The Pfalz and Rhine Terrace Feature

Wine has a big influence on the cuisine here. Not only must the food taste good with a glass of wine, but it's often used as an ingredient. The Weinkraut is sauerkraut braised in wine; Dippe-Has is hare and pork baked in red wine; and Backes Grumbeere is scalloped potatoes cooked with bacon, sour cream, white wine, and a layer of pork. During the grape harvest, from September through November, there is Federweisser—fermenting grape juice. Among the regional dishes well suited to wine is the Pfälzer Teller—a platter of bratwurst (grilled sausage), Leberknödel (liver dumplings), and slices of Saumagen (a spicy meat-and-potato mixture cooked in a sow's stomach), with Kartoffelpüree (mashed potatoes) on the side. Spargel (asparagus), Wild (game), chestnuts, Zwiebelkuchen (onion quiche), and mushrooms, particularly Pfifferlinge (chanterelles), are seasonal favorites.