Deutsche Drinks (Apfelschorle)

Member Name: MALU

Product:	Apfelschorle
Date:	12/05/09 (226 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: tasty, refreshing

Disadvantages: none

Thanks to globalisation you can now find Coke, Pepsi & Co. even in the last oasis. If you consider this a good thing, this review won't interest you. If, however, you're interested not only in the food but also the drinks of the places you travel to, for example Kvas in Russia, Ayran in Turkey, you may learn something new here. The drink I'd like to recommend for travels in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and South Tyrol in the North of Italy is Schorle* which comes as Apfelschorle (apple schorle) or Weinschorle (wine schorle).

Apfelsaft (apple juice) is a well known drink in Germany (I won't mention the other countries again, they're always also included), people drink it in restaurants or at home if they cherish a non-alcoholic drink. It's rather sweet, though, and especially in summer apple juice is often mixed with water which turns it into an Apfelschorle (also called Apfelsaftschorle = apple juice schorle). This mixture is less sweet, contains fewer calories and is more refreshing. All restaurants have it on the menu.

Normally clear apple juice and carbonated water are used. It can happen that you get cloudy apple juice, though, it's considered to be healthier because it contains fibres. Some people don't like their drink fizzy and order Apfelschorle with still water. In my opinion still water makes the Schorle a bit insipid, the best mixture for me is clear apple juice with slightly carbonated water.

Now that you've learnt about Apfelschorle, let's move on to other Schorles (I couldn't find an English link to Schorle in general, only one to Apfelschorle, but I feel it my duty to give you cover-all information here).

You can also get Weinschorle (called Spritzer in some parts of Germany) made of white or red wine. I remember once ordering a Weißweinschorle (white wine schorle) on an outing with my colleagues and being attacked by one colleague for my choice. He saw it as proof for my fickle character which prevented me from making up my mind and choosing either/or. What an idiot! When I'm having lunch or in a break during a performance in a theatre, a Weißweinschorle is just right. It refreshes me, the wine gives me a little kick, but I don't become tired because of too much alcohol. I often go to a comedy club and I always have a Weißweinschorle and a pretzel with butter during the break, I only have to smile at the woman behind the counter and I get what I want without saying a word.

'Schorle white acid' would be white wine with lemonade, yuck, if you ask me, but who am I to tell people what tastes good or not.

A drink I don't want to get to know is Rotweinschorle (red wine schorle), the reason is that I usually drink red wine at home and like it neat. I've found a recipe which sounds good, though, you may try it.
dry red wine
some ice cubes
some drops of lemon juice
carbonated water

In a restaurant, the mixture is usually half/half. When at home, you can, of course, mix the way you like and you can also mix carbonated water with other fruit juices. At the moment we've got pear juice at home which I also drink as Schorle.

When you come to Germany by plane and use the TUI airline, you can already get a taste on the way. This airline is a low cost one, but they always serve a snack even on short flights. They don't offer Schorle but they always have apple juice, when the stewardess asks me what I want, I order a glass of apple juice and a glass of water and then make the Schorle myself.

You can buy ready made Schorles in German supermarkets but they don't taste as good as the ones made on the spot. In most bars and restaurants, Apfelschorle is mixed ad hoc from apple juice and carbonated water.

In the south of Germany people also drink cider, the German name is Most (short 'o' like in 'top'). Many villages have presses where the inhabitants take the apples from their gardens to, according to the amount they get bottles of cider back. A friend of mine lives in such a village, she's told me that during the time of fermentation the people engaged in the cider making business walk around like zombies, they're permanently tipsy from the smell! I don't drink cider, it's too acid for my liking, at least the one which is drunk in my region (I remember drinking cider in England and liking it). Once we bought a bottle by mistake, we thought it was apple juice. After one gulp it landed in the drain which I regret now, I should have used it to clean the bowl in the loo, after all I buy vinegar to do this. There's a saying in Germany, "Acid makes merry" (Sauer macht lustig), I have to get my merriment from something else, I'm afraid.

Mixing fruit juice or wine with carbonated water doesn't seem a highly original idea but it obviously is. I know from two online friends that they look forward to travelling to Germany or Austria where they can drink Schorle. Why not introduce this refreshing drink to your country? Drink it yourselves and offer it to your friends, you may make converts. South of South Tyrol Italians don't drink apple juice (apples don't like it too hot), they have other juices; I especially like the peach variety. I remember that in a bar I once ordered a peach juice, a glass of water and a big empty glass and then made myself a schorle, the man behind the counter was fascinated!

Prost!
Cheers!

---

*pronounced: 'shorla', stress on the first syllable.

Summary: Schorle - a typical German drink.