or after cycling, so I should have known. Well, I knew immediately what my break drink was going to be :).
The basis of my route is based on villages where winegrowers have settled. During the planning I thought that the tour contained a bit too many villages and therefore I decided to adjust the route a bit and to lead it around the villages. After a few hours of cycling through the apple hills I noticed that I was getting a bit overheated and really needed to replenish my fluid level. Then a village with some shops and a fountain would be very welcome.
It slowly got really annoying and I started to get mad at myself for not preparing this essential part better. But like an oasis in the desert I suddenly saw a sign with "ice cream, turn left". I followed the sign and took the country road and to a farm because I thought, when they have ice creams, they usually have drinks as well. In this case, there was Grandma Rose. Grandma Rose ran the farm for years, but now she wasn't so mobile anymore. She told me, they actually didn't have ice creams anymore, but they did have drinks and homemade fruit pie. I skipped the cake because I believe that otherwise all the children and grandchildren would have become angry with me. But luckily, I was allowed to go and get a drink myself. Because Grandma Rose was not capable of doing that, she introduced the self-service principle. And what did I found in the fridge? Indeed non-alcoholic Most! Already before a took a sip a felt reborn and strong to continue. Just because Grandma Rose was so nice, I stayed a bit longer to enjoy the break. Afterwards I guess I had to pay for the entertainment as well since Grandma didn’t have any change or wasn’t capable of catching the wallet. I didn’t mind, it was more than worth it!
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The tour continued to Lake Constance. It's great to see this big lake looming. The view is beautiful and the fresh breeze is also very welcome. The surrounding is completely different and it feels like I am in a Mediterranean region. Along the coast are a few beautiful villages with characteristic buildings and half-timbered houses. The disadvantage of this is that the area is also very touristic and that brings significantly more traffic than there is the hilly landscape.
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I drove along the coast for a while and then continued my tour a bit inland for a change. It's quite warm and I actually only longed to cool down somewhere. I let go of my original idea of going to Schaffhausen. Instead, I cycled straight to a swimming lake that I had already seen on the map. But not before I stopped at a local Volg (supermarket) for water, an ice cream and something salty.
Delicious! I am also close to my Hotel so the relaxation can begin. I am staying in Stammheim, in an old half-timbered house and family hotel. These family hotels are often a hit because they are run with a lot of love. And so it was this time. The owner gave me a warm welcome and took good care of me and my bike. I had a fresh, simple room and my bicycle a whole horse stable. Well, I was sure that it was safe there.
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In the evening it stayed warm so I could enjoy dinner in the garden. The garden was beautiful and the food was really good and way less traditional than I'm used to in Switzerland. They offered special vegetarian dishes and also a nice wine list with open wines.
I started with a non - alcoholic Sparking Wine from Tröpfel. Two ladies from Mannern started a business in 2007 with an alcohol-free sparkling wine. In the meantime, they are well known in Switzerland and the wines are available far outside the region. They now offer different wines and also other drinks that work well as an aperitif or to toast. I tasted the first sparkling wine they made. This one was a bit too sweet for me but still I think it's a nice replacement for an aperitif if you don't want to drink alcohol.
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With my vegetarian meal I chose a glass of Pinot Noir from the region, Oberstammheim. And after dinner I had an other glass of red wine for dessert. That was a Cuvée of Pinot noir, Malbec & Cabernet Sauvignon. I don't think there is a better dessert than that, but opinions might differ on that ;)
In the morning I was the first at breakfast to enjoy the cool morning breeze and to make sure to be in Schaffhausen before the big crowds. It worked! After a nice ride through villages and along the Rhine a arrived in the city. I wouldn't recommend that city-part but I just had to get through to get to the Rhine Falls. And that is a beautiful and spectacular phenomenon to see. I took a moment to look at the powerful falls. And when the crowd arrived, I decided it was time to move on.
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The trip continued through small villages and along the wine yards to the one village in Thalwill with two bio-dynamic winegrowers. I went to visit Bioweingut Roland und Karin Lenz.
They have a strong biodynamic vision that focuses in particular on everything that happens outside, in the vineyards. The three pillars of their winery are the attention to sustainability labels, the energy concept of the whole business and the use of PIWI wines (more about PIWI wines in Blog Sankt Gallen). 80% of their wine yards contain PIWI-grapes.
Karin and Roland try to understand the cycles of nature and they investigate the connections between plant communication, life in the soil, but also the reaction of the vine to a wide variety of changes in parameters. Biodiversity is an essential part of their strategy. To make biodiversity measurable and to point out those wines that are produced in the midst of rich nature, they have developed their own label: Biodiversität pur.
The most important point is that the biodiversity area corresponds to at least 12% of the parcel area and is connected to adjacent biodiversity areas. Because this is the case with Karin and Rolands Wineyard, they were able to successfully settle the hoopoe, (Icon of the label), and the mouse weasel.
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After an interesting talk with Karin I bought two bottles of wine and put them safely in my saddlebag so I could enjoy some tasting at home. Karin looked a little concerned that I was going to ship the bottles like this and wondered if she really shouldn't send them to my home address. But no, I was on a mission and I wanted to come home with a few bottles of local wine. Otherwise it would not have been a wine tour.
I still had quite a ride ahead of me. Soon I was out of the beautiful wine region and I came to a hilly landscape that I found less special and somewhat boring. But further into the valley, the environment became more impressive and soon I had all motivation back to continue the tour.
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Until my final station (Lichtensteig), I enjoyed the green surroundings with beautiful villages and views. Okay, I have to admit that I crossed the borders of Thurgau in this tour but still I saw a lot this Canton. Thurgau's diversity is so great that I simply couldn't limit my blog to the wines. I'm curious if you got inspired to go there and experience yourself.
Cheers! (With some Vitamin Reload drink first;)
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