Fall is here, and I might not have even noticed if it hadn’t been for the Federweißer—a new wine, sold in open bottles mid-fermentation. It’s sweet like apple juice, with a delicious yeasty tone that lingers pleasantly on your tongue after every sip.

We were in a tiny village outside of Mainz when the subject came up. Was there Federweißer already? Or was it too early even for new wine? “Well why don’t we just walk over to the winery and find out,” my friend’s father said—a sentence that made me swoon for small-town Germany once again.