Bismarck

The German Imperial Chancellor Prince Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck-Schönhausen (1815-1898) was a pronounced wine lover. One of his absolute favourite wines was a Riesling from the Reichsrat von Buhl winery from the famous single vineyard Ungeheuer (municipality of Forst) in the German wine-growing region of Pfalz. His oft-quoted saying "Dieses Ungeheuer schmeckt mir ungeheuer" was instrumental in making this vineyard world-famous. In 1883, on the occasion of his 68th birthday, Otto von Bismarck was given a bottle of the legendary 1811, also mentioned by Johann W. von Goethe (1749-1832), or the vintage also known as Comet Wine, from the Bassermann-Jordan vineyard. At that time, this wine, which was in excellent condition, was 72 years old. In Austria and Germany, several brands of wine, sparkling wine and beer were named after him. After the Battle of Königsgrätz in 1866, he got to know and appreciate wines from the Burgenland community of Pöttelsdorf (Austria) during the peace negotiations in Nikolsburg in Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic) and was regularly supplied with Pöttelsdorf wines for the rest of his life. A winegrowers' cooperative there was called "Domäne Bismarck" in his honour for some time.

Johann W. von Goethe / 1811er Komet über St. Goar und Burg Katz / Otto von Bismarck

Goethe: By Joseph Karl Stieler, Public domain, Link
Bismarck: By Franz von Lenbach, Public domain, Link

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Bismarck

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