Current
Some statistics say that moving is the second most stressful thing you can do in your life. (The most stressful is a divorce, but that's not our topic today.) In fact, there are very few people who like moving. No wonder, since everything is being shaken to its foundations and rearranged.
Wine is no different: the more often it moves from barrel A to barrel B, the worse its mood becomes. Because it too is torn from its beauty sleep, shaken up, forced through narrow tubes and has to get used to its new surroundings.
Well, says the clever winemaker, we'll just let the wine slumber wonderfully in the cellar and not disturb it. But it's not quite that simple (that was obvious)...
Everyone who has their own garden knows the problem: you look forward to the harvest for months, eagerly awaiting the first tomato, and then you don't know what to do with the excess and, after tomato salad, tomato soup, tomato casserole, tomato mozzarella and tomato bread, you can't stand the sight of tomatoes anymore.
We winemakers know this too. Once a year our cellar is bursting at the seams... and the rest of the year we live off of it. So what is the best way to store the precious liquid? This question has been answered very differently over the centuries:
We live on a cloud. A cloud of scent made of pollen and sunshine. In the last few weeks our vines have been blooming in the beautiful Palatinate, and there is no more wonderful scent in the world. The bees are in a frenzy of joy and we are happy too, especially because the year did not start so rosy:
After a short, warm spring phase at the start of the year (in February!), frost came again in May and caused the tender shoots to freeze in many vineyards in the 13 German wine-growing regions , as we have already reported. Our vineyards around Weyher were lucky and were spared, thanks to our protected and special location.
And then the rain came...
Did you know that you can bathe in more than just water? You can also bathe in the forest. Yep, that's not a typo. Not bathing in the forest (you need a lake for that), but forest bathing, without any water. Head first into the green of the Palatinate Forest, enjoy nature, hear the branches crack, the birds chirp, the hiking boots crunch. Your eyes rest on green, green, green - or on the fantastic panorama, your heart expands with happiness, your circulation gets going. It has actually been scientifically proven that forest bathing lowers the stress hormone cortisol.
Many people are familiar with the term “ Slow Food ” – eating slowly and with pleasure. This is “ Slow Forest ” – enjoying the forest with pleasure and consideration.
Sabrina Hafner is a course leader for forest bathing, nature resilience trainer and Primavera basic aroma consultant...
