啤酒以外 Federweißer @ 柏林日常 Berlin Daily

新酒 - Federweißer

(Below is English)

啤酒以外 - Federweißer

德國啤酒舉世聞名，但有一種酒，不僅只在秋天販售，而且只能在本地消費，這便是——新酒。

雖為新酒，本地人卻更偏愛稱呼Federweißer。直接翻譯的話，是「羽毛白」，意指酒精濃度低、剛釀好的白酒（紅酒則是Federroter）。因為是產酒區每年釀酒所產生的第一批新酒，所以只有每年秋天才有機會品嘗。

從九月開始，無論是在酒莊還是超市的貨架上，都不難看到他們的影子。也不用被「新酒」嚇怕，他們其實和啤酒一般親民，圖中的Federweißer，雖然是意大利產，要價也不過1.99 歐，比一盒青葡萄還要便宜。

至於味道，比起酒，更像喝葡萄味道的氣泡飲品，入口順滑、果味重，而且還有柔和的氣泡。因為酒精濃度只有9%的關係，多喝也不怕腸胃出問題。德國的住宿家庭甚至說，Federweißer 含有豐富的維生素，對身體健康。即使不易醉，但比啤酒及一般的紅白酒更易引發頭痛。

說到底，為何這酒只能在產酒區出售？原因是即使在酒入瓶後，發酵作用仍然持續，所以不能把瓶蓋扭緊，有些店鋪甚至會在瓶子上開洞，要不因發酵而產生的氣體，會令酒瓶爆炸。酒瓶上也會貼上標籤，提醒購買者不能斜放瓶子。這種特性，注定嚐酒者只能在產地享用。莫說運輸，光是從超市走回家的十數分鐘，我的手跟外套袖口都沾滿了漏出的酒。

Federweißer 的最佳拍檔，便是Flammkuchen。這是一種配搭Federweißer 的醎點心。在薄飯皮上鋪上洋蔥、火腿和酸奶造成的餡料，用胡椒和鹽略作調味後放進烤爐。是配搭Federweißer 的醎點心。因為洋蔥和酸奶的關係，入口濕潤，跟意大利薄餅是完·全·不·同的啊！儘管單喝也很棒，但醎醎Flammkuchen 可以減輕Federweißer 的甜膩，一口接一口，是甜甜醎醎的無盡循環。

如若你在秋天到訪德國，請務必嘗試這限定飲品。

Prost!

Besides Beer - Federweisser

German beer is well known all over the world. But when one traveling to Germany in autumn, they could also enjoy a local seasonal product: new wine.

Instead of calling “Neuer Wien”, German is more likely to name it “Federweisser” (direct translation: feather white), which means the product of fermented freshly pressed white grape juice with low percent alcohol. Those with red grapes would be called “Federroter”. Since they are the first wine of the year, Federweisser could be only found in autumn, in Germany would be September and October specifically.

Don't be scared off by the title. During the period of time, you could find it easily in the liquor store or even supermarket. The price is also friendly: the Federweisser showed in the pic, even though it is made in Italy, costs 1.99 euro, which is almost the same cost of a box of fresh grapes.

So, how's it taste? Compare with normal wine, it tastes sweeter, fruitier, more smoothly and refreshing. To those who are not wine experts, the taste is similar with grape juice with carbonated mineral water. Federweisser usually contains only 4 – 10% alcohol; it is quite hard to fall down with only one bottle. In fact, according to my German host family, because of the rich vitamin, Federweisser is considered as a healthy drink.

But why could we only consume Federweisser locally? The fermentation continues even though the wine store in bottles. The bottles cannot be sealed or have a permeable lid, otherwise the carbonic acid produced by the fermentation would burst the bottles. Every bottle would come with a label, reminds consumers not to lay the bottle down. This feature creates a big problem with transportation, that’s why only those who live in and around wine-growing regions could enjoy Federweisser. I once purchased a bottle of Federweisser. With the notice of its special feature, I kept the bottle in an upright position. But still, after 10 minutes walk, my hand and the sleeves still covered with the spill.

The ideal companion of Federweisser is Flammkuchen. It is a salty and savoury snack. Put onions, ham and sour cream on a thin dough and then send it to the oven, after a few minutes you would get the perfect match for Federweisser. Flammkuchen could lighten the sweetness of Federweisser and make sure your hand stick to the glass. Please be aware, because of sour cream and onion, Flammkuchen tastes more moistly and it is TOTALLY DIFFERENT from Italian pizza.

If you have a chance visiting Germany, please do try this seasonal drink.

Prost!