LEGEND OF THE KAISERWOOG
Wine Label
2020
The Legend of the pike in the Kaiserwoog recounts an event that is believed to have happened in 1497, towards the end of the Middle Ages, in what was then the Electoral Palatinate city of Lautern, now known as Kaiserslautern. It is said that a massive, ancient pike was captured in a lake called the Kaiserwoog, and this pike bore a ring inscribed with Greek writing. According to the traditional account, Emperor Friedrich II was the one who originally placed this pike in the lake in 1230 - a staggering 267 years prior.
The earliest version of the Kaiserslautern legend doesn't specify Emperor Friedrich II but mentions only Emperor Friedrich, whose return is anticipated. This folklore does not distinguish between Friedrich I and his grandson Friedrich II, both of whom passed away in distant lands and were laid to rest. Furthermore, the creature in question is not a pike but rather a carp.
“In the same lake (the Kaiserwoog in Lautern) he (Kaiser Friedrich) is said to have caught a large carp once and hung a gold ring from his finger to one of his ears as a memorial. The same fish should, as they say, remain untrapped in the pond until Emperor Friedrichs future. At a time when the pond was being fished, two carps were caught, which were locked around their necks with gold chains, which are still carved in stone at the Metzlerpforte in Kaiserslautern in human memory.” - in the linguistically modernized version of the Brothers Grimm from 1816.
As a result, I aimed to highlight the two distinct versions of the Kaiserslautern legend by naming the red wine after Emperor Friedrich I, also known as Emperor Barbarossa (which means "Red Beard" in Italian), and depicting a carp. Meanwhile, the white wine is named after his grandson Friedrich II, and it features an illustrated pike. The crown around the necks of each fish respectively symbolises the ring or chain that was said to have been found around the neck of the legendary fish.
Friedrich I. / Frederick the First aka. Barbarossa
Friedrich II. / Frederik the Second