Bernkastel-Kues (German pronunciation: [ˌbɛʁnkastl̩ˈkuːs] ) is a town on the Middle Mosel in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is well-known for its winegrowing. The town is a state-recognized health resort (Erholungsort), seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Bernkastel-Kues and birthplace of one of the most famous German polymaths, the medieval churchman and philosopher Nikolaus von Kues (Cusanus).
The Moselle (/moʊˈzɛl/ moh-ZEL, French: [mɔzɛl] ; German: Mosel [ˈmoːzl̩] ; Luxembourgish: Musel [ˈmuzəl] ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A small part of Belgium is in its basin as it includes the Sauer and the Our.
Its lower course "twists and turns its way between Trier and Koblenz along one of Germany's most beautiful river valleys." In this section the land to the north is the Eifel which stretches into Belgium; to the south lies the Hunsrück. The river flows through a region that was cultivated by the Romans. Today, its hillsides are covered by terraced vineyards where "some of the best Rieslings grow". Many castle ruins sit on the hilltops above wine villages and towns along the slopes. Traben-Trarbach with its art nouveau architecture and Bernkastel-Kues with its traditional market square are two of the many tourist attractions on the Moselle river.
Enoteca is an Italian word that is derived from the Greek word Οινοθήκη, which literally means 'wine repository' (from Oeno/Eno-, Οινός, 'wine', and teca, Θήκη, 'receptacle, case, box'), but it is used to describe a special type of local or regional wine shop that originated in Italy. The concept of an enoteca has also spread to some other countries.
A genuine enoteca is primarily directed at giving visitors or tourists the possibility to taste these wines at a reasonable price and possibly to buy them. An enoteca is often run in collaboration with growers or growers' or tourism organisations in the village or region. The reason such establishments were named to connote "wine libraries" was that they were intended as a hands-on source of information on local wines rather than as regular outlets for larger quantities of each wine, or primarily intended for established customers. Often, an enoteca stocks rather small amounts of each wine, and customers who wish to purchase large quantities after tasting are referred directly to the producers. In some cases, an enoteca will also sell other local foodstuff and/or serve small snacks to go with the wines.