"Zeller Schwarze Katz" Fountain

On the little market square, the central point of the town of Zell, there is a black basalt fountain, atop of which stands the "Schwarze Katz" (Black Cat) as the trademark of the wines of Zell. In the year 1936, the original fountain structure was erected to commemorate the Black Cat. You see, this Black Cat is of great significance in Zell, for this very same black cat is, in fact, the reason Zell and its vineyards became world-famous.

The story goes as follows

In the year 1863, two wine merchants wanted to buy a cartload of wine. They tried one barrel after another and couldn’t decide which. After all the tasting of these splendid wines they were now pretty drunk and they were considering putting off the decision about which wine they should buy, when a black cat crept into the cellar, leaped up onto one of the barrels and spat at anyone attempting to approach the barrel.

And so it became clear to the wine merchants that it could only be this wine. The wine was so good that they came back to Zell to buy out the entire stock. In Zell, the name "Zeller Schwarze Katz" was henceforth adopted for the best vineyard – to this very day.