Eva Eppard is shaking up Rhine-Hessian cuisine at the venerable Kupferberg restaurant

The ancient trees in the park have seen celebrities such as Otto von Bismarck, endless champagne parties – but also the terror of war over Mainz. The wonderful, enchanted old garden once belonged to the Kupferberg sparkling wine cellars, and the large old brick building looks out over the rooftops of Mainz. Inside, rooms such as the "Gold Room" and the "Chardonnay Hall" preserve memories of a time of glamour and grandeur when Germany's most famous sparkling wine – Kupferberg Gold – was produced here.

"You can feel that people celebrated or experienced sad things in these rooms," said Eva Eppard, "every room here tells a story." This thoughtfulness does not seem to fit the petite power woman – the restaurant manager has had an eventful life, running two restaurants, the Kupferberg and the 100-Gulden-Mühle in Appenheim. The Rheinhessen native is one of Germany's most talented chefs and has already won numerous awards at the stove. In 2016, she won the Great Wine Capitals' International "Best of Wine Tourism Award" for her cuisine.

Rabbit sandwich with peach horseradish, trout fillet with wild carrot purée and basil foam – Eppard's cuisine is both extraordinary and down-to-earth. She ran the gourmet kitchen at the Atrium Hotel in Mainz for six years, and in 2012 she fulfilled her dream of owning her own restaurant – with the new Kupferberg location. It was in 1850 that Christian Adalbert Kupferberg founded the sparkling wine cellar, which quickly became one of the most famous and best establishments. The cellars extend 60 stories deep into the mountain above Mainz, making them the deepest sparkling wine cellars in the world. Sparkling wine production has long since been relocated, and a museum preserves the old rooms and treasures.

Where the boutique once stood, there is now room for 80 guests. Warm brown tones and gold colors fill the old vaults, punctuated with cushions in fresh green. Behind the bar: a long row of wine bottles, most of them from Rheinhessen. "We are the melting pot of good wine here," says Eppard, singing the praises of the region's young winemakers, who have made Rheinhessen one of the most dynamic wine-growing regions. Kühling-Gillot, Gutzler, Thörle – Eppard's wine list includes the best of the best.

What does Rheinhessen taste like? "Salty," says Eppard, "earthy, green, and fruity – like life." Eppard knows what she's talking about: born in Mainz, she grew up in Appenheim, a small village in the heart of Rheinhessen, surrounded by vineyards as far as the eye can see. The people here are down-to-earth, direct, uncompromising. "And they love to celebrate," says Eppard, "the people here are full of joie de vivre."

It must be partly due to the French heritage, which is so rich here in Rheinhessen, and the French left behind a clear preference for good cuisine. Eppard herself has traveled the world, Switzerland, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, but it was her reinterpretation of her own local cuisine that made people sit up and take notice. "I always wanted to cook," she says, shrugging her shoulders: "The desire to combine things was always there."

Cutting-edge cuisine with top-notch regional products—that's Eppard's style. The beef comes from a farm in Bad Kreuznach, the herbs from a herb school in Mainz. "We need to value regional products more," says Eppard, and if anything can break through her iron grip, it's the Germans' "cheap is cool" mentality when it comes to food.

"Meat wasn't eaten every day in the past," she says decisively, "we could have fewer lifestyle diseases and healthier bodies." In the land of schnitzel and roast meat, this is still a radical view.

Nevertheless, schnitzel and wild garlic bratwurst are of course also part of Eppard's menu, especially when it comes to barbecuing in the old Kupferberg gardens or in the vineyards. "We need more courage to break new ground in cooking and in the region," says Eppard—yet she raves most about her grandmother's culinary skills. "The best," she says, "the best salad dressing ever." She pauses and adds, "And I just can't get it right." Perhaps we haven't seen the best of Eva Eppard yet.