Apfelwein Spritz

A refreshing Frankfurt specialty that transforms traditional German apple wine into a sparkling summer cooler with soda water, often enjoyed in the city's historic cider taverns.

Apfelwein — apple wine — has been produced in the Frankfurt region of Germany since at least the 16th century, when documentary records of apple wine production appear in the greater Hesse area. The drink is made by fermenting fresh apple juice to dryness, producing a still, tart, dry wine at around 5-7% ABV that is distinct from the sweeter, lower-alcohol cider produced in the British Isles or Normandy. Frankfurt's Sachsenhausen district, on the south bank of the Main River across from the old town, developed as the center of Apfelwein culture, where traditional taverns called Apfelweinlokale serve it by the glass or in the Bembel — a distinctive blue-gray glazed stoneware pitcher decorated with a scatter of blue flower motifs — alongside hearty Frankfurt specialties including Handkäse mit Musik (sour-milk cheese with onions and vinegar) and Schnitzel. The Bembel is so associated with Apfelwein culture that it has become a symbol of Frankfurt and the broader Hesse region. The Apfelwein Spritz lightens this tradition for warm-weather aperitivo culture: still, dry apple wine combined with sparkling water or sparkling wine to add effervescence, the combination producing a lower-alcohol, more refreshing version that has found a contemporary audience among drinkers who want the Apfelwein's distinctive dry apple character without the full weight of still wine by the glass.