Edelpilz Käse | Genuss
Small cheese and wine shop in central Eltville, run by a trained sommelier who worked at a Rheingau VDP estate. To avoid competing with Rheingau wine producers, it leans on fortified wines and Loire and Alsace bottles.
About Spundekäs
A seasoned fresh-cheese spread, not a ripened cheese: quark and fresh cheese, often with butter or cream, beaten smooth and seasoned with pepper and other spices, with onion on the side. German Wikipedia places its origin in northern Rheinhessen, across the Rhine, but the Rheingau tourism site calls it the culinary classic of the Rheingau and says the traditional Straußwirtschaften and Gutsschänken are unthinkable without it. It is served on a wooden board and spooned up with salted pretzels. The contest Rheingau sucht den SuperSpundekäs held its tenth and last edition in April 2024. Recipes vary from house to house.
Made in: Northern Rheinhessen by origin; made in wine estates and home kitchens across the Rheingau and Rheinhessen
On the plate
Rheingau.de describes a creamy base of quark, fresh cheese, butter and cream with a strong seasoning of pepper, garlic and other spices, meant for wine. German Wikipedia adds sweet paprika for colour and chopped or ringed onions over or beside it.
Rind: none, eaten fresh
Wine and cheese
What to pour with Spundekäs
Fruity Rheingau Riesling (Kabinett or Spätlese) Rheingau
Our pickRheingau.de, the region's tourism site, says Spundekäs goes perfectly with a fruity Rheingau Riesling. In these off-dry and medium-sweet wines, fruit and a little sweetness soften the raw onion and spice, and racy acidity cuts the butter and cream.
Dry estate or village Silvaner and Riesling (steel, some with a part in large oak cask) Rheinhessen
Local traditionGerman Wikipedia says Spundekäs is classically eaten with white wine, so Rheinhessen wine houses and Straußwirtschaften serve it. It names no grape; a dry Silvaner or Riesling, with medium to high acidity, runs against the cream quark and paprika.
Dry white wine (light to medium-bodied dry Rheingau Riesling) Rheingau
Local traditionGerman Wikipedia says Spundekäs is classically eaten with white wine and served in practically every wine house and Straußwirtschaft of the Rheingau. It names no grape; these dry Rieslings, light to medium in body, are our examples, their high acidity cutting the cream and onion.
Scheurebe, dry or off-dry Rheinhessen
Our pickA Spundekäs bagel recipe on rheinhessen.de, the region's tourism and wine site, suggests a Scheurebe, dry or off-dry, a grape bred in Rheinhessen. It is a suggestion for that dish rather than a custom.
Traditional-method dry Riesling Sekt Rheingau
Our pickThese bottle-fermented, dry Riesling Sekts have high acidity and citrus fruit, and the bubbles lift the butter and cream of the spread. Their toasty lees notes sit well beside the pepper and onion.
Dry Weissburgunder (steel, some with a part in large oak cask) Rheinhessen
Our pickDry Weissburgunder, with its almond note and medium acidity, is a soft partner for cream quark and sweet paprika and does not fight the onion served with it.
Chardonnay, dry and oak-aged Rheinhessen
Our pickA Spundekäs and smoked salmon tart recipe on rheinhessen.de suggests a Chardonnay from Weingut Landgraf, a pick for that dish rather than a custom. Dry French-oak Rheinhessen Chardonnay brings a creamy, full-bodied texture to the quark.
Traditional-method dry Sekt, 36 to 60 months on lees (white) Rheinhessen
Our pickThe fine mousse and high acidity of a dry traditional-method Sekt, 36 to 60 months on lees, cut the richness of the cream quark and answer the paprika.
The grapes behind these winesRieslingSilvanerWeissburgunderChardonnayWeissburgunder (Pinot Blanc)Scheurebe
From the source
Where to buy and taste it
Käsekontor
Cheese shop in Mainz's old town, run since 2014 by Christine Dörr, a trained fromelière. Alpine family-dairy cheeses, Rheinhessen wine, and tasting evenings in the Krämerei next door.
Bergkäse Station
Cheese shop in Wiesbaden, founded in 2006 as a mountain-dairy outlet, selling mostly German and Swiss cheeses, many bought direct from producers. It is not a Rheingau cheese range.
NOVUM Bio-Käsewagen
Yellow organic cheese wagon at the Mainz cathedral market on Fridays and Saturdays, with about 100 cheeses from the region and across Europe. NOVUM closed its Römerpassage cheese shop in June 2025.
Cheese experiences nearby
Wein trifft Käse at Weingut Diefenhardt
A wine tasting at the Martinsthal estate that sets its wines against selected cheese specialties, guided by a culture and wine ambassador. Listed for Saturday 31 October 2026 at 16:00.
Mainzer Wochenmarkt
Weekly market in the shadow of Mainz cathedral with 85 permanent stands; NOVUM's organic cheese wagon sells about 100 cheeses there on Fridays and Saturdays.
7 Käse 7 Weine with Reiner Wechs
A seven-cheese, seven-wine evening led by cheese master Reiner Wechs, from Luxembourg through Spain to Georgia. It is a European tasting in Wiesbaden, not a Rheingau one. Listed for Friday 6 November 2026, 19:30.
Wiesbaden Wochenmarkt at the Dern'sches Gelände
Wiesbaden's main weekly food market. Hof Zorn from the Untertaunus sells its raw-milk cheeses here on both market days, and from March to November Wiesbaden wine estates take turns at a wine stand.
Alzeyer Wochenmarkt
Saturday market on Alzey's Obermarkt with a cheese stand and a bakery, and local winemakers at the market breakfast from April to October.
Spundekäs: questions
What is in Spundekäs?
German Wikipedia gives the base recipe as two parts fresh cheese to three parts high-fat quark, stirred smooth and seasoned with pepper, salt and sweet paprika, with chopped or ringed onions on top or beside it. Many estates add butter, egg yolk, crème fraîche, garlic, caraway or capers.
Which wine goes with Spundekäs?
Rheingau.de says it goes perfectly with a fruity Rheingau Riesling. German Wikipedia says it is classically drunk with white wine and served in practically all wine houses and Straußwirtschaften of Rheinhessen and the Rheingau.
Where does the name come from?
Rheingau.de traces it to the Spund, the wooden bung that sealed a wine cask: the mass was first stamped out in small round shapes that recalled one.
Same cheeseboard
More cheeses from Rheingau
Plan the trip
Visit Spundekäs country
Tastings and tours where it is made, and somewhere to stay.
Rheingau
Querfeldwein / Wine Hike with Cable Car Ride in Rüdesheim am Rhein
All 502 experiences in Rheingau
Rheinhessen
Sip Wine Along the Rhine - Grape Day out from Frankfurt
All 114 experiences in RheinhessenBooking links go to our partners (GetYourGuide, Viator, Zen Hotels), who may pay us a commission. It never decides what we cover. Editorial standards.
Sources: www.rheingau.de, de.wikipedia.org. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.
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