Frankfurt Apple Wine – Liquid Gold

“Apple Wine at the Römer” and the Apple Wine Festival are two particularly popular entries in this year’s calendar of events. What’s more, Frankfurt also offers fans of the city’s most popular beverage a guided apple wine tour, the Ebbelwei Express (Apple Wine Express) and the Apple Wine Weekend. Further information on the Frankfurt favourite may be obtained from the recently published apple wine brochure, which is available from the Frankfurt Tourist+Congress Board (TCF).

Frankfurt am Main, November 2014 (tcf). On 12^h April, the sixth international apple wine fair is scheduled to commence at Gesellschaftshaus Palmengarten. Known as Apple Wine at the Römer, this event annually attracts some 1,000 visitors, who flock to Frankfurt’s old town centre to try the latest apple wine creations. The presentation includes over 250 apple wine varieties from all across the globe. The apple wine producers represented at the event hail from Hessen and various other German states including North Rhine Westphalia and Bavaria as well as foreign destinations like Switzerland and Canada.

Frankfurt’s apple wine culture has been an integral part of the city’s joie de vivre for many, many years. In 2015, Frankfurt locals will once again be paying tribute to their beverage of choice with the Apple Wine Festival, taking place from 07^th to 16^th August. Here, folklore performances and dialect theatre will provide plenty of home-style entertainment, while local bands are certain to get audiences into a party mood. At the same time, hundreds of apple wine varieties will be available for tasting at the event’s many booths and stalls. The beverages on offer will include traditional apple wine made from various apple varieties, mixed dinks and the ever-popular apple wine cocktails.

An excellent guided city walk entitled Frankfurt and Its Apple Wine starts at the Römerberg old town centre and leads participants over the “Eiserne Steg” footbridge to the southern bank of the River Main, home of the going-out district of Sachsenhausen. This famous old riverside district is known to be the beating heart of Frankfurt’s apple wine scene. The tour vividly recounts the history of Frankfurt’s most popular beverage, also telling of its roots in Old Sachsenhausen, its production and anecdotes surrounding this highly popular beverage.

Frankfurt’s public transport authority (VGF) offers visitors nostalgic tours of Sachsenhausen and the old town by way of the time-honoured Ebbelwei Express (Apple Wine Express). This merry streetcar runs on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, picking up passengers at specially marked tram stops. Tours are held regularly between 1:30 pm and 7:00 pm. Tickets are available on the tram. The fare of € 8.00 per adult and € 3.50 per children and youths under 14 includes a bag of pretzels as well as a bottle of apple wine or apple juice per person. The time-honoured tram may also be booked for exclusive group outings and on weekdays. 

A trip on the Apple Wine Express is also a firm component of the Apple Wine Weekend, which is available throughout the year at a price of € 72.00 per person in a double room. After the tour with the historical streetcar, travellers have a traditional dinner consisting of boiled prime beef and Frankfurt Green Sauce to look forward to, accompanied by a glass of apple wine, enjoyed at one of Sachsenhausen’s time-honoured apple wine pubs.

The history of apple wine has been firmly entrenched in the history of Frankfurt for over 250 years. Two and a half centuries ago, grape phylloxera caused extensive damage to local vineyards. As a result, wine was for some time made from apples, which had not been befallen by these parasites. Today, Frankfurt apple wine continues to be made from apples grown locally, making the beverage a truly sustainable and regional product.

Frankfurt apple wine culture plays an important role in the city’s social life, a role that is actively promoted by the publicans and restaurateurs of Sachsenhausen. Here, in Frankfurt’s premier going-out district, one finds traditional apple wine pubs set side by side like pearls on a string. Frankfurt’s many traditional inns, taverns, pubs and restaurants are the perfect place for experiencing a little bit of hometown hospitality and “gemütlichkeit”.

Apple wine doesn’t just taste good, it is also known to promote good health. Its ingredients are said to strengthen the immune system while also preventing heart and cardiovascular disease. It is also reputed to improve blood flow to the brain and, as a result, mental vitality. The alcohol content of apple wine is somewhere around five percent, putting it at the lower end of the scale. Those looking to retain their slim figure will appreciate the low calorie content of apple wine, which is on average no more than 36 calories per 100 millilitres. White wine, in comparison, contains some 79 calories in the same amount.

The Hessian Apple Wine Route is subdivided into six regional loops, leading hikers past mixed fruit orchards, apple wine pubs and apple wineries. These trails are signposted with a uniform logo, consisting of a red apple with a green arrow. Pubs and taverns that belong to the Apple Wine Route are marked with the same motif.

Frankfurt apple wine is traditionally poured from a stoneware jug, the so-called Bembel, into a ribbed glass, known as the Gerippte. The locals’ beverage of choice has many nicknames. Whether it’s called “Ebbelwei”, “Ebbelwoi”, “Äppler”, “Schoppe” or “Stöffche”, the meaning’s the same.

Published by the Frankfurt Tourist+Congress Board, the apple wine brochure presents comprehensive information, including all of the aforementioned facts and figures as well as a small glossary on the subject of apple wine.

Contact:

Frankfurt Tourist+Congress Board
Elena Holschier-Rupprecht
Kaiserstr. 56
60329 Frankfurt am Main
Phone: +49 (0) 69 / 21 24 30 10
rupprecht@infofrankfurt.de