Rittersport and Wein, our last day with Erin and John

Baden-Wurttemburg didn't offer its best weather as we left Stuttgart Sunday morning. That didn't matter much though, because we were going to a chocolate factory and a vineyard! Anne usually brings several kilos of chocolate with her when she comes to the States, and Rittersport is one of our favorites.

The Rittersport factory is about an hour from home, in a smallish town in a valley below the farmland. A short of museum above the store had a bit of the history of the brand and a model factory that delivered mini Rittersport bars to you. Yum!

The ladies with our haul

We left the factory store with a load of chocolate. Hey, it was way cheaper than it would have been in the states! I can't wait to try the non-production flavors from the back room. Chai Latte, or Apple Crumble, anyone?

Buckley likes Rittersport, too!

Sick to our stomachs with sugary deliciousness, we left the factory and headed to Löwenstein. The rain didn't let up as we crested a Swabian hill and coasted into the farmyard of Weingut Bihlmayer.

  
Bea was Anne's roommate when I visited her in Fulda a few years ago. My last night there, Bea had cooked spätzle for dinner and opened a delicious bottle of wine. Anne mentioned that it was from Bea's family's vineyard (NBD), and now here we were!

First, coffee and cake

Bea took us to the tasting room and walked us through several of her family's wines, from a dry chardonnay to a Muskattrollinger rosé that might be my favorite wine ever. No joke. When Opa pulled up on the tractor, we went out to see a load of Riesling grapes unloaded. It really is a family business. The generations of the family are involved in the harvest, and Bea's nephew Emil plays with the empty boxes.

Saying goodbye to Bea's nephew Emil

The Bihlmayers don't export to the States, so I brought back a bottle. Nobody at customs asked me about alcohol; I should have brought back a suitcase!

On our way to dinner!

After our wine tasting we had a savory Swabian dinner at a local restaurant. Maultaschen, spätzle, and all the standards. By the time we dropped Bea off at home we yawning. Nevertheless, we said our goodbyes and pointed in the direction Kaiserslautern (where Erin and John's aunt and uncle live. 

We made our goodbyes short to get back to Stuttgart before Anne needed to go to work. In a way it made things easier, having to leave quickly. After so much fun it's always hard to say goodbye, especially to a group of people you see so seldom. I prefer to say "until next time."

Anyone want to join me for a few weeks of the grape harvest next year with the Bihlmayer clan?