Bernkastel & Zell
We spent the morning in the little village of Bernkastel. We were supposed to stay there until midnight, but the annual wine festival was going on, and docking space was at a premium, so we had to leave by 11:45 a.m. We did have time for a city tour and our guide was just average. We had some free time at the end to walk around the town. It’s a beautiful little town. I've inserted a few photos below.

Tour guide with Vicki & in-laws. 

Avalon tour goup

Bernkastel's "Pointed House"

Bernkastel market square

Decoration on old Bernkastel house

The Bernkastel "Bear Fountain"

Bundespost letter box

Delivering the mail

When we left Bernkastel we continued down the Moselle to the town of Zell. Zell is another wine village. Much of the wine produced in and around Zell is sold as Zeller Schwarze Katz or Black Cat from Zell. 

Float plane headed for Bernkastel wine festival

Entering a double lock on the way to Zell

Zell is another wine town on the Mosel. Most of the wine produced in the area is marketed as Schwarze Katz (Black Cat) wine. 

Schwarze Katz statue in Zell

Wine shop in Zell

Upon arrival in Zell, a local vintner came onboard with wines to taste. He has about 8 hectares (19 acres) of vineyards and produces as much as 80,000 liters (21,000 gallons) of wine per year. The yield can vary with one recent year producing only 35,000 liters (9,200 gallons). The hope is that if the yield is low, the grapes are good so higher prices will offset the low volumes. He brought 5 different wines on board. He gave a good explanation of German wine classification laws and the winemaking process. 

All of his wine is fermented in stainless steel, and almost all of it is sold in screw cap bottles. He believes that the screw caps lead to more consistent quality without the possibility of fungus on corks leading to “corked” wine. He doesn’t export wine, but sells directly to customers who like his wine and have standing orders and through local wine shops. The most expensive wine he brought on the ship (an Auslese for those familiar with German wine laws) was only €12. 

After the tasting we took a walk around Zell before returning to the ship for dinner. 

Narrow houses in Zell. Appear to be very large from the river, but have little depth.