Goethe Johann Wolfgang

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) is regarded as the most important German poet and head of the literary epoch of German Classicism. He was a multi-talented man, as he dealt scientifically with botany, anatomy, zoology, mineralogy, meteorology, optics and colour theory and, last but not least, he was also a wine expert. Goethe wrote the following short memorial to wine and women: "A girl and a glass of wine alleviate all distress, and anyone who doesn't kiss and drink is long dead!" Wine and wine culture played a major role in his life.

His grandfather Friedrich Georg Göthe (1657-1730) was the owner of the renowned inn "Zum Weidenhof" and built up an extensive wine business. His father Johann Caspar Goethe (1710-1782) had the extensive wine cellar of Goethe's birthplace built in the "Großer Hirschgraben" in Frankfurt am Main, where Goethe later kept and regularly added to his extensive collection. According to tradition, it was also thanks to the wine that he survived the difficult labour. When the child was born after three days of labour, it showed no signs of life, was blue-black in colour and threatened to suffocate. The baby was then bathed in an arden (wooden trough) with warm wine by the midwife, who "massaged the pit of his heart" and ultimately saved his life.

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Goethe Johann Wolfgang

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