Fast forward a bit, we stash our 1st wine collection in the basements of friends for our return to Germany as civilians.
We joined Erich’s “wandering wine Stammtisch,” the Schnudedunkers, and get back to exploring the food and wine around Wiesbaden, Frankfurt, Darmstadt and Heidelberg in Germany. We become regulars at restaurants we will never forget (Goldene Sonne 💕), and the friends we make introduce us to more German wines, but also French & Italian wines. We take another USO trip to Reims and the Champagne region, and that combined with the profusions of German Sekt available, my passion for sparkling wine becomes fixed. One of my favorite cafes in Wiesbaden (Cafe Maldaner, aka “the old lady cafe”) has a sign that states “Every day is worth a glass of Champagne,” and that has become one of my mottos–both literally and figuratively.
We expand our tastes by listening to anyone who will tell us about the wines they like. I develop a fondness for Montepulciano di Abruzzo at a Frankfurt Italian restaurant called Gallo Nero. Grocery stores in Germany and France hold so many wonderful and affordable options that our collection now demands the Ikea wine rack we put together in our Erzhausen apartment. Life was delicious, but we had come to an impasse as our respective bases shut down and we were facing a big move out of our favored area and two very long commutes if we stayed. So, Roman interviewed for a job stateside & got an offer, we packed up all of our belongings, shipped our wine, and moved to DC in 2009.
The wine culture-shock was one of the hardest things–the alcohol sales laws in DC, MD & VA are so vastly different, and finding familiar & affordable wines was challenging. Familiar labels were now 3x the price we were accustomed to, and not even the best the producers had to offer. But, we made great friends who introduced us to great restaurants again, so we got back to asking recommendations and exploring. I discovered I had a knack for picking wines for meals or personalities, realizing that I was somehow retaining some of this knowledge and combining it with a picky attitude toward fonts. Half-price wine nights at places, wine tasting flights at others, watching Sideways, all of it was fascinating.
Wine Nerd (in progress) 