3 Reasons Why We Drink White Wine – in Winter

Few think of white wines as a winning choice any time of year, let alone now in the heart of winter here in New England. Red wine somehow seems the natural way to soothe the impact of the cold, dark days we experience.

In fact, once we shed our own similar inclinations, we discovered a surprisingly wonderful coping mechanism.

Here’s why adding white wine to your repertoire right now will help assuage your winter woes:
 

1.   Dry Air Begs for a Palate Pick-Me-Up

If you’re like us, you’re heading for the water cooler on the regular. Nothing seems to quench your thirst. Guess what? Many white wines can. Add a little zip to your regularly scheduled wine-down and you can refresh your taste buds (and your spirits) with the natural burst of mouthwatering acidity whites are best known.

2.    Hearty Fare Hearts Robust Wines

The importance of texture should not be underestimated either. Just as you reach for that soft, cozy blanket to wrap yourself up in, many white wine styles offer the same satisfaction. Here we're talking about wines that have a touch of heft, and can be deemed oily, or fleshy.

Why?

Robust whites complement the weight of heartier fare. Think Chowder or thicker soups like pumpkin, cauliflower, butternut squash, etc. Gratin potatoes. A tangy, goat-cheese quiche. Monkfish or Swordfish. Chicken casserole. Even an old-school (or re-imagined, newer school) Mac & Cheese.

You get the idea. Just be sure the weightier wine you select also has that essential acidity we talked about above, too. You’ll need that element to cut through the fat of such bold dishes.

3.   Winter Helps Ensure Whites are Enjoyed at the Right Temp

One guest at an event we hosted said oh-so-sagely, he feels “whites have to work harder to woo” him. When he tasted the white wine flight we had curated, he mused at how much more depth the wines had – he could taste their nuance.

So often whites are served way too cold. Whites show more layers of aromas and flavors when they are served at the ideal 50ish degrees Fahrenheit. And in New England many of us are blessed with enclosed vestibules or unfinished cellars that naturally ensure wines are stored, and then easily served, at the right temp. You don’t have to fuss with the fridge. Nature works to your logistical advantage. Meanwhile you’re able to discover what so many whites really have to offer.

Certainly white wine is a huge category, just as red wine is. The winter simply proves an unsuspecting time to explore the possibilities.

Satiate your cravings for comfort food, resuscitate your senses and otherwise bring life back to your body and soul by giving whites the chance they deserve this winter!

Champagne or Sparkling Wine? How to Select the Right Bubbles for the Occasion

If you’re confused about Champagne and Sparkling Wine you’re in good company. Questions come up at nearly every event we host, regardless if sparkling wine is even one of the wines we’re sharing.
 

•    Can you call this Champagne?
•    What is Cava?
•    What about Prosecco?

Today we take things sip by sip, exploring Champagne, Cava, Prosecco, Sekt, and Crèmant sparkling wines in turn – so you will not only know the differences between them, but also which style is best suited for the occasion at hand. Let's dive in!
 

Champagne | Champagne, France
 

ONLY sparkling wine from Champagne, France is Champagne, and can be called (or labeled) as such. The northern most region in France, this incredibly temperamental, cool-climate locale with its chalky soils ensures grapes with very high acidity – exactly what you’re after when it comes to producing exceptional bubbly.

There are also only 3 legally permitted grape types that can be grown and included in a Champagne wine: Chardonnay (white), Pinot Noir (red) and Pinot Meunier (red). These can be blended (most often) or fly solo.

In addition to the tricky, cool climate (i.e. while you want ripping, fresh acidity, you also need grapes to ripen enough to give the wine some balancing fruit-mojo), the technique employed in making Champagne (méthode champenoise) is incredibly labor and time intensive. Winemakers must induce a second fermentation inside the bottle which, suffice to say, takes many, many steps over an extended time including, at the end, freezing the neck of the bottle to later disgorge unwanted sediment (key for flavor development, but not desired in the final product). The result is a bright, complex, layered and toastier/creamier style of wine.

Often Champagne is Non-Vintage (NV). Winemakers prefer to blend fruit from different harvests to achieve the “House Style” for which they are known. Only in exceptional vintages will wine be dedicated to a vintage year bottling.

INSIDER TIP.   While most of the Champagne we drink is dry (Brut), there are sweeter styles available. Extra Dry is actually slightly sweeter than Brut, followed by demi-sec and then, rarely, doux.
 

Cava | Penedès, Spain
 

Cava is the Spanish term for their own style of sparkling wine, and named after the cave cellars where the wine was aged.

It came into being in 1872 when Don José Raventos found himself tromping through Champagne, France and encountered their specialty. He was rightfully fascinated. Soon enough he had decided to employ the traditional French méthode champenoise technique at home, but wanted to put a uniquely Spanish spin on it.

First up, he used local, indigenous varietals: Macabeu (the dominant grape), Parellada and Xarel·lo – all white grapes – contribute their own unique characteristics to the blend and create a uniquely Spanish sparkler. (Producers today are also permitted to use Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Garnacha and Monastrell in the blend.)

Next was his approach to aging: Cava is aged for only 9 months on the lees (this technique helps give Champagne its famous toasty character).

The differences go on, but the important thing is the result: Cava is a cheery, slightly less robust, citrusy/fruity, sometimes slightly nutty alternative to Champagne.

INSIDER TIP.   Wander off the ubiquitous Cristalino or Friexenet paths and you’ll often find even more value, while supporting smaller producers.
 

Prosecco | Veneto, Italy
 

Venetians, for their part, turn to Prosecco – aka Italian sparkling wine – daily. And whether you know Prosecco yet or not, you’ve probably noticed it is certainly an affordable bubbly option.

What makes it different than its counterparts? This wine is named for the largest proportion of grapes used to produce it, Prosecco. It is widely considered more straightforward, lemon-limey and leaner than traditional Champagne.

Why? It’s snappy flavor and texture result because it is made using a different approach than its French and Spanish cousins. The Charmat method ensures the secondary fermentation (necessary to “trap” the CO2 and create the bubbles) occurs in large, pressurized tanks rather than in the bottle. This means the wine is oxygenated and bottled “on demand,” without a long aging regiment. And, since the wine is made in batches if you will, rather than bottle by bottle, this helps keep the price low.

INSIDER TIP:    Gravitate toward Prosecco if a sparkling cocktail is on the menu, too. It’s perfect for both sipping solo and for adding a little unobtrusive sparkle to your cocktail recipe.
 

Sekt | Germany & Austria
 

Fun Fact:   Germans drink more Sparkling Wine per capita than any other country. They also produce the most variety of options, all under the larger umbrella term “Sekt”.

Their bubbly can be made with any method described already herein. Naturally, pricier selections are made in the traditional méthode champenoise while cheaper offerings are bottled with the Charmat method. Stylistically you will taste the characteristics that each of these respective approaches imparts – leaner for the latter and toastier and richer for the former.

They can also be made from a wide selection of grapes, with the grape-type used also helping to dictate the flavor experience in the final product. E.g. Riesling Sekt tend to be more zippy with trademark high acidity; Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris deliver a fuller-bodied, rounder experience; and Pinot Noir rosé styles deliver more tang and berry fruit, with pretty aromatics.

While less widely known/imported, a German (and Austrian) sparkling wine experience is quite diverse – and certainly worthy of your interest.

INSIDER TIP:   Use your wallet as your guide. Spend more than $15 to avoid the plonk.
 

Crèmant de [Fill-In-The-Blank] | Non-Champagne Regions, France
 

You didn’t think France was having all of the sparkling wine fun in just one of its wine growing regions, did you?

Truth be told, French Crèmant is perhaps our favorite alternative to Champagne. Most often made in the same traditional method, each region in France has go-to varietals. These same grapes are pressed into service for their sparkling wines. For example, the Loire Valley is known for their Chenin Blanc. So Crèmant de Loire tends to be made from Chenin. In Burgundy they are world-famous for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, so that’s what you should expect in bubbly forms.

INSIDER TIP:   Artisanal or small production winegrowers that decide to produce sparkling wine make a BIG commitment. They need the resources – economic and otherwise – to do so. If they are going down this path, they are doing it for a reason. In our experience, passion pays. Crèmant wines are an uber-affordable alternative to Champagne, with many exceptional selections falling in the $16-$22 range.

What’s the moral of the story?
No matter which country floats your boat, sparklers are not just for toasting and gifting; with the variety of styles available worldwide they can be for every day. And perhaps they should be! With their essential, naturally high acidity, sparkling wine pairs superbly with any cuisine. Plus, they’re just F-U-N.

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The Secret to Holiday Entertaining – Celebrate Magnum Style

We shouldn’t need an excuse to pull out all of the stops when it comes to entertaining, but then what would the holidays really be for anyway?

Whether you’re a wine geek or not, our secret to dialing things up a notch is to Go Big – literally. A “magnum” of wine is what you call the super-sized bottle of wine you may have started to see more often since Thanksgiving. Said bottle contains the equivalent of two “normal” bottles of wine. It is a sight to behold, and certainly makes that statement we never mind to make.

No contest, magnums make for a fantastic gift for wine lovers. But how often do you have enough of a crowd to warrant actually opening a large-format bottle? Our staff relishes the chance.

Here are ten wines available in magnums we think are perfect for celebrating. Make an impression this holiday season!
 

Sparkling.

Adriano Adami Bosco di Gica Valdobiadene Superiore Prosecco| Veneto, Italy
The wonderful world of sparkling wine is global – you don’t always need to travel to Champagne, France for an enticing or satisfying selection! Here Adami over-delivers for the category, producing a lively, quaffable sparkler.
 

Billecart-Samon Brut Rosé  | Champagne, France
Behold, one of our absolute favorite producers of Champagne, let alone sparkling rosé. Seeing this wine packaged in a magnum – well, we caught our breath! Here the devil is in the details: tiny beads of joy oh-so-delicately deliver tangy red fruits first to your nose, and then to your palate. Notes of chalk-board erasers are a time machine back to less-harried, wonder-rich times.
 

Ployez-Jacquemart Extra Quality Brut | Champagne, France
Where Billecart-Samon scores high in the ‘delicious-subtlety’ category, Ployez-Jacquemart does so with equal enthusiasm in the ‘delicious-decadence’ category. Generous orchard fruits are lifted by citrus and quince – and that’s just the beginning! Toasty and lush with gratifying brioche elements, we just love how this wine wraps itself around your senses….
 

Rosé.

Bodegas Muga Rosado| Rioja, Spain
Nothing says party-perfect more effortlessly than a magnum bottle of sacred (read: somewhat scarce) rosé wine! Here the historic winery Bodegas Muga blends Grenache with white Viura grapes and a splash of Tempranillo. Aging the wine briefly in large oak vats adds body and nuance, while lees aging contributes subtle milk chocolate notes. The result is supreme – a dry but lifted, round-edged, winter-ready but refreshing style that can elevate holiday meals just as easily as it can coolly welcome friends. (Grab one if you see one – Rebecca did!)
 

White.

Chateau Montelena Winery Chardonnay | Napa Valley, California
This wine packs both a delicious and historic punch: established in 1882, Chateau Montelena is one of the oldest wineries in the United States –  and the 1973 vintage of this wine won the famous Judgement of Pairs in 1978! Is it still worth its muster? In a word, YES. The fruit for this wine was selected literally grape by grape. With only 10% new oak used and a cool growing season in play, this white is as dramatic as it is crisp!
 

Weingut Josef Leitz, Rüdesheimer Magdalenenkreuz Spätlese Riesling| Rheingau, Germany
There’s just something about colder days that beg for a glass of something decadent, something you can cozy up to, something that somehow also rouses your spirits and delivers a surprise. Here one of our absolute favorite German winemakers, Josef Leitz, delivers all of that in one uncorking. Minerality creates a snappy tension with the fruity, sappy, layered flavor profile of this wine – and it is delivered in an abundant(ly), delicious package.
 

Red.

Buena Vista Winery “The Count” | Sonoma, California
A blend of Zinfandel, Syrah, Merlot, Petite Sirah and Cabernet Sauvignon, “The Count” shows its innovative roots while showcasing the bold potential the Count himself saw in California wines. Medium bodied, this wine is as packed with purple and black fruits as it is with earth-driven nuance. Burnt caramel and cedar notes give it that touch of winter-time pizazz we all crave this time of year. Easy drinking and velvety smooth, this toothsome wine is a crowd-pleaser!
 

Burgess Cellars Library Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (2002) | Napa Valley, California
Properties like Burgess are what put the Napa Valley – and Cabernet grown here – on the map. Determined to make a style of wine expressive of terroir, Tom Burgess was wise to snap up this plot of land in the Howell Mountains. Here above the fog, vines 60+ years old have become one with the mineral-rich, volcanic soil. Opulent yet still ‘pretty’, this wine is a teenager, packed with dark berry fruit, dusty earth and just a hint of mocha.
 

Chateau de Saint Cosme Rouge | Cotes du Rhone, France
For (at least) two of us on staff, our love affair with European wine began with Syrah from the Rhone Valley, France. Wines like this iconic one are the reason why: fresh, purple-floral aromatics awaken your senses first, followed by a decadent palate rich with dark fruit, hints of spice and notes of saddle leather and bacon fat (yes.. bacon!). Welcome to the club!
 

Domaine Serene Vineyards Pinot Noir | Evenstad Reserve | Willamette Valley, Oregon
Oregon's Willamette Valley is thought “the Promised Land” for producing acclaimed, Burgundian-styled reds, aka exceptional Pinot Noir. And Domaine Serene is one of the darlings of this young yet heralded wine region. We were downright gleeful to discover their award-winning, flagship wine is available in magnums. Buyer beware: the Evenstad Reserve is a super-silky, complex wine that delivers a wallop of delight!

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Thanksgiving Wine Selection - made easy!

Thanksgiving Day is the ONLY holiday every single American celebrates.  It is a day observed ladling up traditions at every opportunity; even if you're not doing what historically you have done, admit it - you're thinking or reminiscing about those things! But when it comes to wine selection there tends to be less tradition in play. For some that is the best part of the holiday - the vinous world is your playground! For others, what to serve or what to bring can overwhelm. We get it.

As part of our "made easy" series, we are offering up a few suggestions for going home with a winner or two.

If we can help with your specific feast or preferences, whether a consultation or shopping or both, don't hesitate to Click 2 Inquire. We relish overturning every rock (no minerality pun intended) to find stellar wines perfect for this time of year. And our holiday special is in play NOW through December 31, 2014!

Winning Whites

Noble white varietals are thought the darlings of Thanksgiving. The best hail from cooler climates, offer mesmerizing aromatics which lure you in, are lower in alcohol, a tiny bit "fleshy," yet deliver a crisp, mouthwatering brightness.

- Et Fille "Deux Vert Vineyard" Viognier ~ Willamette Valley, OR

- Szoke "Mantra" Pinot Gris ~ Hungary

- Weinguut Jurgen Leiner "Handwerk" Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) ~ Pfalz, Germany

- Gundlach Bundschu DRY Gewurtztraminer ~ Sonoma, California

Rabble-Rousing Reds

We hang our hat on discovering earthy, lightER bodied reds - with backbone. Beware of selecting a wine that's too big, which will just weigh you down given all of the food before you.

- Ravines Pinot Noir ~ Fingerlakes, NY

- Dominique Piron Coteaux Bourguignons ~ Burgundy, France

- Elena Walch Schiava ~ Alto Adige, Italy

- Ameztoi "Stimatum" Txakolina ~ Getariako Txakolina, Spain

Remember, with such a big, intense meal with so many different parts and varied traditions, there are countless wines to choose from. When it come to Food & Wine Pairing, the endgame is BALANCE!

at "the end" of rose season...

This (vintage) year has been a stellar one for rose lovers. Across the board the quality has been phenomenal - and after a so-so season last year, where the fun was in the find, this year (2012's) you basically haven't been able to go wrong. Talking last week amongst ourselves, we realized also that we tend to drink more rose this time of year - at summer's end - than any other. In part it is because we are in the final throes of the season, when you realize it's a final feeding frenzy when you have to stock up on what's left in the market NOW. And in part it is because September in New England has got to be one of the most glorious times of the year for drinking this limited commodity. Days are warm (and sunny?!) and evenings are cooler.

It's warm enough to drink something with a chill without feeling it throughout your entire body. And it's cool enough to fire up the grill.

Rose and grill fare?

YES.

When it comes to grill fare and rose, one of our favorite styles is Pinot Noir. More often than not roses (from all over the world, no less) are a blend of varietals. But when it comes to Pinot Noir, we can't think of a time when a winemaker has blended it for their rose wine. The magic is in the purity. (Granted, not many winemakers dare give up this hard-earned juice for rose, but when they do? Watch out.)

This year's stand out fav, among ALL rose in the market, has been Joseph Mellot's Sincerite Rose - 100% Pinot Noir. The extra bit of body to the wine delivered with pristine limestone/flinty minerality makes it this magical balanced vin you can't help but love. AND IT IS PERFECT WITH GRILL FARE. Skewered, Cajun dry-rubbed shrimp? Done. Pork tenderloin grilled to juicy perfection? Done and done. Mama's BBQ chicken? Yep! That's a slamdunk, too.

Long story short, 'tis the end of rose season as far as what's available in the market goes. Those limited resources have largely been consumed. So gather up your remaining rose resources and stock up. We still have the best rose drinking weather in front of us, but getting your hands on the stuff only gets trickier here on out.

TRAVEL ALERT: If you're lucky to have ever visited (or are planning to, hint hint) Heinemann's property in Baden, Germany you also know his Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir) Kabinett Trocken Rose is to die for. We recently cracked his 2011 offering having saved one bottle last year (remember, the harder to find rose gems vintage) and it couldn't have been better - as a stand-alone delight, let alone with a year of bottle age under its belt. (Yes, there are rose wines that can do so! Ask your local Wine Buyer for his/her pick to get you through the colder days of winter to come....)

Germany - final tastes of key wine regions

After several days of tasting really great wine, I can't lie, you do wonder if you just stacked your cards right or if some level of 'disappointment' might not be that far off. Then again, if it was to come, I knew it wasn't coming at the hand of Wagner Stempel! We landed in the northern part of the Rheinhessen as the sun broke through the clouds "officially" and some more late-springlike (n-o-t summer) warmth with it. Tromping through the much more rolling hills/vineyards in these "conditions" was a treat. Assistant Winemaker Oliver Mueller was our guide, providing tremendous insight about their more Burgundian-like spot within the Rheinhessen appellation as well as the non-Riesling grapes they cultivate (though, of course, Riesling does have a very large presence, too). Silvaner, Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc), Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris), Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and (of course) Spaetburgunder (Pinot Noir) all have a home here.

Walking up through the vineyards was more like meandering, compared to the Mosel and Rheingau's much steeper slopes. Oliver was incredibly passionate - and gave some great insight about their organic approach, explaining how their practices came about and demonstrating with his large visual aids (the vineyards themselves) how their practices lead to healthier vines and, therefore, better fruit for winemaking. (You could see their neighbor's adjacent vineyards were flagging comparatively- why they didn't follow suit bewildered us.) Stempel's philosophy, like so many of our hosts already, is that wine is made in the vineyards first.

We met lead winemaker and owner, Daniel Stempel, back at the winery in their gorgeous open courtyard to sample the wines. Daniel and Oliver are clearly on the same page, as Daniel led with the same thought - that he enjoys his work in the vineyards most - and that that was where the wine was made. Wine after wine tasted, nuances were more fruit-driven and the minerality more warming; think of it this way - the minerality in the Mosel was like icicles hanging off the eaves like daggers; in the Rheingau these were just starting to melt, with softer edges; and at Stempel the crisp, fresh water was running through our fingertips like a narrow-running brook's waterfall edge - forcefully, yet softly. Compelling? No doubt. Another three-hour appointment slipped by as the daylight hovered in the hills.

The next day took us yet still farther South. We had an appointment at Dr. Heger/Weinhaus Heger after lunch with winemaker Markus Mleinek in the Kaiserstuhl region, Baden particularly. Markus started our tour in the cellars, where it was self-evident that this was an operation that valued tradition and the importance of showcasing terroir in wine, as much as they did innovation. Markus even shared that they experimented once with American oak, which to my knowledge is virtually unheard of in traditional "Old World" winemaking regions, save parts of Spain and Portugal. American oak is known for supplying a bold "marinade" in wines both texturally and in flavor profile (a post for another day); Markus chuckled at the thought, noting that the wine which resulted was "too loud", so they moved on. Stainless steel tanks in one part of the cellar - different sized (and different origin) wood barrels in others.  Different projects command different vessels - having the capacity (and need!) to cope is another feat entirely.

Our vineyard tour was also astounding. In the distance the Rhine river - and France! - terraces of unique volcanic soil lay in front of us. Here, too, they employ various techinques to mitigate using too many chemicals in the vineyards. The wine bottles hanging on the line PICTURED RIGHT are filled with sugar water, to keep pests elsewhere and harmony happening naturally in the vineyards! Brilliant for its simplicity and effectiveness.

Heger's projects are many, hence the two names on the door: Dr. Heger/Weinhaus Heger. Dr. Heger is the elite-most line, Weinhaus Heger just below on the totem pole - and Fischer a special project we were just as happy to sample featuring a collaboration with a local cooperative of wine growers where they invest knowlege as much as any other resource to ensure quality grapes are grown. We tasted 30 some wines this afternoon, each as compelling as the next, more than respectworthy for its unique place in the Heger "family" of offerings. Yes, the spit bucket needed to be relieved several times to accomodate our 'thirst' to sample as much as possible with Marcus.

What was particularly interesting is that here in Baden red grapes have an important presence - although the white lineup was more than compelling in itself. Not one Spaetburgunder failed to deliver, and we tasted several back vintages of current wines - as these delicious treats can certaily age! Smoked meats, fresh pink roses, violets, volcanic soil, ripe black cherry fruit comingling with tart pomegranate and boysenberry exploded in various proportions from the glass; finesse met power with perfect elegance, and a picture was painted on a virtual timeline, showcasing anticipated versions of perfection as the individual wines showed that day, and would again at various points in the future.

Yes, it was a helluva way to end the formal portion of our tasting adventures. Back here at home I realized I learned more in Germany than on any other wine trip (so far). No doubt I had the most to learn, and therefore the most to gain. It didn't hurt that the appointments I had, and the recommendations from winemakers we enjoyed meeting, were spot on. If you're going to do a whirlwind wine country tour inside of a week, this was the way to do it! Literally it was a sampling of German wine regions. I guess I'll have to go back!

Rheingau: German wine adventures continue

After two full days in the Mosel it was time to go vineyard/region-hopping as we drove South through German wine country. To save time on the way to our first appointment in the Rheingau, about two hours from the Mosel, we took a car ferry (so cool!) across the Rhine River. It deposited us on the other bank just down the slope from Josef Leitz's winery. (Perhaps starting with the ferry experience itself, the visit at Leitz offered not just great wine tasting, but also a terrific lesson in German history - e.g. ferries keep transport efficient and fluid, as many key bridges were destroyed in World War II). We found Johannes Leitz (said "Lights"  - the winery is named for his father Joseph, who died when Lietz was only 2 years old) with his gardening gear on, wheelbarrow in hand. He quickly terminated his home gardening duties, ushered us into his immaculate tasting room and jumped right into a detailed discussion about the Rheingau; terrific photos told the story of its unique terroir, including the microclimates and varied soil types that 'co-exist' just meters from each other. (I HIGHLY encourage you to visit his website to get a feel for this yourself! It's one of the best sites I've seen.)

This initial 'classroom' work gave us an important overview and worked wonders as we jumped in Johannes' SUV and traveled into the vineyards themselves. Narrow and winding dirt "roads" took us upward and inward; jumping out of the car at strategic points, we could feel the climate change (literally just around the bend!) and could investigate the soil closely. We learned more about the history of the Rheingau, the variation between Upper and Lower portions, and got a verbal preview of which wines we would taste in relation to the vineyard site from which they came. Fascinating stuff.

Back at the tasting room Leitz offered two glasses - and initiated my favorite kind of tasting: a 'taste off' between wines so we could literally taste terroir variation. While tasting (interrupting the banter with reactions to the wines about their various depth and power, floral and herbal nuance and sleek compelling texture, plus a few nose-blowings as my 'quality control' kicked in to the mineral explosion offered) we continued to learn more about his operation, how much he has expanded over the years without sacrificing quality and staying true to his terroir-driven focus. We also learned more about his experience exporting, and in particular to the USA. Yes, he too faces some importer pushback when getting his truly dry wines to market. The Dragonstone which we carry here is a slightly different version than the one he sells elsewhere in the world. That said, he launched a new project last year called Eins (1) - Zwei (2) - Dry (3), which is available in MA now.

After spending three memorable hours with Johannes, it was time to get back in the car, head back down to the ferry and drive an hour+ to get a taste of the Rheinhessen!

German Wine Country - The Mosel

Stunning. That's the one word that comes to mind when reflecting on my tour through German wine country last week. The landscape. The micro-climates and soil types (aka, terroir). The people. The energy. The bread! The cheese. The meats. The crisp, cleansing, mind-bottlingly pure, DRY (trocken) wines!! I had the most to gain from this learning adventure for a number of reasons. German wines are much less widely consumed here in Boston than Italian, French or Spanish wines - we taste and evaluate fewer of them as a result. These are wines that have regional typicity (e.g. Mosel vs. Baden), but often they are grouped and evaluated by grape type (e.g. Riesling), rather than against other examples from the region from which they come. It's not often you can focus on the region and specific vineyards sites, let alone 'pitting' producers against each other!

Germany had been on my 2012 travel agenda for some time; yet only in the last year or so did a 'quieter' conversation emerge among wine colleagues as well as among consumers (generally from Germany or those who have traveled there) that the wines we see here in the U.S. aren't "the same". They are largely sweeter than what you find in Germany itself.  It turns out many of the wines exported to our market are (unfortunately) wines destined for the American palate. (And when I say "American palate" think the M.cD's and Pepsi-Cola culture that's largely exported abroad.)

While Riesling can be vinified with some residual sugar, authentic, widely consumed German Riesling abroad is DRY. I cannot emphasize this enough. These wines are tongue-tinglingly, food-demanding, palate-strikingly D-R-Y, aka "Trocken". And they are absolutely, say it with me now, stunning!

The first stop on our tour was the Mosel - probably the most well-known German wine producing region, and best known for its Riesling. I've joked that I would never want to work harvest in the Mosel because the slopes are so bloody steep and narrow that I would put down my bucket of grapes (hand-harvesting is the only way to do it as no machine could manage the incline) and accidentally kick it over with my foot, sending hundreds of dollars down the hill with it. Having been there now, I can say that even as a fairly agile human, I would definitely not sign up first for the task. And it is oh-so-precious fruit indeed.

I purposely set up appointments with folks I knew from experience and saved a bit of time to 'play', visiting wineries on recommendation. My tour began at Weiser Kuensler and we focused on their Trocken selections. I was captivated from the outset. Literally, my nose ran as my "quality control" (allergy-based, herbal/terroir sensitive) organ discovered fresh herbs, flower blossoms and cold-waterfall air bursting out of the glass. My tongue tingled as the minerality and gentle fruit flavors swept through the palate. My mouthwatered (for a while!) on the savory finish. Wine after wine tasted, various nuances captured my senses in these ways showing me the power of Mosel, variously blue and red slate terroir; there was a distinct cleansing purity among them, showing their family resemblance and truth of place.

The next morning S.A. Pruem was up. And yes, this is a winery I've been happy to be familiar with for some time, and owner/winemaker Raimond Pruem (a lovely gent and great winemaker!) had suggested I stay in the Estate's Guest Haus when my 2012 trip came to fruition. Suffice to say, if you make this trip - stay there, too!!! After a great night's sleep and killer breakfast (German style, my fav!) we tasted with Raimond's daughter Saskia. Here we revisited wines I knew - and also the European version (drier!) of a wine sold at local Ball Square Fine Wines: S.A. Pruem Blue Slate Riesling. Also on the tasting agenda were aged Rieslings. Here we found a highlight in the mix: 1994 Bernkastler Riesling, fresh and mouthwateringly delicious - PRIMA!!! (Note: German Riesling in particular ages quite well, as the backbone of the wine is acidity, which allows well made offerings of great vintages to thrive for decades!)

AJ Adam was next on our Mosel tour - a recommendation from Konstantin Weiser on Day 1 of the trip. We took our chances and popped by, catching Andreas coming home from the vineyards by tractor for a little lunch break. Two hours later we had tasted a delicious (ample) sampling of Rieslings from his portfolio. A family resemblance was present among these wines also - a ripeness of fruit cut with nearly searing acidity and a wet-stone-meets-talc-like minerality texture on the tongue. These wines were compelling for their sleek precision - yet elegance!

Our too-brief Mosel tour ended at Guenther Steinmetz, another recommendation from Konstantin, with a random tasting of wines from the estate's large and uncharacteristically diverse portfolio. Case in point: here we had our first sampling of red wines, not grapes grown in great quantity in the Mosel; Pinot Noir (aka Spatburgunder) does, no less, have a home here. The favorite was 2009 Kestener Herrenberg (unfiltered!) Pinot Noir.

Not ready and a bit sad to leave, it was off to dinner and then back to bed for a quick night's sleep - then on to the Rheingau!

Easter wine recs

Easter is a holiday that not everyone celebrates – nor in the same ways. Traditions are a bit more fluid somehow here in the United States. Maybe your family prefers a delicious Easter brunch after a morning visit to church and an Easter Egg Hunt for the kiddies. Maybe you do your own thing with your family in the morning, then visit with friends in the afternoon over a mid-afternoon dinner of baked ham or a leg of lamb. But one thing is certain: such a lack of specific tradition can cause some level of Easter week “panic.” Of course, there's no need to stress when a little advice is at the ready. Pop over to Wicked Local today to get some ideas for your celebration! Will wine have a place at your Easter table this year? What will you uncork?

Baboons, bubbly, accolades and more!

I have a healthier than normal appetite, I'm told. But it seems South African baboons do, too! Check out this hilarious (but costly) piece on these "Thieving Baboons". The age-old question "does stemware really matter?" has a simple answer: yes. It's because a good glass can really help display aromas and flavors by channeling them in a precise way to your senses. Riedel is the company that has set the bar on this technology. And so they took their a competitor to the mattresses recently when Eisch advertised a breathable glass. Read all about the outcome here.

Speaking of glass, looks like the Champagne Bureau is getting greener! Each bottle of Champagne will now weigh 2oz less than before. Discover the full implications of this move here.

Last but not least, I had the pleasure of meeting the famed Randall Graham of Bonny Doon vineyards a couple of weeks ago at a local trade event. Looks like I had the opportunity right before his celebrity really took off! Graham was just inducted into the Vintners Hall of Fame. Cool stuff.

Which wine headline caught your attention this week?