Apfelwein

Apfelwein is the driest, sharpest face of cider: pale gold to cloudy straw, still and flat, smelling of crisp fresh apple, apple skin and a squeeze of lemon over a faint green, orchard-floor and yeasty note. On the palate it is bracingly tart and almost sugar-free, with a firm apple-skin astringency and a dry, lightly tannic, faintly bitter finish — especially where Speierling has been blended in for extra grip. There is little of the sweetness or fizz of commercial cider; this is a lean, austere, food-friendly wine of apples, which is exactly why Frankfurt drinkers soften it with sparkling water ('sauer gespritzt') or lemon soda ('süß gespritzt'). Poured cold from the stoneware Bembel into the ribbed Geripptes glass, it is a bright, mouth-cleansing partner to fatty sausages, pungent Handkäse and herby Grüne Soße.