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Zero Percent Alcohol with Pleasure
An unsuspecting couple of tourists arrived thirsty at the Swiss House early in the morning.
Our hut manager that day, Benedikt, was still wiping the tables, but greeted them friendly and immediately asked what they would like to drink.
“An apple spritzer,” was the unsuspecting answer.
Benedict froze in mid-movement and looked at the tourists in horror.
They immediately realized that they had made a mistake, but since they had been to the Palatinate several times before, they knew after a brief hesitation how to make up for their mistake: "Oh, a grape juice spritzer, please!"
Benedikt breathed a sigh of relief, nodded and immediately brought two large glasses of sparkling grape juice spritzer outside. (Incidentally, this really happened.)
There are apples in the Palatinate, but they belong in cakes. When it comes to drinks, grapes are and will always be our favorite fruit, whether with or without alcohol!
And every year in autumn, it is the grape juice that first heralds the new harvest. At the beginning of the grape harvest, we were busy pressing the Kerner and Müller Thurgau grapes for the white grape juice and Regent grapes for the red grape juice . The grapes for the juice must not be as sweet as those for wine.
Our freshly pressed juice is then processed immediately, meaning it is bottled within 48 hours (that's not a typo, that's what we winemakers call it here). What's special about it? It is not heated! This so-called cold-sterile processing (really, we could have thought of a more pleasant description!) ensures that heat-sensitive vitamins such as vitamin A, B1, B2, B6, B12, folic acid, vitamin C and enzymes, which are normally reduced during cooking, are retained.
This is not only good news for people who pay attention to their diet, but also for raw foodists. Ever heard of it? These are people who only eat uncooked food.
A very noble approach that we would throw overboard at the first frost, but everyone should be happy in their own way. Incidentally, Frederick the Great said this over 300 years ago, even if he wasn't talking about eating habits.
The intense fruit flavor is another characteristic of our grape juices - and one of the reasons why our juices often sell out so quickly. The other reason is the relatively small quantity that we bottle. According to the law, we have to put a relatively short best-before date on the bottle when processing the juice cold and sterile, even though the juice often has a much longer shelf life.
For years it has been said that a little wine (i.e. alcohol) is good for your health. We have already talked about this. But our most important newspaper in the region, the "Rheinpfalz", published an article on August 17, 2024 that either speaks for a lot of courage or should bring a little excitement to the summer doldrums. The title was " Not healthy even in moderation " and referred to a new study from Canada that says that alcohol in any form is bad, no matter how much.
Of course, the people of the Palatinate did not accept this! There were heated arguments, from Bible quotations to references to "hard things" (which are much more dangerous).
We take a more relaxed view of this. Happiness and enjoyment are part of a good life. And anything that is extreme is dangerous. There is always room for a good glass of wine between these two statements.
Years ago we did an experiment and offered "G. Virgin", i.e. non-alcoholic grape secco. Unfortunately, we quickly realized that the high price of the bubbler required to add carbon dioxide to the drink made production unprofitable. You also have to be extremely careful that every square millimeter is hygienically clean so that the cold-sterile grape juice processing is successful.
We have a special tip for anyone who would like to enjoy our flavorful grape juice without alcohol and with lots of vitamins: you can conjure up a wonderful grape secco at home so that children, drivers and those who don't like alcohol can sip a sparkling drink at any time. Here is the recipe:
- 170 ml tap water
- 80 ml grape juice
- make it bubble in the Sodamax
- a few freshly washed grapes hanging over the edge of the glass
Complete!
If you can’t wait, you don’t need to hold back any longer:
Our grape juice offer (only until 13.10.24)
15 bottles of grape juice (white & red) for only 49 euros including shipping.
Enjoy your non-alcoholic enjoyment
Your absolutely sober counts
Na ich hoffe, Benedikt hat sich wieder erholt, denn es geschah schon wieder vor ein paar Tagen mit uns. Wir sind lernfähig 🙈😂Viele Grüße aus Oberhausen, wir haben köstlich bei euch im Dorf gespeist und brav die Wein- und Traubenschorle bestellt. Ende März 25 sind wir 2 Wochen in eurer kleinen hübschen Fewo. Schade dass ihr erst im Mai öffnet.
Bleibt gesund und ich freue mich auf eure Newsletter, das Büchlein hab ich natürlich auch.
Herzlichst eure Sigrid
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