Special Culinary Experiences in SouthWest Germany for 2023

Baden-Württemberg is known as the home of numerous specialties. From the Swabian Maultaschen (Swabian ravioli) to the Black Forest Cake, from a glass of Riesling wine to fine brandy. An increasing number of growers, chefs and producers are reinterpreting old classics or developing culinary innovations that put SouthWest Germany in a new light.  Good food and drink have a long and proud tradition here. Not only in upscale gastronomy but also in the many traditional inns and wine taverns, where the cooking is often more varied and ambitious than elsewhere. Extra culinary flair is lent thanks to unusual experiences in special places: From wine tasting in a hot air balloon to top-secret dinners in the Black Forest Highlands.

A few energetic young winemakers, enchanting vineyard landscapes, sunshine, some music, regional snacks and, of course, lots of good wine: these are the ingredients for a successful pop-up event in the vineyard. Together with the young winegrowers’ associations, including “Generation Pinot” (Baden), “Wein.Im.Puls” (Württemberg), the “Baden Wine Route,” and “Weinwege Württemberg,” the Tourismus Marketing GmbH Baden-Württemberg (TMBW) started this new format in 2018 as a reinterpretation of the classic wine festival.

Enjoying a glass of wine at dizzy heights is not only possible on the steep slopes of Baden-Württemberg or on the Stuttgart television tower. You can get even higher on a balloon ride with wine tasting in Lembergerland around Rosswag. In a hot-air balloon, you travel over the unique landscapes and steep terraced vineyards along the Enz river and experience a breathtaking view.

Another completely different experience is to be found at “Eatrenalin” in the adventure park Europa-Park in Rust. Using specially developed “Floating Chairs,” the guests of the event gastronomy are sent on a nearly two-hour journey accompanied by a suitably coordinated eight-course menu. 

In the Black Forest Highlands, you can eat in secret. If you like to eat copious amounts of food and love surprises, you can plunge blindly into an enjoyable adventure. The 6-course menu remains a secret until the meal is served, the exact venue is also kept secret until the last minute. 

Hot Air Ballooning in Lembergerland: https://www.lembergerland.de/

Eatrenalin at Rust: https://www.eatrenalin.de/en/

Black Forest Highlands Dinner: https://www.hochschwarzwald.de/

Food Pioneers

Baden-Württemberg is the state of creative minds, inventors, and developers. The most famous inventions from the state are probably the bicycle and the automobile and related machines. However, the land of inventors isn’t just good at technology but also delicious food.

If you want to learn something about chocolate and its culinary possibilities, there is no better place than Eberhard Schell in Gundelsheim. In his pastry shop, you not only can taste the finest chocolates, but the chef is also happy to share his knowledge of the cocoa growing areas, terroir, and aromas. Schell is a chocolate pioneer in many respects. Like no one else, he stands for the culinary combination of wine and chocolate, about which he has also written a book. For almost 30 years, he has been developing pralines with wine fillings in his manufactory and he is even in the Guinness Book of Records. His layered chocolates, which were created to accompany individual wines, are legendary. 

It looks like pasta with tomato sauce and grated parmesan, but it’s sweet and cold. Spaghetti ice cream is a bestseller in every German ice cream parlor but the real experience is the place it was created and still made at Eis Fonantella in Mannheim. 

Fibrous, crumbly, and tasty like tuna, but guaranteed fish-free-Swabian tuna will amaze you. The inventors Thomas and Christian Pfeffer from Heilbronn were also amazed when they tried out an old preservation method. Cooked in white wine and preserved with sunflower oil and laurel, the meat from the Swabian-Hall pig tastes like tuna. 

Pearls of Wine: https://www.weingut-kuhnle.de/

Spaghetti Ice cream: http://www.eisfontanella.de/

Swabian Tuna: https://www.pfeffer-lebensmittel.de/

 The Art of Distilling

Whether it’s “Dry January” or “Sober Tourism,” there is a trend toward not drinking alcohol. Especially among young people, the trend is increasingly toward non-alcoholic beverages. In Baden-Württemberg, home to large wine-growing regions, the nation’s second-largest variety of beers, and countless distilleries, people accept the challenge.  The “BOAR Distillery” from Bad Peterstal-Griesbach creates “BOAR Gin,” one of the most awarded gins in the world, its alcohol-free brother is also making headway: “BOAR ZERO” is the world’s first alcohol-free distillate while also being organic. The farm’s own spring water is combined with 19 botanicals to create a balanced composition that harmonizes with tonic water but also works as a basis for cocktails and long drinks. 

For 20 years, the meadow orchards of the Swabian Alb have been a supplier of Jörg Geiger’s distillates, sparkling wines, and ciders. But the head of the Schlat factory of the same name also knew right from the start: There are good reasons not to drink alcohol. With his “PriSeccos,” Geiger likes to experiment: meadow fruit meets green tea, celery, or is combined with oak leaves. 

“Zero,” “NIXLE” – some wineries with these names in Baden-Württemberg leaves no doubt: there is no alcohol in this wine. But in the land of inventors and tinkerers, solutions were still found: the Remstal winery creates their “0.X” from the outset with very aromatic grape varieties. Thanks to its gentle vacuum distillation, the Zotz winery from Heitersheim already has four non-revolution wines and sparkling wines on its shelves. The wine south is being enriched by these new developments.

BOAR Gin: https://boargin.de/en/

Baden Wines: https://www.badischerwein.de/

Wuerttemberg Wines: https://www.weinheimat-wuerttemberg.de/

Vegan and Vegetarian

Schnitzel made from Seitan fish instead of onion roast, tofu sausage instead of Freiburger Rote and veggie dumplings instead of Maultaschen: The cuisine in Baden-Württemberg is diverse and is no longer limited to the traditional classics. More and more restaurants are adding vegetarian and vegan alternatives to pork in their menus, or doing without meat and other animal products altogether. 

”Do good. Eat yummy” is the motto of Karlsruhe’s first purely plant-based restaurant: “My Heart Beats Vegan.” Sustainability and enjoyment have been going hand in hand in this restaurant since 2015. Cooking is guaranteed without flavor enhancers and aroma additives, but with good ingredients and everything is 100 percent vegan. The concept, which was initially tested in the food truck, aims to do something good for the environment, animals, people, and nature.

Who, how, what? Why, why, why? In the trendy Stuttgart restaurant “Vhy!,” people prefer to act than get lost in questions. And preferably to act creative and experimental. Soccer player Timo Hildebrand and artist Tim Bengel focus on change and variety with their vegan kitchen concept because it’s fun, tastes delicious, and is good for you. 

The world’s first “Demeter & Bioland fine dining restaurant” is located in the middle of the Swabian Alb biosphere region. The restaurant “1950” expands the gastronomic offer of the Tress family and honors the legacy of the grandfather, Johannes, who laid the foundation for the sustainable corporate philosophy that is still being pursued today. The highlight: For each course of the vegetarian “CO 2 menu” served here, the guest receives comprehensive information about the ingredients, including the CO 2 emissions to the kilometers they have traveled from the farm to the restaurant. 

The Art of Distilling in SouthWest Germany

The art of burning and distilling has a long tradition in southern Germany with its numerous orchards and wineries. More than half of the approximately 24,000 small German distilleries are based in Baden-Württemberg. Several award-winning gins have joined Schnapps and brandies made from local fruit in recent years along with whiskey, beer brandy, and vodka.

“The variety of pear aromas with its unique impact” is the promise of the pear aperitif “Birnoh.” It is created with only the oldest pear varieties. There is no single distillery behind the aromatic drink, rather the “Birnoh-Gilde,” an association of Baden-Württemberg brewers and distillers, actually creates it. 

First-class whiskey is not only produced in the Scottish Highlands, but also in the low mountain range of the Swabian Alb. Because there are now numerous distilleries there, you can discover them on the Swabian Whiskey Walk through the varied landscape of the Lauter Valley – including whiskey tastings. After a hearty meal, you often need a clarifying digestif.

An old, well-kept recipe from over 40 selected herbs, roots, and wild berries gives the herbal liqueur “Josefslust” from Sigmaringendorf its fruity, harmonious taste but that is not all. 

Fancy a walk in the woods or an herb garden in your mouth? Then the Schnapps “Nadelwald Fichtengeist” and “Gartenkräuter Rosmaringeist” from the “stylish” range in Laupheim in Upper Swabia are to be recommended. 

Birnoh from Pears: http://www.birnoh.de/

Swabian Whiskey: https://www.schwaebischer-shop.de/whisky/