Page 5 - GC-Mar-Apr-24-final

German Leckerbissen – Part 14 The German Citizen • March - April 2024 • 5

By Daniel Schwarz Feuerlay” late harvest semi-dry, Au‐ � Did U Know? – In Germany
ne of the closest words gust Peril winery); Mosel (2021 – rental apartments are not typically
to tidbit in German is Reiling “Brauneberger Juffer-Son‐ furnished with a working kitchen.
OLeckerbissen. Literally nenuhr” Spatlese semi-dry, Weingut What, no kitchen sink! That’s right.
Leckerbissen means tasty morsels or Dr. Leimbrock); Nahe (2022 – Reis‐ It’s the responsibility of the prospec‐
bits. The following may include ling “Schlossböckelheimer In den tive tenant to provide their own
some tidbits of German culture, Felsen” dry, Hexamer Winery); kitchen appliances and even the
foods/drinks, traditions, history, Pfalz (2021 – Reisling “Rupperts‐ cabinets. Yes, bring or buy a refrig‐
language, and current events. berg Reitergfad” Spätlese dry, erator, stove, wall hung cabinets,
• Die Mainzelmännchen – Since Weingut Dr. Josef Köhr); Rheingau and yes, the kitchen sink. All the re‐
1963 six small comedic cartoon (2021 – Reisling “Kirchenstück Im quired hookups (electric, gas,
characters have been seen on Ger‐ Stein VDP. Grosses Gewächs” dry, plumbing) are there for a function‐
man public broadcast TV station Domdechant Wernersches ing kitchen. If the timing works, it is
ZDF. Their name is a compound Weingut); Rheinhessen (2022 – sometimes possible for the previous
word for the city Mainz being the Scheurebe dry, Stenner winery); tenant to sell to the new tenant their
headquarters of the ZDF station, factory and are ready for pickup by list goes on with Müller-Thurgau, Saale-Unstrut (2022 – Pinot Blanc kitchen which is called Ablöse,
and folklore gnomes called the customer. For more information Silvaner, and many more. “Neuenburg Castle Area” dry, Frey‐ meaning handing over. However,
Heinzelmännchen. Männchen and details refer to www.au‐ The German Wine Institute burg-Unstrut Winegrowers’ As‐ there are some rentals that are ad‐
means small men in German. They tostadt.de (DWI) organizes each year a group soc.); Sachsen (2023 – Schieler vertised that come with a kitchen,
look like garden gnomes, except � VAT in the EU – All 27 Euro‐ of sommeliers and wine profes‐ “The Pink Shoe” dry, Wine family and they are called EBK which
they don’t have beards, and look pean countries in the European sionals to sample and select a wine Schuh); and Württemberg (2022 – stands for Einbauküche, meaning
younger. Their names are Anton; Union (EU) have set a minimum from each region as the most rep‐ Lemberger “Hebsacker Lichtenberg built-in kitchen. As Judge Judy on
Berti; Conni; Det; Edi; and standard 15% Value Added Tax resentative and highest quality. VDP. Erste Lage” dry, Jürgen Ell‐ TV would say, “if you move out, but
Fritchen, yes alphabetical. They ap‐ (VAT) for goods and services, with Over 170 wineries submit their wanger winery). your toothbrush and your kitchen is
pear for only about 3 to 5 seconds some tax exceptions. Germany has wines for this prestigious opportu‐ still there, you owe the rent!”
between the ads as the mascot of the set their standard VAT rate at 19%, nity. After the 13 wines are selected
station and perform a single short and a reduced rate at 7% for specific for 2023, each wine vinard is noti‐
silly gag. Because of the short time items. 19% is within the 15 to 27% fied to ship cases of the wine se‐
frame, they don’t speak much, and standard range that these countries lected to the Firma (company)
present their gags in pantomime. have set. A portion of the VAT may “SommBox/ALPHA Beratung und
They do have a traditional greeting be refunded for merchandise that is Beteiligungs GmbH” in cologne
in dialect “Gud’n Aamd” (Guten exported by a customer/visitor that will produce the box, decant‐
Abend, means good evening). Be‐ whose residence is outside of the ing it from the standard 0.75 litter
cause of their long popularity, the EU. However, the formula to calcu‐ bottles into the 0.1 litter miniature
German postal system issued a se‐ late this percentage of the VAT re‐ sample bottles, and have them
ries of three postage stamps in 2023 imbursement is complicated. Also, ready for distribution by February
to honor their 60 year on TV. They there are minimum purchase 2024. There will be over 4,000
th
are semi-postal stamps where the amount requirements and even wine specialists awaiting these
extra cost of each stamp is for char‐ time limits for requesting eligible boxes.
ity for children. The stamp costs are VAT reimbursement. For tourists The 2023 wines selected from
85+40; 100+45; and 160+55 cents. this refund can be obtained at a de‐ the 13 regions (in bold) and their
Besides TV, they have become pop‐ parting airport leaving the EU but producers in alphabetical order
ular with children’s books and other requires a receipt for the VAT are: Ahr (2022 – Pinot Noir Blanc
merchandise. item(s), a tax-free refund form, cus‐ de Noir dry, Sonnenberg Winery);
� Autostadt Wolfsburg– The toms stamp at the airport, along Baden (2020 – Pinot Noir “Ball‐
city of Wolfsburg, Germany is in the with your passport and boarding rechten Dottingen Castellberg”
northern state of Lower Saxony, and pass. In German the VAT is called dry, Kiefer-Seufert winery);
is the headquarters for Volkswagen Mehrwertsteuer. It is not easy for Franken (2022 – Hergolshäuser
production, delivery, and has an first timers to manage the process Silvaner dry, Uwe Gessner win‐
amazing automobile-themed park but can save money, especially on ery); Hessische Bergstrasse (2022
for car enthusiasts. Autostadt is Ger‐ high cost items. – Heppenheimer Red Riesling
man for Automobile city, and fea‐ � Germany Wine Box – Ger‐ “Terra Starkenburg”, Bergstrasser
tures a campus that includes a car many is known for its winemaking, Winzer eG); Mittelrhein (2022 –
museum, and pavilions of the prin‐ and with over 130 varieties of grapes Reisling “Bopparder Hamm
cipal car brands in the Volkswagen the list of wines produced is lengthy.
group. These pavilions include Germany has 13 wine growing re‐
Porsche, Bentley/Bugatti, Skoda, gions called Anbougebiete, and each
Lamborghini, Audi, and Seat. The has their specialties based on the
Autostadt attracts about 2 million grape varieties, soil conditions, and
visitors annually. There are guided climate. Reisling wines from sweet
tours, and even hands-on-driving to dry types are perhaps the leading
experiences. On the campus there wines typically associated with Ger‐
are two landmark 200 ft tall glass many. Next may be Pinot Noir, that
silo buildings (AutoTürme) that is locally known as Spätburgunder.
store completed Volkswagen cars. Also popular is Pinot Gris called lo‐
They are huge car vending machine cally Grauburgunder, and Pinot
type buildings that receive these Blanc being Weissburgunder. The
VW cars produced at the adjacent