AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015
Pfalz.de Wein und Genuss
Frozen grapes in Pfalz reputation as a producer of quality wine. By the late 1960's German wine growers were already in the forefront of organic wine development, grown without chemical sprays, as well as biodynamically raised and harvested vines, and are credited not only for the taste and variety of the wines produced but also their early focus on the protection of the environment. Vintners now emphasize and promote the high quality and vintage wines which have always been produced in the various wine areas, and are gradually repairing the damage done to the reputa-
Deutsches Weininstitut, www.germanwines.de
Zeltinger Sonnenuhr
German - American Journal tion of German wine. Some varieties are amongst the best in the world, complementing modern cuisine and tastes perfectly, but few outside of Germany know they exist. There is even a terraced vineyard in the grounds of the beautiful Rococo style Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, just outside Berlin, but really large vineyards are rare in Germany. There are many small vineyard owners whose vines cover no more than two acres. Some cultivate them for their own use, others as an addition to other work with their yield either sold or put into a co-operative, while any visitor to a wine region will come across the small family owned "Gasthaus" with a menu featuring red and white wine from its own "backyard" vineyard.
PAGE/SEITE 9 For the last two decades German vintners with vineyards large and small have been working together towards change. The sloping vine covered hillsides, hand picking of grapes, vineyard sundials, no watches for grape pickers in days past, and the many customs and wine festivals, wine weeks and firework displays, including one of the Rhine in Flames celebrations, centered around harvesting have not changed. Vintners are determined to change the out-of-date image of German wine as sickly, sweet and tasteless to reflect the quality of wine now being produced, and that was created in the Germany's vineyards in centuries past.
Some of the best wines in the world.
von Steuben from page 7 American troops. The same day, von Steuben was handed his commission from the Continental Congress, as Inspector General, with the rank of Major General. Shortly after the army left Valley Forge, they fought a battle at Monmouth Courthouse, in New Jersey. The battle was essentially a draw, but the Continental Army fought the British to a standstill. In the winter of 1778-1779, General von Steuben went to Philadelphia to write his book of regulations. Lieutenant Colonel Francois de Fleury, a French volunteer serving in the Continental Army, assisted in writing the original French text. Duponceau and Captain Benjamin Walker translated it into English. It was illustrated by Captain Pierre Charles L’Enfant (the same man who drew the plans for Washington D.C.). The “Regulation for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States” was approved by Congress in March, 1779. It became known as the “Blue Book,” and it was used by the United States Army until 1814. General von Steuben rejoined the Continental Army on April 27, 1779, and he served throughout the remainder of the war. He was instructor and supply officer for General Nathanael Greene’s
southern army, which fought the key battles that led to the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781. Von Steuben commanded of one of the three divisions in the Continental Army at Yorktown. In 1783, he helped demobilize the army, and resigned in 1784. Throughout the war, von Steuben had continually asked Congress for more money for his expenses. After the war, he continued petitioning for compensation for his services. Congress did pay a portion of the amount von Steuben expected, but not all. New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia granted him land, of which he sold portions, but these payments never quite offset his living expenses. Consequently, he was forced to retire from New York City to his land holdings in order to live out the remainder of his life. Von Steuben never married, and he died on his 16,000 acre farm tract in the Mohawk Valley of New York, on November 28, 1794. Although he never received the financial rewards he expected, von Steuben will never be forgotten in the annals of American history. His administrative brilliance in organizing, training, and preparing the Continental Army for battle will ensure his legacy in the cause of American independence.