Some time after my first trip to Schweizer’s Restaurant I had another date there.  I remember even trying a few different dishes, but still went for volume and loaded up the table.  At this point in my life, I had hollow legs and I had an appetite that could not be sated and it did not show on me.  Thankfully I do not have that appetite anymore as my metabolism has slowed and I would probably be obese.

The lesson that I did learn was that you have to read the wine list carefully.  I saw the name Schloss Reinhartshausener and assumed that I was going to order the same wine again.  The name was the same and it was from the Rheingau district, but when the bottle arrived at the table it was a white wine.  I did not want to get flustered and show my youth, especially since I was under the legal drinking age at the time.  What I had ordered was a 1971er Hattenheimer Wisselbrunn Riesling Auslese.  The wine took me back, but since I had ordered it and wanted to keep face, I did not say anything.  The wine was totally enjoyable though it was sweeter than I would have preferred at the moment.  All in all it was a very good wine, but it did teach me to pay more attention to what I am ordering on the wine list, as I even missed that the Schloss Reinhartshausener was listed in the white wine section.  A couple of days later, when I went to research my new “selection,” I discovered that by accident I had chosen a fine wine.  In that Wisselbrunn is an important vineyard for Hattenheim, and that the wine was an Auslese was more of a plus, but that explained why I found the wine to be sweeter than I had hoped for.  All lessons in life should be this fun to learn.