Moselle spit roast with onions & herbs

The festive dish of the Middle Moselle – slow-cooked, deeply rooted

Wine with food meets a dish that rewards patience. Mosel spit roast – a slow-cooked pork loin with a crust of onions, mustard and herbs – is the feast of the Middle Moselle, a dish that is served on Sundays and is the centerpiece of family celebrations. Particularly well-known in the area around Treis-Karden and Cochem, where winegrowing families have been passing down the recipe for generations, it has a firm place in the region’s cuisine.

What sets the Mosel spit roast apart from other braised dishes is the simplicity of its flavors: pork loin, onions, herbs, mustard – no exotic ingredients, no complicated techniques. The secret lies in the cooking time and the quality of the meat. Slowly roasted in the oven, the loin develops a crust that crackles and an interior that is tender as butter. The wine recommendation is deliberately surprising: not the obvious Riesling, but a Mosel Pinot Noir – a wine that proves that this region can do far more than white wine.

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Ideal wine accompaniment: Mosel Spätburgunder QbA dry (Middle Mosel, Germany)

A delicate cherry fruit, a hint of strawberry, and underneath an earthiness that comes from the slate soil of the Middle Moselle and distinguishes the wine from its Burgundy counterpart. Mosel Pinot Noir is often underestimated – wrongly so. In the warmer Middle Moselle sites, where the slate stores the sun’s heat well, elegant red wines mature that impress with fine tannins and a cool acidity, without ever carrying the weight of the great southern red wines.

It is precisely this lightness that makes it the ideal accompaniment to Mosel spit roast: The delicate tannin opens up the meat without dominating it, the cherry fruit plays with the caramelized onions, and the cool acidity cuts through the fat of the pork loin and keeps every bite fresh. Anyone who thinks you always need a strong southern red with pork will be proven wrong here. Moselle wineries such as Heymann-Löwenstein and Von Othegraven produce Pinot Noirs that show why this region also has a lot to say about red wine.

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Further wine recommendations for this dish

Mosel Riesling Spätlese dry QmP (Middle Mosel, Germany)

The unexpected white wine alternative to spit roast – and one of the most interesting pairings on this list. A dry Spätlese from the Middle Moselle has enough body and pressure points to stand up to a dish like the spit roast: The ripe peach and apricot fruit plays with the crust of caramelized onions, and the acidity cuts through the fat of the meat with precision. The result is a pairing that defies classic expectations and shows why the Moselle is considered Germany’s most versatile wine region. If you want to serve the Spiessbraten as a festive lunch with guests and want to surprise them, put a Spätlese dry on the table – and experience astonished but enthusiastic faces.

Pfalz Pinot Noir QbA dry (Pfalz, Germany)

A little stronger, a little fuller-bodied than its Mosel counterpart – the Pfalz Pinot Noir is the wine for anyone who wants more red wine substance in their glass when enjoying a spit roast. The warmer vineyards of the Palatinate produce a Pinot Noir that is darker in fruit, has more body and a pronounced tannin – just the right thing when the spit roast has been baked with a strong mustard crust. In combination with the fried onions, the Pfalz Pinot Noir develops a depth that is surprising: the plum and cherry fruit of the wine combines with the slightly sweet aroma of the caramelized onions to create a dark, warm aroma that carries the evening.

Pinot Noir Bourgogne AOC (Burgundy, France)

Cool, earthy, with a silky texture and a spectrum of aromas ranging from cherry to forest floor and a hint of leather – Pinot Noir from Burgundy is the most international and prestigious alternative for the Mosel Spiessbraten. Where the Mosel Pinot Noir scores with its regional ties, the Bourgogne impresses with its cosmopolitan elegance. Its cool acidity and fine tannins work just as well with pork loin as they do with classic coq au vin – the meat opens up and the aromas deepen. If you are preparing a spit roast for a special occasion and are prepared to invest in the wine, go for the Bourgogne AOC and you won’t go wrong.

Rheingau Spätburgunder QbA dry (Rheingau, Germany)

Between Mosel and Burgundy – the Rheingau Pinot Noir has its very own signature: a little more fullness than the Mosel Pinot Noir, a little less power than the Palatinate, but with an elegance and accessibility that makes it perhaps the most balanced German Pinot Noir. The best vineyards in the Rheingau – Assmannshausen and Lorch – produce red wines that are traded internationally and are a discovery for every Pinot Noir lover. It goes particularly well with Mosel spit roast when the meat has been flavored with thyme and rosemary – the herbal notes of the wine and those of the marinade combine to create a harmonious, aromatic whole.

Dornfelder Rheinhessen QbA dry (Rheinhessen, Germany)

Dark, juicy, with an aroma reminiscent of black cherry, blackberry and dark chocolate – the Dornfelder from Rheinhessen is the strongest and most accessible red wine alternative on this list. What it lacks in finesse, it makes up for in charm and drinking pleasure: it is a wine that doesn’t need long explanations, but simply works. It is particularly successful with spit roast when the dish is served with a hearty bacon crust and lots of onions – then the wine needs fruit and body, and the Dornfelder reliably delivers both. For all those who prefer a strong, uncomplicated red to an elegant Pinot, this is the honest recommendation.

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All other recipes and wine recommendations from the Moselle region can be found in the Moselle wine region category.

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The recipe: