I’ve just had my first experience of a Ostrich economyan inexpensive local wine-grower’s tavern which serves homemade food and wine. These places are all over the vineyard regions of southern Germany, although they are sometimes called Broom economytoo.
The names refer to the sheaves of wheat (Ostriches) or the brooms (Broom) which are hung outside to indicate the establishment is open. And that’s important, because these places only operate seasonally, depending on whether the winemaker has the time, or the personnel.
This one was at Griestal, south of Freiburg down in the Rhine corridor, on the western flank of the Black Forest (griestal-strausse.de). Finding it, hidden as it was underneath head high sweetcorn fields, wasn’t easy.
Griestal looks like a converted barn, with a lot of tables outside under a large retractable roof. On a summer evening it felt like a celebration, a festive gathering of families and locals. Many of the tables were fashioned out of old cable drums, and were shared between groups, so there was plenty of communication, especially once the first glasses of wine had been consumed.
On the winelist were Muller Thurgau and Weisser Burgunder at £3 for a large glass. Both made very pleasant drinking. And on the menu was inexpensive local food such as Brägele (£4.75), a local equivalent of Swiss rosti, and a plate of Käsespätzle (£11.20), small macaroni-like pasta smothered in cheese and topped with caramelized onions. It was not haute cuisine, but certainly good fodder for working in the fields.
All in all, a highly recommended experience.