Not sure of the spelling, but they were all ordering drinks together about 1 hr. into the movie and the waiter suggested it. Since this takes place in Nurmberg, it's likely to be a Wuerttemberg area wine/liquor. I have asked some German wine/drink experts and they were not familiar with it.
Anyone know? Thanks and Prost!
I believe it is Schwalbenwinkel-- check out this Wine Spectator post for info: http://forums.winespectator.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6826053161/m/164107034
shareThanks martyr. The handful of posts on that site didn't provide much info, so maybe it went "extinct" and is no longer made. Guess I'll keep sticking to good old fashioned German beer! Thanks!
shareI just saw this part of the movie and wondered the same thing. The wine in question is actually called Schwalbenwinkel. You may want to look at this link to Wine Spectator where it is discussed.
http://forums.winespectator.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6826053161/m/164107034
I visited Germany 23 years ago and am looking forward to my next trip. It is a beautiful country and has great beer and wine.
Thanks Erin_Brew!
shareIt is a curious word, it seems, this word Schwalbenwinkel. When one googles it, the top suggestions usually refer back to this film and the music for that section of the film. There is that one page from the Wine Spectator Forum which dates from 2007 and with just one person there being able to provide even a hint of information. Two of three links "wineismylife" gives on the Wine Spectator forum are no longer current. The third is for a winery Hofgut Hoerstein but I can not see a wine with the name Schwalbenwinkel on their wine list. I did find an entry on the Beverage Directory of wineandwine.wordpress.com under Horstein (they have not used the umlaut) describing Horstein as a town in Franconia on the River Main (Nuremberg is the administrative centre of Franconia) which has many vineyards "producing some of the best Franken wines" and one of those listed is Schwalbenwinkel.
I suspect the writer Abby Mann encountered this unusual name of a German wine producer one day and thought it would be a comic addition to the script. Or perhaps one of the film production crew encountered the wine while filming on location in 1961 and decided this word would be ideal for that scene. I am happy to be corrected, but it seems not to be a well known or widely available label. I was in Nuremberg in December 2015 and can not recall seeing Schwalbenwinkel then but, as I had not yet then seen the film, I was not specifically looking for it. Using an internet translator the word seems to mean "Swallows' Angle" and I have found online in real estate advertisements houses with that name - perhaps to give the property a rustic, country feel (similar to 'The Rookery' or 'The Dovecote' but perhaps not in the same vein as 'The Eagle's Nest'!)