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Great Wine Capitals: Mainz | Rheinhessen Best of Wine Tourism winners 2019
Which companies or initiatives stand out for their special wine tourism offers? After the previous competition in Mainz, a nine-member jury of experts discussed this question and decided who would qualify as a winner in the seven categories of the Best Of Wine Tourism Awards 2019 of the international network of the Great Wine Capitals (GWC).
“It was a great pleasure for me to chair the jury for the first time – and at the same time a challenge. There is such a diverse and innovative range of wine experiences in the Great Wine Capital Mainz|Rheinhessen that the decision-making process was not always easy,” says District Councilor Dorothea Schäfer (Mainz-Bingen district) as chairman of the jury.
For the first time, an applicant was able to score in two categories in the same year: the LEBEN WINERY am Morstein in Westhofen convinced in “Wine Gastronomy” as well as “Art and Culture”.
Mainz | Rheinhessen Best of Wine Tourism winners 2019:
Domhof winery
Innovative wine tourism experiences: Weingut Domhof, Guntersblum
Traditional wine tourism is combined with playful challenges at the Domhof – that convinced the jury. Because in the red wine cellar you should not only try wine or listen to the winegrowing stories, but it also becomes an “escape room”: as “wine spies”, the guests slip into a new role and experience wine in an unusual way. The cellar door closes, the timer starts and exactly 60 minutes remain to solve all the puzzles and to solve the mystery. The Domhof will win the Best Of Wine Tourism Awards 2019 for this innovative wine tourism experience. The winery has already received two awards in previous years: 2018 in the category “Accommodation” and 2010 in the category “Architecture, Parks & Gardens”. www.weingut-domhof.de
Wine tourism service : Die Mainzer Winzer e.V., Mainz
The association “Die Mainzer Winzer e.V.”, is a regional association of 26 wineries in the city of Mainz. Their common goal is to present the cultural heritage of wine in its numerous facets in an exciting way and to make it a real experience. This happens in the wineries themselves as well as in numerous events, such as the wine marathon, Best of Mainzer Wine, or the premium tasting. The most well-known wine meeting places of the Mainz winegrowers are probably the wine bar on the Rhine bank or the Mainzer market breakfast, which has meanwhile become a cult event, which inspires visitors across all age groups. The jury was also impressed by this strong wine tourism service and honored the initiative with the Best of Wine Tourism Award 2019 in this category. www.diemainzerwinzer.de
Art and Culture: GUT LEBEN am Morstein, Westhofen
GUT LEBEN am Morstein convinced the jury in two categories: The Best Of Wine Tourism Award 2019 in “Wine Gastronomy” as well as in “Art & Culture” goes to the operators of the winegrower’s villa, awoken from the Sleeping Beauty Castle. The event gastronomy and conference location with a hotel has enriched cultural life in the region since November 2017. Culture and events at the highest level attract visitors to the vaulted cellars. Selected artists of various genres such as Lars Reichow, Quadro Nuevo, Wolfgang Haffner and the Aris Quartet are guests here. An exceptional, spacious tunnel vault – the former wine cellar – with excellent acoustics and space for 250 guests creates unforgettable experiences. The enjoyment of art completes a rich offer of fine wines from Rheinhessen. www.am-morstein.de
Food and Wine: GUT LEBEN am Morstein, Westhofen
GUT LEBEN am Morstein scored well in the “Wine Gastronomy” category and received the Best Of Wine Tourism Award in 2019. Its two restaurants “WEINGARTEN am Morstein” and “SCHLÖSSCHEN am Morstein” offer in the exclusive ambience of a historic winegrower’s villa and Mediterranean garden restaurant homestyle, modern cuisine as well as innovative taste experiences on a gourmet level. The focus is on the use of regional products – often home grown – and the rediscovery of traditional raw materials such as old varieties of vegetables. In addition to classic food with meat and fish, a wide variety of vegan dishes can be found. The dishes are accompanied by fine wines from renowned wineries in the area. www.am-morstein.de
Accommodation: IBB Hotel, Ingelheim
If a Europe-wide operating hotel chain orients its equipment and services entirely according to its region, then that is worthy of an award – decided the jury. The Best Of Wine Tourism Award 2019 in the category Accommodation is therefore awarded to the 4-star IBB Hotel, which opened in 2017 and offers 109 rooms. All rooms take on the design of the wine region Rheinhessen. Natural materials combined with modern design elements and colors, with pictures and style elements on the subject of wine. In the corridors, the carpet is in the blue of the Pinot Noir grape with woven-in vine leaves. The light-flooded restaurant and the hotel bar are located on the 4th floor and offer views over the rooftops of Ingelheim. Wine events are offered in our own restaurant or as part of gourmet tours in the region by vintage bus. www.ibbhotelingelheim.de
Sustainability in wine tourism: Kultur- und Weinbotschafter Rheinhessen e.V.
Experience how wine is made. Accompany the winemaker during the year and work together. Experience Rheinhessen intensively. Since 2018, this has been possible within the framework of the project “Winemakers for a year” from the Kultur- und Weinbotschafter Rheinhessen e.V. In four modules – one in each season – the work in the vineyard and thus wine development can be experienced first-hand. It offers a varied insight into the winegrowing industry and the cultural landscape of Rheinhessen. This offer is awarded with the Best Of Wine Tourism Award 2019 in the category “Sustainability in Wine Tourism”. www.kwb-rheinhessen.de
Architecture, parks and gardens: Listmann Winery, Dorn-Dürkheim
Cypress trees, sequoias and palm trees decorate the courtyard and garden. The three-tiered yew is enthroned in the middle of the Buchs Rondell – the logo of the Listmann Winery. It stands for nature, transformed by the human hand with much love to garden culture. As with the vines: the natural product grape becomes the cultural asset of wine. For this romantic and lovingly designed property (pictured top), Listmann Winery receives the Best Of Wine Tourism Award 2019 in the category “Architecture, Parks and Gardens”. The traditional winery is run by graduate agricultural engineer Eckhard Listmann and his sons, winemaker Welf and viticulture technician Leif. For 15 years, the winery has participated in the Day of the Open Gardens and Courtyard/Gardens at Dusk. www.weingut-listmann.de
About Great Wine Capital Mainz|Rheinhessen
Mainz and Rheinhessen have been members of the network of the current ten Great Wine Capitals since June 2008 – and thus for ten years. The state capital of Rhineland-Palatinate and the largest winegrowing region in Germany are the exclusive German representation of the network. Here marketing organizations for tourism and wine, cultural initiatives, winegrowers, scientists and hoteliers, restaurateurs and traders work together towards the goal to better place Mainz, Rheinhessen and its wines and wine tourism offers on the global stage.
About the Great Wine Capitals Global Network
Founded in 1999, the Great Wine Capitals Global Network is an alliance of ten internationally renowned wine regions – Adelaide|South Australia; Bordeaux, France; Lausanne|Switzerland; Mainz|Rheinhessen, Germany; Mendoza, Argentina; Porto, Portugal; Bilbao|Rioja, Spain; San Francisco|Napa Valley, USA, Valparaiso|Casablanca Valley, Chile and Verona, Italy.
The Best Of Wine Tourism awards serve as an industry benchmark for excellence and recognize leading wineries and wine-tourism related businesses within each Great Wine Capital that have distinguished themselves in areas such as innovation, service and sustainable practices. For more information visit www.greatwinecapitals.com.
