A loud pop and the clink of glasses

There’s no better way to celebrate! And that’s exactly what Ohlig is doing! The famous Ohlig Sekt Kellerei on the Rhine at Rüdesheim has just won nine prestigious awards for their sparkling wines and seccos at the AWC in Vienna, the world’s largest official wine competition. This year the event attracted 1,800 competitors presenting 12,615 different wines! It is a particularly strenuous contest with wines being judged in a blind-tasting by a panel of international experts.

The Ohlig Rheingau Riesling “Rurale”, a dry vintage sparkling wine, and the dry rosé secco “Fräulein Minna”, both from 2016, won gold prizes. In the silver catergory, Ohlig achieved excellence with seven sparkling wines from 2015 and 2016 including a vintage pinot blanc, a chardonnay, a pinot noir and the exclusive special edition “Anton Ohlig.”

So why not go for a winner? Add some bubbly fun to your festive season or surprise your friends and loved ones with a truly unique and very local present from the Rheingau.

Cheers and well done Ohlig!

With Christmas just around the corner, you might be thinking about presents and already planning your festive celebrations. Do you enjoy the run-up to Christmas and choosing gifts for your friends and family? Or is it a challenge, a burden and a grind? Do you often puzzle over what a particular person may like or need?
What they have or haven’t got? What you gave them last year? Was it socks? Or chocolates again?!

But why do we give presents at Christmas? Some think back to the birth of Jesus and the wise men arriving from the east bearing gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gold symbolising royalty and wealth, frankincense representing faith and worship, and myrrh, used for embalming bodies, signifying Christ’s ultimate suffering and ressurection.

Today at Christmas, gifts still play a traditional, important and often symbolic role in our festivities. They keep friendships alive, make people happy, say thank you for a year spent together, and strengthen family ties.

And for most people giving is just as special as receiving. Seeing the delight in your loved ones eyes and feeling the excitement as the presents lie in their colourful wrappings under the Christmas tree.

Today “Made in Germany” continues to be well-respected. The slogan is used assertively by German businesses in their marketing and advertising campaigns and is now a very significant reason for people to choose a product.

So, it’s an interesting story to keep in mind when you’re making your last minute Christmas purchases!

Vocabulary

clink of glasses – Gläserklang, Klirren der Gläser
prestigious awards – rennomierte Auszeichnung
strenuous contest – anstrengender Wettbewerb
to judge – beurteilen, richten
a blind-tasting – Blindverkostung
a panel of international experts – Jury von internationalen Experten
vintage – Jahresbester
sparkling wine – Sekt
pinot blanc – Weißburgunder
pinot noir – Spätburgunder
bubbly fun – sprudelnder Spaß
festive season – Festtage
unique – einzigartig
a challenge – Herausforderung
a burden – Last, Belastung
a grind – Plackerei
to puzzle over sth. – über etwas grübeln
chocolates – Pralinen
gold, frankincense and myrrh – Gold, Weihrauch und Myrrhe
wealth – Reichtum
faith – Glaube
worship – Anbetung, Verehrung
used for embalming bodies – zum Einbalsamieren von Körpern benutzt
ultimate suffering – ultimatives Leiden
ressurection – Auferstehung
strengthen family ties – familiäre Bindungen stärken
to give and to receive – zu geben und zu bekommen
excitement – Spannung, Aufregung
colourful wrappings – bunte Verpackung
startling effect – verblüffender Effekt
simultaneous – gleichzeitig