Above, the meandering middle Mosel. On the far left you might be able to make out the white lettering of “Bernkastel Kues” and “Graach an der Mosel,” two of the more famous villages in the Mosel. This first stretch of the Mosel running almost perfectly vertical in the picture above, is what I call the “Hollywood strip” of the Mosel, includes most of the familiar commercial names of the Mosel: Bernkastel (Doctor), Graach (Himmelreich and Domprobst), Wehlen and Zeltingen (Sonnenuhrs) and then, where the Mosel again turns dramatically right, Ürzig (Würzgarten) and Erden (Treppchen). Stein, of course, lives quite a number of turns from this more famous region. Where the Mosel makes another dramatic hairpin turn, on the right-most side of the picture, you may be able to make out the white lettering for the village of “Alf.” This is where Ulli Stein lives in his 19th century hotel, far above the Mosel.
Here we have a closer detail of the giant hairpin turn. On the left we see Pünderich, home of Clemens Busch – the vineyards are across the river and form the small “mountain.” Stein, in Alf, lives essentially, just over the top from Clemens’ vineyards. Bullay is where Stein’s cellar is and finally, Sankt Aldegund is the village where Ulli was born and where their Palmberg vineyard is.
Above we see a schematic of the tiny village of Alf, which runs away from the Mosel, up into the valley on the right side of the picture above. Stein’s hotel, the “Haus Waldfrieden,” sits up and to the left in the picture (marked by a blue pin). All the vineyards of this slope are called “Hölle,” meaning hell. This is a not-uncommon name for vineyards in the Mosel, as the heat, the warmth, was historically the most important part of equation in ripening grapes. Just below Haus Waldfrieden, there is a rather large vineyard: this is the standard Alfer Hölle – the Hölle vineyard of the village of Alf. It is also marked by a blue pin. This site has younger, grafted vines and is largely clay soils with slate. To the right however, tucked between newer homes and closer to the river, sits the Alfer Höller “1900” vineyard – also marked by a blue pin.
This is roughly the same view, a little closer in and with a higher perspective. Again, the regular Alfer Hölle is to the left and the ancient Alfer Hölle “1900” is the tiny patch of green to the very right of the picture, nestled among the homes.
Above, a detail of Haus Waldfrieden and Alfer Hölle young vines vineyard.
Above, a detail of the old Alfer Hölle “1900.” The “1900” vineyard is only the section to the left of the trees and pushing out to the left, under and above the white homes. At roughly .15 of a hectare, this vineyard is the second oldest producing Riesling vineyard in the Mosel, with about 1,000 ungrafted vines planted in the year 1900.
