This is where Rheinhessen is at its most beautiful: steep hills covered with vineyards and crowned by wind turbines, small villages nestled in valleys, overlooked by imposing churches. “The Cabernet isn’t quite ripe yet,” says Lena Appelmann critically, plucking a cluster of plump, red grapes from the vineyard right next to our picnic table. The grapes taste wonderful, but that’s not enough: the wine experience here has to be perfect, and for its perfect service—including lodging, dining, and wine exploration—the Espenhof won the Great Wine Capitals’ Best of Wine Tourism Award in 2016.

“Wine, Food, Sleep” is the Espenschied family’s slogan, and “Gut” here means both excellence and estate. It was 2001 when Wilfried Espenschied and his family decided that making wine alone wasn’t enough. After extensive wine tastings, guests simply wanted more: food and a place to sleep. And there was the Alte Post right across the street—a typical Rheinhessen estate with brick walls and a charming little courtyard...

Today, the Espenhof ranks among Rheinhessen’s top restaurants and hotels, having won numerous awards. Two years ago, a new addition expanded the number of rooms to 20; the ultra-modern facade facing the street is decorated with bronze-colored grape leaves. The interior is an organic and ecological tribute to wine: the headboards are made of old barrel staves, the floor is a dream of wood, and the white bathtub seems to float in the middle of the entryway. “Save water, drink Riesling,

” recommends the glass partition to the shower.“You have to try the Riesling,” says my host Lena, the Espenschieds’ daughter. Her brother Nick, cellar master since 2009, prefers to call himself a “wine caretaker” rather than a winemaker, while Lena takes care of the restaurant, the hotel, and everyone’s well-being. If necessary, she’ll even drive the gourmet picnic up to the hill above the winery five times a day, to the picnic table next to the Cabernet. Behind us lies an ancient Jewish cemetery; at our feet grows the famous LaRoche Riesling.

“The Count de la Roche once owned this vineyard,” Lena explains. Two hundred years ago, the French came to the Rhine with Napoleon and left a lasting impact on Rheinhessen. “My grandparents still used French words like ‘chaussee,’ ‘vis-à-vis,’ or ‘chaise longue’ every day,” says Lena.

Perhaps that’s why they love fine gourmet cuisine so much here, in contrast to the much more rustic Palatinate cuisine of their neighbors to the south. At the Espenhof, they serve a carpaccio of Black Tiger jumbo shrimp with mango chutney or pink-roasted beef paillard on olive gnocchi. “Good wines are honored by good food,” says Lena—that’s the principle here. “We want to achieve the greatest possible harmony.”

And that’s exactly what they do: As soon as you park your car in the small, hidden parking lot behind the restaurant, you’re taken care of. The rooms are right across the courtyard or just across the street; the walls in the restaurant glow softly in the colors of Rheinhessen, painted according to the ideas of Friedrich von Garnier, who revolutionized the facades of industrial buildings with color. E-bikes await in the courtyard for exploring the rolling hills, and postcards of the vineyards in the rooms are ready to be mailed. It’s time for a picnic.

The view from the picnic table takes in the white trulli—those pointed vineyard huts—which were built in the 18th century by Apulian workers from the Flonheim quarries. The soil of the vineyards consists of the same red clay as the famous Rote Hang in Nierstein. Here, in the backcountry of Rheinhessen, the wines are just as full of noble fruit and minerality as those along the Rhine, even if the vineyards aren’t classified as “Große Gewächse.” Lena just shrugs; the people here are headstrong, down-to-earth, and innovative. “A Rheinhessen native would never follow some guru,” is all she says, “we do our own thing—that’s what makes us happy.” Tu felix Rheinhessen!