If every month has a color to fill, I believe the color of June would be filled with the tone of white and red wine. With the coming-back of Riesling weeks, we are honoured to have the 70th German Wine Queen, Carolin Klöckner, for the Riesling Weeks in Hong Kong.

Each year, wine queens elected from the thirteen German wine regions will compete for the throne of “The German Wine Queen.” The participants must be coming from a vintner’s family or must have completed the Oenological education. The primary role of the wine queen is the ambassador of German wines that she will travel in Germany and abroad to promote German wine culture to consumers, importers, and professionals in the food and beverage industry by participating in a series of events.

Though her parents are professionally involved in consulting, psychology and orthodontics, Carolin Klöckner from Württemberg has been fascinated by winemaking in her early ages and would like to dedicate herself to promoting German wines. She and her family are very nature-loving that she even takes part in the wine growing and harvest. Thrilled as the newly-crowned wine queen feels, she is ready to commit herself to promote German wines with this cultural heritage and work of art around the globe.

We have an interview with Carolin before joining the Riesling Weeks Hong Kong in June.
C: Cru
K: Carolin Klöckner

C: What are you expecting for your Hong Kong visit in May and June?

K: My expectation is to show to as many people as possible the speciality and the passion of German Wine. For myself traveling to Hongkong will be a very exciting trip and I am hoping for an unbelievable experience, interesting conversations and wonderful events. In summary, I am sure I will never forget this journey.

C: As your parents and are professionally involved in consulting, psychology and orthodontics, why you dedicated in promoting German wines?

K: My parents got me attached to agriculture very early. Growing up in the Midwest of the United States (Illinois) I was mostly surrounded by corn fields. When moving back to Germany (Württemberg, after six years in the States) my biggest highlight was to help my relatives during the grape harvest. Since then, I always take part in harvest and my interest in wine grows. The decision to truly dedicate myself towards the promotion on German wine came within my studies in Agriculture where I’ve got a closer look in the subject.

C: How did you decide to join the Wine Queen Competition?

K: I first got introduced to a wine princess in my hometown Vaihingen/Enz. After that, I had a lot of events with the Württemberger Wine Queen. And she was actually the person, as well as my family, who told me I should apply because they saw my passion for German and Württemberger Wine. So I applied but never thought that this would lead to the position of becoming the German Wine Queen.

C: Born and Bred in Württemberg, can you introduce this place to us.

K: Yes, it would be my honor to introduce Württemberg to you. First of all Württemberg, located next to the wine region Ahr, is known for producing a higher proportion of red wine than white wine just like Ahr. Other regions of Germany produce mostly white wine. It is the fourth largest region in Germany and it’s best known for the varieties Trollinger, Lemberger and Riesling.

C: How would you promote German wine around the world. In which aspect in particular?

K: I would promote German wine in the aspect of the cool climate, this is a very unique issue. Through our Cool climate, the grapes ripen longer with no stress, so that the aroma can unfold itself with a smooth acidity. The alcohol level is relatively lower, what brings the ability to pair it wonderfully with the Asian and Nordic cuisine.And last but not least not only our climate is cool, also the vintners are young, dynamic, innovative and simply cool.

C: What kind(s) of German wines you like most? Any region you would like to recommend?

K: First of all for which wine I like the most, it is hard for me to say, because I think wine is such an emotional drink. I often ask myself:” Carolin how are your emotions, what kind of wine would you prefer today?”And secondly it’s interesting and inspiring to try the diverse varieties and regions, whether it is a Riesling from the Mosel, a Lemberger from Württemberg or Pinot blanc from Saale-Unstrut.You always find something you probably haven’t tried yet.

C: If we are going to travel in Germany, which city/region(s) you are going to suggest?, or any must-visit places?

K: This is probably very similar to my favorite wine. But my suggestion would be, if you travel to Germany, you first need to allow a lot of time because there is so much to explore. Secondly, I would recommend to you, after you have probably landed in Frankfurt, that you start a visit in the region Rheingau, because it’s nearby, then afterwards further to the west to Rheinland-Pfalz and check out their 6 sub wine regions. This can be followed by a stop-over at the Hessische Bergstraße on the way to Baden-Württemberg. Then you travel east from Franken because you also want to see Berlin and you can drop by the wine regions of Saale-Unstrut and Saxony on the way.