On 21 May we organised an outing to the Momm vineyard in Duttweiler, the home of ou own wine,  OTEC'S RED.

What is today the Momm vineyard estate was established in the year 1772 and consisted at that time of a mixture of arable farming, winegrowing and cattle breeding. At the end of the seventies, the Momm estate became a dedicated winery and today owns a vineyard extending over an area of 11 hectares. Of particular interest is the fermentation of red wines in wooden casks / oak barrels and the production of speciality wines such as 'Trockenbeerenauslese' and 'Eiswein'.

OTEC's outing to the Momm vineyard started with a tour of the vineyard itself and a Champagne reception. The walk around the vineyard provided ample opportunity for questions on the fascinating topic of winemaking to be asked and answered.

This excursion gave OTEC employees a chance to see the location of the vineyards, find out which vines are cultivated there and learn about new varieties of vine from Germany and abroad.

Back at the vineyard estate, the visitors were able to enjoy pork from the rotisserie followed by a wine tasting with the opportunity to sample six different wines.

More photos of the excursion

The traditional wine-growing municipality of Keltern is located on the edge of the Black Forest between Pforzheim and Karlsruhe. Noted wines from the area are the Ellmendinger Keulenbuckel, a pinot meunier, and the Dietlinger Klepberg, a Müller-Thurgau.

OTEC'S RED is a typical pinot meunier of the region, known locally as a Schwarzriesling. It comes from a vineyard in an excellent location which has belonged to the Jota family for generations. OTEC's directors, the brothers Soran Jota and Helmut Gegenheimer, continue the vineyard tradition of their family to this day. The mild climate of the south-facing vineyard and the especially rich soil produce excellent wines with a full, unique flavour. Only the best and most healthy grapes are picked by hand in late summer and fermented in oak casks. The vines themselves are on average some 25 years old and produce a full-flavoured, dry red wine with a subtle hint of oak. Quality is the prime directive and the typical feature of OTEC'S RED is its fruity flavour with just a nuance of cherry.      

In order to increase prodution, new vineyard allotments have been acquired on the Klepberg in Ellmendingen. Here, five rows of vines with a total of 350 pinot meunier vines have been planted. In about three years' time, this area will yield an additional 700 - 800 litres of wine.