It looks like I’m going to be in the Cologne / Bonn, Germany area for business for a few days in the next month or so. Any suggestions for quality wine shops in that area? I’d mostly be looking for German rieslings, maybe with a little age, and red burgs. It’s only a quick trip for meetings, so sadly I won’t have much time for sightseeing or side trips, and zero time for tasting visits this time around.
Jeff J
You know, I was in Bonn last March looking for wine shops. Couldn’t find anything much online, so finally I asked someone in a resto. Turns out the best place is in a department store, KaufHof on the Münsterplatz (pretty much in the center of Bonn). The wine dept is in the basement, very large selection, including Rieslings.
Cologne must have more specialized shops since it’s a much bigger city, but I haven’t looked for wine there.
The Café scene in Cologne is very interesting, if you have time. A real subculture.
I don’t know shops in Cologne, but the department stores generally have great food and wine departments. I remember KdW in Berlin was outstanding.
I’m not sure, but you may not find many sweet rieslings. Germans don’t drink the stuff.
Can you expand on this a bit, Peter. My wife and I and friend will be in Cologne for one day in a couple weeks, and don’t yet really know what we’re going to do with our time. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
What you should be doing with your day in Köln is:
There are also a number of good wineshops in Köln -one right on the western edge of the square in the Altstadt (which because of heavy bombing is actually very compact.) They have a great selection of Ahr Spätburgunder as well as lots of Riesling.
Cheers,
Bill
+1
I am not a religious person, but I make a point of simply standing in front of it for a few minutes every time I visit friends in Köln. Truly awe-inspiring. Thank heavens the Allies only nicked it with bombs.
Yes, it’s amazing that it survived, since it’s yards from the rail line, which is a very important one. The story I heard this time (from a German) is that there were two reasons: (i) it made a good landmark for the Allied pilots and (ii) the roof had been replaced some time before. After long deliberation, rather than replacing it with a completely wooden one, as the original had been, they used steel beams. As a result, the fires that started during the bombing didn’t spread as fast (or do as much damage).
I don’t have any extensive knowledge, but there are lots of cafés, often with very good coffee, of different types. It’s a tradition to park yourself in one for an extended period (as in France). Last time I went to one on the Hohenzollernring, IIRC it was “Brownie’s Coffee Culture”, just because it was nearby and interesting. To give a small taste of the subculture, one night we had dinner in a Syrian resto that didn’t serve alcohol. I wanted a glass of wine, so afterwards I stopped in the café and asked if they had any. The waiter looked at me and said “Ja, aber das wollen Sie nicht” (yes, but you don’t want it).
+1 one visiting the Cathedral and the museum nearby.
Excellent! You guys are awesome. I think our day in Köln is now officially planned! ![[grin.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/5/53ba06e9b6e4b370ae7e3d7b3702ad1bda0a2d8e.gif "grin"){kind=small}
I looked at KaufHof’s website–they dont’ seem to have many high-end wines (most expensive Riesling was about €30), by contrast the first one Henry gives a link to (in Cologne) does.
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! Now to figure out how to get to these places easily via public transport, as I suspect the company won’t be kind enough to spring for a car…
Oh, and I’ve been to Cologne before and have seen the Dom - I agree that it’s worth a visit even if you’ve been there before. Brian, you should definitely check it out on your trip. I enjoy wandering around the Altstadt area as well. Lots of enjoyable shops, and plenty of opportunities for good food and drink.
Public transport is very good over there. Buses, trams, U Bahn (subway). You can get anywhere built up pretty easily. IMO it’s better than having a car, if you’re not touring. Also there are scads of trains between Cologne and Bonn, probably one every 15 min–just look out, the fares vary.
An old friend in Cologne responded after reading this thread:
http://www.koelnerweindepot.de > was mentioned in a post already. We don’t go there, it’s big with lots of choice, but not very friendly.
FUB (which is also mentioned) was great, but is now unfortunately closed in Cologne.
Our favourite place is: > http://www.wein-punkt.de > in Antwerpener Str. 9 - 11 (which is in the town centre). Really friendly and knowledgeable people. I’ve heard them speak English.
And the restaurant to go to for wine-freaks is definitely > http://www.weinamrhein.eu> . Good food, but also a 90 page wine list. Lots and lots of German stuff.
I never found a good wine shop in Cologne in several trips, but Vintage Restaurant is well worth a visit, even though I drank all their Egon Muller… 
.
Since I just returned from my trip, I wanted to drag this thread back from the dead to give a report.
Time was in short supply on this trip, so there wasn’t much opportunity for exploration once I arrived in Cologne.
I tried the Kaufhof department store, and was quite disappointed. They had a fair selection, but very little on the higher end of German wines. For what it’s worth, the clothing areas were rather disappointing too, compared to other nicer department stores in the US and abroad.
Wein Punkt, recommended by John Morris’ friend, was a different story. A smaller shop, but with nice offerings. The gentleman I worked with was extremely kind and knowledgable, and was happy to switch over to English when my German vocabulary started to break down. There was a good selection of Spatburgunder and Riesling. I ended up leaving with some 2009 JJ Adenauer Walporzheimer Garkammer GG Spatburgunder. There was also a good range of Southern Rhones, which surprised me a little. Well worth a return visit.
I also managed to have dinner at Wein am Rhein one evening. This was a nice place, with a young, eager, and friendly staff. They had a 90+ page wine list that focused on red and white German, plus Bordeaux and red Italian. As I was dining alone, I was pleasantly surprised to hear about this policy - if you drink half of a bottle from the list, they charge you half price plus 5 EUR. That allowed me to feel comfortable selecting a brilliant Emrich-Schonleber 2008 Halenberg Riesling GG for the starters, and then a glass of Bernhard Huber 2009 Malterdinger Spatburgunder for the main. Food was quite good. Well prepared classics with a German twist (venison with Schupfnudeln, for example), with good portion sizes and nice attention to detail and seasoning. The 5-course “surprise menu” was only 59EUR, which was a good price considering the location and quality.
Thanks to all for your help and suggestions!
Jeff J
Jeff,
Thanks for the report. Huber makes excellent pinots, although a bit higher % alcohol than Burgundy.
Many French and Italian restaurants will do that, too, with or without a surcharge.
I’m glad that Wine Punkt fit the bill.
Not sure if anyone’ has mentioned this already. Somewhat out of the way (a 20-or-so-minute walk from the centre), but, in my experience, one of the best wine shops in all of Germany.
http://www.weinpalais.de/
![[rofl.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/a/a7452fcd8e675af869f8da01174474a545b03944.gif "rofl"){kind=small}