Boiling wine with spices is a tradition throughout Europe and the world. This is a variant using apple wine from Frankfurt.

Boiling wine with spices is a tradition throughout Europe and the world. This is a variant using apple wine from Frankfurt.
Himmel und Erde or Heaven and Earth refers to the two kinds of potatoes in the dish, the sky apples, i.e., apples from trees, and earth apples, i.e., potatoes. It is essentially mashed potatoes with blood sausages, either as a puree or fried. A common dish from the Rhineland in Germany, it was once a staple of working class households.
The duck was a common peasant food throughout history and entered middle and upper-class diets in the 19th century. This roast uses apples and apple wine to fill, making for a regional dish from the Frankfurt area.
This dish is essentially a version of the French Beef Burgundy, except it uses Frankfurt apple wine instead of red wine. It follows more in the tradition of German goulash than a proper stew, so feel free to add vegetables to make it heartier.
Sauerbraten is an ancient dish typically associated with Catholic regions of the Rhineland. In the distant past, old wine, i.e., vinegar, was used to preserve meat butchered throughout the week so that it could be sold for Sunday Roast at a reasonable price. Though most modern recipes use beef, pork was once the more common ingredient. This recipe replaces the traditional red wine with Apple Wine, a dry wine made from apples instead of grapes.