GERMANY to AUSTRIA: Quality, Value & Standardization

Paired with a wonderful meal of squash with prawns soup, and sauteed skate wing with oyster mushrooms, soy and ginger, our bottles of a recent vintage Mosel Riesling added harmony and contrasts to the feast. The dry Kabinett was tart and austere, adding just the right sharp counterpoint to our creamy textured soup. And the off-dry Spatlese had richly textured stone fruit layers lifted by its bracing acidity as a rich foil for the exotic, earthy flavors of the fish dish.  Best of all, both wines were approved by their governments testing panels, had specific details about their content on the tall green bottles, and were less than $17 each from a local wine shop.  As I continue to prepare for an upcoming Wine Educators exam, this seemed like the perfect time to explore what is unique about the terrific, quality wine values from Germany and Austria.

Both countries have strict controls on place of origin, regulating every tier of production.  The majority of these wines fall into the QbA or Qualitatswein designation or the even higher Qmp(Pradikat) demarcation.  These wines are labeled by the weight or content of sugar at harvest, so expect to find wines labeled Kabinett to be dry.  Late harvested grapes or Spatlese, and even those late, hand selected grapes in an Auslese, usually will be off-dry to slightly sweet, but balanced with good acidity to make them clean, textured, and food friendly.

Germany's wine lands make up its southwestern borders along the Rhine, where the wine growing regions of Austria run like a backward 'C', following the Danube across its southeastern territories surrounding Vienna. Riesling is royal in both countries, with the indigenous Gruner Veltliner only becoming regal in Austria. With their wine regions flanking the Alps, sitting below 50 and 47 degrees North latitude, and both nations produce 'stickies' from late harvest and botrytized grapes in their highest noted quality levels, the Pradikatswein. The important moderating effect of waters from these great, winding rivers contribute to successful grape growing in these cool regions.

Wine labels from both white wine giants will contain the name of the producer or bottler, usually in the largest type. In smaller type, the wines vintage date(year of harvest) and its single grape variety will also be noted. Proprietary names, like "Liebfraumilch", are typically blends of one grape from different vineyards.  But higher quality wines will note the village name(usually ending in 'er') as well as a vineyard name in conspicuous type.  In addition to listing its wine growing region, these wines prominently display their quality classification levels and their level of ripeness at harvest.  Wines labeled 'trocken' or 'halbdrocken' will be dry or half-dry, respectively.

 With their regulated QbA and higher QmP small production wines tested for authenticity and quality, it seems remarkable that they can be found a value.  Yet, these terrific wines have in recent years become quite standardized in spite of the cool regions where they are produced, and remain one of the wine worlds wonders. We consumers can find their consistent qualities at a reasonable price at our local wine merchants, if only we speak a little German!

Prost!!

WINTER WINELAND: Strategy Benefits

In the wine-making cellars of this hemisphere the Winter season is a busy time for the racking of new wines, sanitizing equipment and bottling finished products that represent the fruits of their labors.  Winery sales typically slow down as visitations are altered by poor weather and the general lack of wine driven holidays. It happens to be a great time of year for local wine events, like this weekends Winter Wineland.  Sonoma County's Russian River Wine Road, founded more than 30 years ago, continues to do a good job keeping local wineries on the itineraries of visitors and promoting standards for responsible hospitality.With 140 wineries from Cloverdale to Freestone participating in the January 15 & 16 annual migration, it benefits all participants to have a preplanned strategy to get the most out of their passports and maximize their enjoyment of this festive event.

• Download the Google maps application or winery list by region(appellation) to minimalize travel time between venues and give you a layout of the landscape. Visit www.wineroad.com.  My experience tells me that it usually gets more crowded and louder in the late afternoon, so there is less opportunity to speak with winemakers or knowledgeable staff.  Remember that late in the day, everyone wants to visit just one more winery!

• Make plans to visit a few new wineries in the same area that are places members in your party have wanted to visit. Research these new venues, read reviews of their wines, and make a list of wines that you would like to try.

• Get started early(this event starts at 11:00am) and drive towards your pre-designated, mid-day rest stop for a little nosh, a bite of lunch, or at the minimum, a bottle of water.  Be sure to take advantage of the winery prepared foods that complement their wines.

• Don't be afraid of impulse buys on wines that speak to you.  It is nearly impossible to return later in the day once you get going on the wineroad. These are limited production, hand crafted wines, and when will you be here again?

• Be sure to have a designated driver in your party.  Wineries can lose their license serving tasters that are intoxicated, and the potential for a DUI is too great a risk.  Know that local authorities have years of practice policing these popular events and will be looking for drivers under the influence.

• Should you visit more than three(3) or four(4) wineries, be sure to use the available spit buckets.  You'll be able to enjoy the wines freely and limit your intake of alcohol.  You'll thank me in the morning! 

•  It is physically impossible to do it all in just two(2) days.  So, be selective, concentrate on one or two areas, and make plans to return!

• And, get your tickets for the regions Barrell Tasting Weekend, the second weekend in March.  You can pick-up where you left off!

As much as wine events such as these are personal explorations into finding new wines, the experience is so much richer if it is shared with other wine lovers who can provide their own insights into the ever evolving world of wine.  Whether along this wine road or others, a good, pre-planned  strategy provides visitors the benefits of an enriched tour with responsible sensibilities. 

A REASON of Wine

Happy New Year to one and all!  May our year be filled with Health, Prosperity, and Peace.  ...and, we can't forget wine.  How about best wishes for a New Year filled with discovering new, wonderful quality wines from value driven producers from around the world?  We all should enjoy the best of wine this New Year!

"It is well to remember that there are five reasons for drinking wine: the arrival of a friend; one's present or future thirst; the excellence of the wine; or any other reason."

Latin Proverb

BURGUNDY: Overpowered by small Possessions

Within its vineyards are 116 AOC appellations, and 33 prestigious Grand Cru's. Today, Burgundy produces only just about .05% of the world's wine, yet it remains the enduring standard for the greatness of wine. It's long wine-producing history still today remains overpowered by its small possessions, the uniqueness of it's vineyards, the terrior.

Chablis to Dijon, the Cote d'Or south to Macon, we know that the vine was in Burgundy as early as the first century AD, but its prized soils and sub-soils were created over more than 250 million years. From the Middle Ages, this regions vineyards were influenced by the Monastic dominance of the Benedictines and Cistercians for more than four centuries, followed by more than a century of a succession of the high living, well traveled Dukes of Burgundy.  Today's Burgundy was created as a result of the French Revolution, when the prized lands of the Church and expansive lands of the nobility were fragmented in small parcels to the common Frenchman.  Inherited lands were split still further, when the Napoleonic Code, divided property assets equally among surviving sons.

As a result, even a divine Grand Cru, such as the 900 year old Clos de Vougeot, has today over 80 owners! In the village of Vosne-Romane'e lies one of its six(6) Grand Crus', Richebourg. Farming slightly more than 18 acres of Pinot Noir, this esteemed vineyard itself has ten owners, producing just about 2,000 cases of what can become some of the best wine in the world!  A narrow land, spanning the sunny banks of the Sao^ne River in Eastern France, here noble grape varieties Pinot Noir and Chardonnay dominate. South of Dijon in the Co^te de Nuits region of the Co^te d'Or, 24 Grand Cru's produce the world's standard expression of the PInot Noir grape. The Co^te de Beaune lies south of that city, with 7 of its 8 Grand Cru's producing great Chardonnay, even as most of the regions production is from the noble red variety.

Over the centuries small growers began to sell their grapes to negociants, still today a dominant force in Burgundy, who would marry many vineyards together.  As an alternative to Burgundy's controlling quantity wine producers, growing numbers of small vineyards formed cooperatives under the singular name of their commune.  Recent decades have seen a resurgence for small producers willing to try their luck bringing their diminutive  vintages into the thirsty marketplace through the hands of an importer. Throughout it all, Burgundy remains about the power of the site of each vineyard, unyielding quality and the small amount of special wine produced there.

Unlike Bordeaux where large 18th & 19th century estates(chateau) have long dominated their wine trade(along with brokers), in Burgundy the power and influence lie with the small possessions(domaine), making tiny quantities of wines that keep us wanting more!

Cheers!

GIFTS under the VINE

In my preparation for an upcoming Wine Educators exam, I added a few new wine books to my library. There subjects were intended to cover a broad spectrum of wine study, from vineyard to bottle.  But, the publication that I am most enamored with is Hugh Johnson's, "Vintage: The Story of Wine".  First published in 1989, this volume is a richly detailed, broadly researched inspection of the cultural histories surrounding the grape vine.  As I turn pages the wonder of wine unfolds and I am again reminded of many of the blessings that I am thankful for this Holiday Season.  This time of year is filled with family memories, the special gatherings and meals, and of many celebrations around wine.  How fortunate I am to have loving family, good friends, my health and also to find Gifts under the Vine!

• From its founding in the early 12th century, the Cistercian order of white robed monks, the alternative to long established Benedictines, expanded its land holdings and its influence in Burgundy religiously. In little more than 40 years, the Order had founded around 400 abbeys, and its formidable influence was felt from Rome to England.  The Cistercian Order of St. Bernard in it's first century were responsible for the skilled establishment of Burgundy's best vineyard sites, establishing vineyard management practices still followed today in the cultivation of the Cote d'Or, and with strategic political maneuvering, creating the beginnings of the quality control systems formalized 500 years later by the AOC.  Cistercian Burgundy had Clos de Vougeot(whose stone-walled boundary was laid by Cistercians), and Germany's Rheingau had the splendid Kloster Eberbach, both benchmarks established by the Order. Venerable global quality benchmarks in Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling are today remaining a wonderful gift to find under the vine!

•  Sparkling wine consumption in the U.S continues to climb upwards, at least 50% more than in 1970, according to Wine Institute data. Sparkling wine imports to this country have increased by more than 25% this year over '09 totals, according to recently revised data offered by wine industry analysts. And with a quick price check at local retailers, we find broad discounts across the board on most brands, including the prestigious Champagne imports. With the annual Holiday quarter's sales volume spike(estimated to be as much as 60% of annual totals), there is no better time to find and enjoy some of the world's best sparkling wines.  Celebrations with a non-vintage Champagne or Cremant (traditional method)would be a fabulous gift to find under the vine!

• Wondering what gift to give those who seem to have everything?  How about the gift of clean water?  A North Carolina vintner, Jessup Marion, has established the non-profit charity, Wine To Water.org., to bring clean drinking water to those in need in the Third World. By providing safe wells and water filters to regions such as Haiti and Cambodia, the organization hopes to contribute to improved water quality for the estimated 1 billion who currently lack adequate water resources. And, it feels so good to do good with a gift found under the vine.

A very Merry Christmas and a healthy, Happy New Year, to all!