Surrounded by vineyard’s and the Rhein River, Eltville is a beautiful town in the Rheingau region which celebrates with a Sekt Fest each year. Sekt is German sparkling wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While some would call all sparkling wine champagne, that version of sparkling wine comes exclusively from the Champagne region of France.
The Eltville Sekt Fest takes place on the banks of the Rhein River so you can sit and enjoy your sekt while watching the slow moving boats and soft wave of the river. The fest overall has a very relaxing and charming feel to it. The fest goers truly sample and sip their sekt while enjoying a meal from one of the many food vendors. One of the main entrances to the fest is through the courtyard of the gorgeous Electoral Castle. You walk down to the castles rose garden then enter the area of the fests’ main stage.
We started in the main area and saw that the main act was getting set up so we decided to wander more into the fest. Along the river there were food stands with local specialties and also international delights. Of course the main attraction of the fest is that you can sample the sekt from different vendors. Each sekt producer has a unique taste to their drink and it is really enjoyable to discover these different flavors.
I was surprised by how many vendors were there and that they had really nice items for sale. They had stands that sold handmade jewelry, baskets and even clothing. The items for sale were a good reflection of the relaxing and artistic feel from the entire fest.
We saw 3 stages and decided to head back to listen to the musician on the main stage. His name is Rick Cheyenne and he is well known in the Rheingau and Wiesbaden area. I have seen him play before at the café Lumen in downtown Wiesbaden and also at other winery parties, so I knew he would be great entertainment. He played some Blues, Soul, Rock’n Roll Country and Pop. He plays in this area quite a bit and he is definitely worth checking out. You can find his tour dates here: http://www.rickcheyenne.com/tourdates/tourdates.html
So we then bought one of the specialty dips from the Northern state of Hessen: Spundekäs. This dip consists of two parts cream cheese and three parts cream cheese (German Quark), then seasoned with salt, pepper and sweet paprika. It is so delicious with pretzels and often served along with grapes. It is a great compliment to Rheingau wine and sekt!
The Eltville Sekt Fest was truly a wonderful experience and definitely stands out from the other fests in the area with its relaxation, beauty and class.
Spundekäs Recipe:
500g low-fat cream cheese (Magerquark), substitute: Philadelphia (German Frischkäse)
250g plain yoghurt or crème fraiche
1-2 onions (diced)
2-3 table spoons paprika
1 tea spoon salt
Preparation:
1) Mix all ingredients well together.
2) Serve with soft or hard pretzels.
Guten Appetit!
Fest Address: Burgstraße 1, 65343 Eltville am Rhein, Germany
About the author: Gemma is a mom, a veteran and an Army civilian living in Wiesbaden, Germany. With New Jersey roots, she is enjoying her extended European vacation.
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