Saxon wines have not yet achieved the worldwide reputation of, say, wines from Sicily. Sommelier Pietzonka from Dresden wants to change this and has opened the pop-up restaurant “Jens und Friede” in Kreuzberg together with chef Friedrich Hofmann.
Until September 28th he is presenting wines from the former “Dark Germany” in the “Platz doch!” on Manteuffelstrasse 48 – but even there the sun shines on the vines of the “Weingut Schuh”. It sounds like sole at first, but it is quite tasty.
Pietzonka is said to have “revolutionized” the wine scene by bringing wines from his homeland into the national spotlight. However, he does not want to move to Berlin – at 50, he is already too old for that, he said at the press dinner. Although, with the rise of the AfD in Saxony, this is of course not a good development.
The wines from his homeland are “special” and the people of Kreuzberg should try them – sometimes he presents wines that he usually serves to VIP guests at home matches of the national football team. His mission to bring more wine culture to German football is being rewritten by the end of September: More wine culture for Kreuzberg. (Whether he has already Kreuzberg’s wine tried?)
© Robert Klages
Pietzonka is a three-time Sommelier of the Year, current wine expert of the German Football Association (DFB) and Wine Ambassador of the Year 2024 at the Wine Awards of the magazine “Feinschmecker”. After several positions in top gastronomy, he set up his own business with the “Weinzentrale” in Dresden.
A 4-course menu with wine costs 139 euros in the pop-up restaurant. “Friede” Hofmann was born in Berlin and is a former sous-chef at star chef Max Strohe. In 2018, he dropped out of law school to complete an apprenticeship as a chef and develop his version of “easily accessible gourmet cuisine”. The press dinner included Thuringian Duroc pork with swede, crème brûlée with pear and sourdough bread from the Bakery “Keit” from Boxhagener Platz.
Reservations and information at: jenspietzonka.de
This is a text from the newsletter for Friedrichshain-Kreuzbergwhich from now on belongs to our digital offering Tagesspiegel Plus (T+) heard. Other topics from today’s broadcast and for you Newsletter available to order immediately here:
- School route safety checks: 234 administrative offences at 14 primary schools
- Radbahn Berlin: Million-dollar project between eyesore and opportunity
- Watergate Club at the Oberbaum Bridge closes: No glamour in Kreuzberg without tourism?
- Interview with the “Kotti Insider”: Neriman Kurt knows the hardships behind Kreuzberg’s facades
- “The tram would disrupt the neighbourhood”: new information on traffic planning in Sonntagstrasse
- Chaos in Petersburger Straße: Construction work until 2027
- Rapper Challa shot dead in Schöneberg: from repeat offender to social worker in Kreuzberg
- Opening of “House of Tech and Finance”: Berlin’s fintech hub is located in Kreuzberg
- As Tutankhamun before the Judgement of Osiris: multimedia exhibition on the RAW site
- DFB sommelier Jens Pietzonka presents Saxon wines in the pop-up restaurant
- Cooking with people with mental disabilities: Activities for the volunteer days
Twelve districts, twelve newsletters – now part of the Tagesspiegel Plus (T+) subscription. Please go here for the special offer.
