I would describe myself as a wine lover, but definitely not as wine connoisseurs. I know if I like the taste of a wine or not. And, Yes, I confess that the label of a bottle for me is not quite irrelevant. Therefore, maybe my favorite color lilac was somewhat of a guide when I placed my first wine order in Nierstein [also known as Riesling city at the banks of river Rhine]. Because Lisa likes lilac. Now, the shooting star of the young German wine makers has promised to give her personal wine recommendations for selected Captain’s Dinner menus. And this is the way it happened.

Shore leave in Hamburg with my captain. For a wonderful meal in the restaurant “Kleine Brunnenstraße 1” the Scheurebe was recommended of the Rhine-Hessian winery Lisa Bunn. That was our first encounter with the name Lisa Bunn and the shy deer on the bottle. We researched and found a long list of superlatives for the likeable 29 year-old, who took over the parental estate 2011 together with her husband Bastian. “Unfortunately people still laugh at women in this industry”, regrets Lisa. As young female winemaker, she apparently must be clearly better than all male counterparts, as it is in many other industries as well.

Lisa succeeds. She wins through, produces excellent wines. Takes prices and points, most recently Falstaff 93 points for the Ölberg Riesling, two clusters in the Gault Millau and two stars in the Vinum Wineguide 2018. She is celebrated in the press. These successes are based on two pillars: extensive training on one and entrepreneurial courage and much drive on the other side. Lisa’s husband Bastian is a trained wine technician, Lisa herself has studied international wine industry and gained experience at various wineries in Australia and South Africa, among others.

2011 senior, George Bunn, fell ill, Lisa and Bastian accepted the challenge and took over the family estate, which they renamed 2013. The name Margarethenhof after the great-grandmother existed four times in the area, which often led to confusion, it was changed to the – unique – name “Weingut Lisa Bunn”. And it was the color purple in game…

It was followed by strenuous years in which the range and the production were converted. “Over the years we have taken off old varieties such as Bacchus from the vineyard to be able to concentrate on the Rieslings and Burgundy”, Lisa tells me. With bright eyes, she continues: “And we have moved on again to the handpicking, long maceration times and spontaneous fermentation, to warm fermentation and a long time yeast storage.” Aha, now I admit I would like to understand more of this.

The family estate Lisa Bunn is picturesquely located overlooking the river Rhine in Nierstein. That Lisa likes lilac, you notice immediately when you are driving on the courtyard of the winery. Old wine presses painted in white and lilac line the parking lot and the walls of the wine shop blast purple in the beautiful Lisa Bunn lilac. George Bunn at our wine tasting “Soon also the company cars will be purple”, told with a wink and one doubts that lilac is his favorite color too.

Be happy with me, that Lisa Bunn will tell us her special wine recommendation here on my blog for some special Captain’s Dinner menus. We start with the Christmas menu 2017!