A Week Away From The Big Wine Day.

The Weinfrühling is upon us...

It stands to reason, that in a wine haven such as ours, a tasting has to be arranged at times. Actually, there are four such momentous events throughout the year.

The Wine-Spring / Weinfrühling is a lovely way to taste the wines and welcome the warm weather. As much as I like to brag about the wines within walking distance, there are a few wine-corners a short driving distance away. Well, this wine event lasts all weekend, involves buses galore, seven wine regions and over 60 different vineyards.

Next weekend will see our village inundated with wandering wine-lovers, many Viennese, loads of locals and two Londoners... Yes, our friends from London are jetting in for the weekend. Why not, it is a mere hop anyway. Far from being Eisenberg novices, they have been here many times and have attended many wine events.

By purchasing an entry bracelet ( 29 Euros ) which resembles one of those hospital ones ( rather handy when you consider the amount of tasting on offer ) we can use any of the hourly buses to and from the various wine villages, and taste 5 wines at each vineyard...Some of you might have done a bit of mental arithmetic and realized that theoretically one could taste hundreds of wines over a two day period...

Even visiting a handful of places is an irritation for one's liver, balance and speaking ability...nothing for it but to learn to say " Eh, no, " or to use the spittoon.

What is the etiquette of using said spittoon, and using it in a ladylike manner? Men do have an advantage as they've practiced the art of spitting from an early age, but us ladies are not well versed in this art:

• Should you spit in front of your friends, as the spittoon is usually in the middle of each table? Yikes, maybe wear a dark t-shirt! How often do we get caught out at the dentist's, but aren't we under the influence then too?
• Does one take the spittoon and go towards an empty corner to do the spitting?

Perhaps the best way would be to only go to a few select vineyards and leave the rest for next year...Or, we could try that much banded about old wives tale, you know the one about drinking a cup of olive oil before heading out...

Biggi