Scotland, Summer 2025 – Day 1. Port na Mine 


In August 2025, we spent a week at Loch Etive, near Inverawe, on the west coast of Scotland. We rented in Port na Mine – a six-bedroom house in a remote corner of Inverawe for our group of eight adults, four children and two dogs. The drive, from Harrogate in North Yorkshire took eight hours…

Summer 2025 In Kleinbottwar: Day 5


Light rain fell in the morning and the sun struggled to appear. I went for another short walk in the village and noted for the first time the Württemberger Weinstraße  sign and a carving depicting vineyards, grape harvest, pressing and wine drinking, just below the church. I noted the well stocked grocery store with no…

Summer 2025 In Kleinbottwar: Day 3 – Abiball


A walk in the Kleinbottwar vineyards Kleinbottwar village in the Württemburg wine region Germany is known principally for wines from the Riesling grape. There are three adjoining Grosse Lage – classified vineyards on a southwest- and south-facing hillside to the northeast of the village, on low-yielding, stony Keuper soils. In the middle of the three, Süssmund (“Sweetmouth”, referring to…

Summer 2025 In Kleinbottwar, Day 2 – ChorKonzert


The morning was glorious. The vineyards on the hills that surround Kleinbottwar were bathed in sunlight. We drove to Steinheim after breakfast to shop at the massive Kaufland Wine Shop. I purchased Riesling from the Kleinbottwar producer Graf Adelmann and Spateburgunder and Riesling from Rheingau producers Kunstler, Leitz, Kloster Eberbach & Schloss Vollrads. In the…