Basic Juice - the wine blog for my generation

non sequitur Tuesday

Blonde Redhead
Something of an airy, stripped down, more melodic Portishead (note I am obviously not a music critic).  Listen here

German Pinot Gris
Were I to ask you what countries are known for their Pinot Gris/Grigio, Germany would likely be utterly absent from your list, or perhaps, registering somewhere in the 40s - after Argentina. Heger Pinot Gris 'Sonett' 2004 ($20-ish), imported by Rudi W, brings German PG one step closer to notoriety by not using the German name for this gray mutant Pinot Clone - Grauburgunderwerdenwienerwaldseinworden (sp?).  As with most P.Gris, Heger is more about texture than flavor.  This German offers a nifty viscous mouthfeel accented by light flavors of fresh pineapple and orange.

Great Service in SLC
Salt Lake City is not known to be one of the great dining cities of the world (unless one counts salt water taffy).  However, this reputation is undeservered as there are many restaurants offering very good, innovative dishes.  Unfortunately, service is a concept all too often absent from most establishments.  Example 1: "Can I reserve one of the tables by the fireplace?" "No."....(dead air, and yes this actually happened).  Example 2: "Excuse me, our entrees are cold." "I'm terribly sorry." (takes entrees, returns 5 minutes later with same cold entrees on warm plates! - again, this actually happened).  The one and only restaurant, at which I can guarantee unfailingly good service is SLC's high end, posh spot, The Metropolitan.  Now, if I can only get them to eighty-6 a few of the $18+ by-the-glass wine offerings...

MT: Random 10 + Dr. Pauly

Music Tuesday Random 10

1. Personal Jesus - Depeche Mode
2. Diario de Viaje - Federico Aubele
3. Random Celebrity Insult Generator - Mclusky
4. I'll Take the Woods - Mocean Worker
5. Alone - Ben Harper
6. Assessment - The Beta Band
7. Lonely in Love - Lyle Lovett
8. Lazer Beam - Super Furry Animals
9. Oslo Skyline - Jaga Jazzist
10. I Don't Want to Get Over You - Magnetic Fields

+ Dr. Pauly

Nothing says German winemaking like, "Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler."  Dr. Pauly is actually owned by Dr. agr. Peter Pauly.  While D.P.'s, "Noble House" may not be this winery's top offering, it does however make for a fine introduction to the racy-semi-sweet style typical of many good German Rieslings.  Noble House offers what many value-priced wine from Deutschland lack: Harmony and balance between acidity and sugar.  Sure this wine is slightly off-dry.  However, its bright acidity livens things up, and conveys fresh, rather than overripe peach & pear character.  Give the 2005 vintage of Pauly-Bergweiler Noble House a spin alongside tuna or chicken salad (we can still dream of picnic weather can't we?).  It's ten bucks well spent.

MT: Random 10 + 1 German Pinot

Music Tuesday: Random 10

1. I Gotta Move - Ben Kweller
2. North Hanging Rock - British Sea Power
3. Your Heart is an Empty Room - Death Cab for Cutie
4. Doxy - Miles Davis
5. Statecontrol - The Hives
6. My Petition - Jill Scott
7. From Which I Came/A Magic World - Eels
8. America's Most Blunted - Madvillain
9. The Other Side of This Life - David Byrne
10. Destination 24 - Wellwater Conspiracy

+ 1 German Pinot

Georg Breuer Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), 2004 ($20) - imported by Classical Wines.  Surprise! An excellent quality red wine from Germany's Rheingau region.  In a region - nee a country - known for racy Riesling, good old Georg puts his teutonic touch on Burgundy's grape. And the result is one of the zestiest white-wine-in-red-wine-clothing you'll ever taste.  This Pinot is damn near coral in color - more a dark rose than a red wine.  It offers up scents of just-ripe strawberry, tart cherry and woody spice.  In the mouth, Breuer's Spätburgunder possesses nearly invisible tannins; making for a sheer, silky mouthfeel.  It imparts flavors of red raspberry and cherry, followed by a delicate finish.  This wine is definitely for the fragile wine lover.  Don't clobber it with food.  Try Breuer's Pinot with roasted chicken, fresh goat cheese or sashimi.

Mighty Morphin Power Riesling

PJ Valckenberg Estate Dry Riesling 2004; Rheinhessen, Germany; 12% alcohol ($10)

This wine begins with flavors & scents of fresh nectarine..

It quickly develops crisp, lemony-citrus flavors..

Valckenberg, while dry, finishes off with distinct honey notes..

A fine tasting dry German Riesling at a great price..

(download the morphs by clicking on the pics; Quicktime format)

Technorati Tags: germany, german wine, riesling, white wine, wine

How To Spit in German, French & Italian

(Editor's note: This is part of the weekend series of posts by guest authors, who are fellow bloggers, wine industry folk and Basic Juice readers.  If you are interested in being a guest author on Basic Juice, contact me with a proposal, and we'll see if we can't introduce the world to your handiwork.)

Guest Author: Emily of Winemonger - an importer and online retailer of Austrian wine.

How To Spit in German, French & Italian

In honor of Beau’s upcoming Live Austrian Wine Adventure, and for all of you out there who are planning your own wine tours abroad, I thought I would put together this small guide of words you may find yourself needing to say when you are in a German, French or Italian winery (in that order).

AGE: alter – age – eta

ALCOHOLIC CONTENT: alkoholgehalt - teneur en alcool - gradazione alcolica

BOUQUET, NOSE: bukett – bouquet – bouquet

CORKY TASTE: korkgeschmack – gout de bouchon – sapore di tappo

DRY: trocken - sec - secco

EARTHY: erdig – gout de terroir – terroso

FAT: fett – gras – grasso

FRESH: frisch – frais – fresco

FRUIT: frucht – fruit – fruttato

GRAPE: beere – baie – acino

GRAPE CLUSTER: traube - raisin - grappolo

GRAPE VARIETY: rebsorte – cepage - vitigno

LEES: geläger – lies – feccia

Big Reds and Ham

This picture from the Caveman's lair caused me to immediately think of Dr Seuss and this rhyme from my childhood:

    I do not like them in a box.
    I do not like them with a fox.
    I do not like them in a house.
    I do not like them with a mouse.
    I do not like them here or there.
    I do not like them anywhere.
    I do not like green eggs and ham.
    I do not like them, Sam-I-am.

The Caveman has been dealing with the dilemma of pairing wine with ham.

"The Ham in question is a smoked shoulder, pricked with cloves and cooked in a mix of beer, onion and molasses. The meat is red and smoky, rich and fleshy with an obvious touch of sweetness. This would theoretically lend itself to a ripe new world red, however, the salt factor has always proved to be the bug in the system, turning the softest tannin into iodine. And the powerful flavors have always seemed a bit overbearing."

To distill his sentiments into impish Dr. Seuss-isms, I present, "Big Reds and Ham"

I do not like it with a red
I do not like it lying in bed

I do not like it with burly tannins
I do not like it with fruity grapeskins

I do not like it with an Aussie or Cali
I do not like it in Poughkeepsie

I do not like big reds and ham
I do not like it, C-man-I-am

He actually recommends a tasty Spätlese German Riesling (Wehlener Sonnenuhr 2001 from S.A. Prüm). 

I'm not sure I'll be able to build a string of rhymes based on "Spätlese Riesling and ham."

Tagged with: wine  + german wine + riesling + ham

They're Both Blue

That's it! Both Saint M and Blue Nun are, well, blue.  But wait; I'm confused.  Once upon a time a wine guru explained to me that wine from Germany's Rhein river regions (Rheingau, Rheinhessen, Pfalz) were bottled in brown glass.  So I did a little research.  I possess a painfully boring book about German wine.  I couldn't find anything in the book about traditional bottle-glass colors.  I moved online and, perhaps not so unexpectedly, came up with some contradicting results:

"Confused? Well, the most famous German wines are instantly recognizable by special bottles:
Mosel = green; Rheingau, Rheinhessen and Pfalz = brown; And from the Nahe region = of course, blue."

"Clad in the traditional dark-blue Mosel bottle, this is perkier than the standard mosels from this spot, due to the superior riesling grapes in the blend"

"The color of a bottle of German wine telegraphs whether the wine is from the Rhine River valley (brown) or the Mosel (green)"

Let me get this straight.  Mosel bottles are traditionally green or blue?  However, Saint M, from the Pfalz is blue.  And aren't Pfalz Rieslings supposedly clad in brown glass?  Perhaps Saint M's blue glass is designed to stand out from the crowd (it worked, I purchased a bottle).

Not that this is terribly important; however, I would like to know, if there are indeed traditional glass colors for Germany's wine regions.  If you are a German wine lover with this bit of trivia lying in your brain, please enlighten me.

And, while we're on the topic of German wine bottles, can you tell me what's up with the Bochsbeutel?

Tagged with: wine +german wine +riesling

This Saint Aint No Nun

A few days ago I was perusing the surprisingly rich German wine collection in my local wine shop (Keep in mind we’re talking Utah’s alcohol monopoly.  So by surprising, I mean approximately 20 different German wines).  For kicks I like to keep tabs on the entry level stock - the stuff that costs between ten and fifteen bucks.  The reason?  Well, when German wine newbies come to this particular store, they quickly learn that their beloved eight-buck ‘Peezportur’ and ‘Bloo None’ aren’t sold here.  This is the one shop in town that doesn’t sell lower end sugary Ries-plonk (at least from Germany, anyway).  In the past, those brave enough to expand their German wine horizons likely stepped up to ten-dollar Dr. Pauly or thirteen-buck Dr. L.  However, these selections are no longer available.  In their stead appeared the slightly enigmatic “Saint M.”  My curiosity got the best of me and I took the Saint home.

As I drove, with Saint M as my co-pilot (almost as good as god, I suppose), I observed that the wine seemed familiar.  Obviously, it’s a German Riesling, so the wine is housed in the typical narrow bottle common to most Deutsche Rieslings.  Yet there was something else about the bottle that seemed familiar.  I couldn’t put my finger on it…

The Skinny

• Saint M Riesling 2004 ($10) [imported by Washington’s Chateau Ste. Michelle]
• Riesling from Germany’s southernmost wine region - the Pfalz
• Qualitätswein with 11% alcohol
• Very pale mellow yellow gold in color
• Saint M provides ‘German Riesling 101’ scents of fresh apricot, peach, bits-o-honey and a hint of mineral zing
• This Riesling is fresh and fancy-free.  The flavors are mostly peachy fruit.  And this Saint is slightly sweet, but doesn’t fall off the syrup cliff - it’s got enough zesty acidity to place it somewhere between the dry and off-dry camps

*** (3 stars out of 5)

I took Saint M for a three-day culinary spin.  It was unobtrusive, if not downright pleasant next to roasted broccoli spiced with Cayenne and made less-healthy with melted sharp Cheddar.  As a Mexican food amigo, this German was also more than happy to join the fiesta.  Finally, Saint M bid me Aufwiedersehen as a one-glass accompaniment to spiced sweet potatoes.  This was the best match of all.  The theme seems to be, “pair Saint M with slightly sweet & spicy food.”

Still, what is it about the bottle that’s so damn familiar?  Stay tuned.

Tagged with: wine +german wine +riesling

Chubby German

"Augustus! Stop eating your fingers."
    "But I taste so good."

-- Augustus Gloop and his Mother (Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, 2005)

Think of Schloss Saarstein's Pinot Blanc as a soft, slightly chubby expression of the white Pinot mutant clone (known locally as Weissburgunder).  This wine, imported by the fine Volks at Valckenberg, is one of the few German non-Rieslings I've seen in my neck of the woods.

The Skinny
Schloss Saarstein Pinot Blanc 2003 ($20)

• Pinot Blanc [12.5% alcohol] from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region of Southwestern Germany
• Shiny yellow-gold in color with noticeable stickyness/leggyness in the glass
• Scents of canned pears (in light syrup!), oranges and custard
• Medium-bodied with lowish acidity - heading towards off-dry, but not yet over the line.  Saarstein Pinot offers simple, refreshing flavors of citrus coupled to hints of blossom and almond.  The in-mouth texture is rich, with a slightly overripe character on the finish

*** (3 stars out of 5)

I was on a veggie kick when I sampled the Schloss, and it paired quite well with roasted Swiss chard and sautéed  baby red potatoes in garlic & butter.  I recommend keeping your foods firmly in the salty/savory camp with this wein.  Otherwise the sweetness might be a bit much.  If you see S. Saarstein Pinot Blanc for $15 or so, grab it.  I think $20 is too high.

Riesling Reviews From the Cave

Introducing a new category, "from the cave," by wine blogger extraordinaire, "The Caveman."  Some of Bill's work will be cross-posted here, a few pieces will be posted here exlusively, while other posts will be found on the Caveman's Wine Blog.

The Unity of a Grape and a Terroir
The Mosel, Riesling, and St. Urbans-Hof
(posted at The Caveman's Wine Blog)

I make no bones about it, I love German Riesling. If I win the lotto my first ridiculous expenditure will be to add the Mosel tap right next to the Hot and Cold.

I asked one of my confreres cavistes if he had tasted anything great from Germany recently. He smiled and said all of it. There exists an incredible consistency amongst the better winemakers in the region. In the best examples there is a naturally razor-sharp tension between acidity and richness, minerality and fruit. After a difficult 2003 vintage where the razor was definitely dulled and the Rieslings were too rich, it was a pleasure to taste a couple of classic 2004’s where words like aerian, fresh, steely and opulent could be tossed between smiles. Damn do they drink well.

Continue reading at The Caveman's

Ripeness or Ruin

Picture a quaint vineyard alongside a river in Germany. It’s a foggy autumn morning. The grower crouches next to a vine and examines a cluster of grapes. What is he thinking? Perhaps he thinks, “Mein Gott!  I need to harvest these grapes today before the frost arrives.”  Maybe he is a bit of a risk-taker and thinks, “Mein Gott!  If these grapes can hang on for a few more weeks, I’ll be able to make stunning wine.”

I’ve always found risk-takers to be more interesting than path-of-least-resistance types.  Even a simple wine grower in Southern Germany willing to roll the dice in the vineyard makes for an engrossing tale.

Professor Müller, from Thurgau

Q:  What do you get when you cross Riesling and Sylvaner?

A:  Ask Dr. Müller from Thurgau

In 1882, Dr. M. of the Swiss canton Thurgau, developed this grape. Unlike many other hybrid crossings (done by both mad & sane scientists), the Müller-Thurgau grape is moderately successful.  It seems however, that there is still some dispute about the actual grape-parentage:

"Dr. Muller's notes indicated the grape was a cross between Riesling and Silvaner. For 70 years, the professor's work was unquestioned.  Not until 1952 did researchers begin to question Muller-Thurgau's parentage.
     In 1994, DNA testing showed that Riesling is the mother plant, but the father was not Silvaner, and as unknown."

Müller-Thurgau is often described as fresh, light, low(ish) acidity, and rather simple.  Schloss Castell of Franconia, Germany produces a straightforward example of this grape.

The Skinny
Schloss Castell '1224' Müller-Thurgau, '02 ($12)

• From Franconia, Germany (the easternmost wine producing region in Deutschland)
• Straw yellow in color
• Scents of green pear, citrus, and herbs
• Slightly sharp, yet quickly fading in the mouth.  Light-bodied; simple & smooth.  A fairly good warm weather wine

*** (3 stars out of 5)

This wine is fine by itself, and would happily accompany any number of picnic basket goodies.

There is a fair amount of M-T growing in Oregon & near the Puget Sound.  Northern Italy (Trentino, Alto-Adige) also produces M-T

Scheurebe: An WBW#11 Editorial

(Editor's note -- From occasional Basic Juice author, the WineGoddess)

True off-dry wine is hard to come by. Common wine sense says that it comes right after dry, but then what is dry? I searched too many textbooks for an answer, and ended up with an off-dreadful headache. According to Jancis [Robinson], dry wine contains less than 10 g/L of residual sugar (the sugar left over after fermentation). However, wines with higher RS can still taste dry if there’s lots of acidity, and wines with less RS can taste sweet if there’s lots of alcohol. So I threw out the textbooks and resorted to my tongue’s test for off-dry: a little prickle of sweetness, but not enough for chocolate cake.

I immediately thought of Riesling, Chenin Blanc, and Muscat, all of which are dear to my heart and do well in slightly sweet styles. But then I remembered the Pfalz’s little secret: Scheurebe.

Scheu-who? Scheurebe (SHOY-ray-bah). Oh, how I love this grape! A crossing between Riesling and Silvaner, this fun-to-say grape makes racy wines similar in style to Riesling, but with a bit more fatness, and a little less longevity. It can achieve high ripeness levels and does best in the relatively warm Pfalz region of Germany, which is where today’s pick comes from:

K is for Kabinett

Sunday.  Brought to you by the letter K; as in Kabinett.

K - Kabinett  If you’re not a fan of "Blue Nun" style German Riesling, grab a bottle with this word on the label.  Kabinett wines are usually dry or slightly off-dry.  Wine in this category isn’t allowed to be sweetened with unfermented grape juice as are many entry level German Rieslings.  Get your Kabinett groove on with Gunderloch Jean Baptiste Riesling Kabinett, ’03 ($19).

Christoffel "Ürz Würz" Riesling

2003 Christoffel Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese ($32)   
Clear, with a pale lemon green core fading to a pale watery rim. Clean, youthful, intense nose of slate, mineral, apples, citrus and white flowers.    Dry to off-dry, with crisp acidity to balance the high ripeness levels. Medium bodied, with an intense, juicy palate similar to the nose - green apples, zesty citrus and slate. Medium alcohol, with long length. Very good quality riesling from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, with zesty fruit from such a warm vintage. Flavors will integrate with a few more years, but tremendous ripeness and acidity will allow this wine to age for another 10-15 years.   

For more WG tasting notes, click here.

Professor Müller, from Thurgau

Q:  What do you get when you cross Riesling and Sylvaner?

A:  Ask Dr. Müller from Thurgau

In 1882, Dr. M. of the Swiss canton Thurgau, developed this grape.  Unlike many other hybrid crossings (done by both mad & sane scientists), the Müller-Thurgau grape is moderately successful.  It seems however, that there is still some dispute about the actual grape-parentage:

"Dr. Muller's notes indicated the grape was a cross between Riesling and Silvaner. For 70 years, the professor's work was unquestioned.  Not until 1952 did researchers begin to question Muller-Thurgau's parentage.
     In 1994, DNA testing showed that Riesling is the mother plant, but the father was not Silvaner, and as unknown."

Müller-Thurgau is often described as fresh, light, low(ish) acidity, and rather simple.  Schloss Castell of Franconia, Germany produces a straightforward example of this grape.

The Skinny
Schloss Castell '1224' Müller-Thurgau, '02 ($12)

• From Franconia, Germany (the easternmost wine producing region in Deutschland)
• Straw yellow in color
• Scents of green pear, citrus, and herbs
• Slightly sharp, yet quickly fading in the mouth.  Light-bodied; simple & smooth.  A fairly good warm weather wine

*** (3 stars out of 5)

This wine is fine by itself, and would happily accompany any number of picnic basket goodies.

There is a fair amount of M-T growing in Oregon & near the Puget Sound.  Northern Italy (Trentino, Alto-Adige) also produces M-T

Riesling, Unscrewed

I was poking around at the wine store on Friday night and ran across something interesting.  I noticed a bottle of German Riesling with, what appeared to be, a screwcap.  The bottle's neck was covered in foil, and the screwcap was much smaller than the Stelvin closures common on many NZ & Aussie wines.  My curiosity got the best of me and I took this mystery bottle home.

After removing the foil, I discovered that, indeed this bottle had a screwcap.  It was very slim and unobtrusive.  I liked the fact that it was hidden under the foil - so as not to draw attention to the absence of a cork (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Who is the bold German Weinguter producing this capped Riesling?  It's made by Mönchof's Robert Eymael.

The Skinny 
Mönchof Robert Eymael Estate Riesling, '02 ($14)
Light, white gold color
Easy, laid-back Riesling scents:  peach, pear, honey, Granny Smith Apple
A well-balanced wine.  There is definitely sweetness in the glass, but it's offset with enough crisp acidity to avoid "Blue Nun territory."  A surprisingly long finish.

 

*** (3 stars out of 5)

A very nice aperitif wine.  It will pair nicely with salads also.

 

German Riesling: Quality Wine w/Special Attributes

Pick up a German Riesling.  Look at the label.  Ahhh!  Scary, I know.  However there are several clues that will help you decipher German wine labels.  Think of this as your Riesling Decoder Ring.

Without blinding you with Wissenschaft (science), let me point out one distinction on a German label that will tell you a lot:

Look for the letters 'QBA' or 'QmP'
What do they mean?

QBA = Qualitatswein Bestimmter Anbaugebieten; phew.  Or in English:  Quality Wine from a Specified Area (Appellation).  These wines are the 'Triple A Teams' of the German wine leagues - not quite top level wine, but pretty damn close.  In addition to being produced in specific areas, QBA wines are allowed to be chaptilized.  This means the winemaker may add a little somethin' somethin' called Sussreserve (sugar mixed with wine).  This provides an oomph to the wine in terms of body, flavor and balance.  Why do they do that?  If you haven't looked at an atlas lately, Germany is pretty far North.  As such, it is much easier to grow hops and barley (for Bier/Beer) instead of grapes (cool summers, early falls, late springs all spell doom for vines).  These grape-hostile conditions often result in less-than-ripe grapes, which, without chaptilization, would produce bitter-beer-face wines.

QmP = Qualitatswein mit Pradikat; Or in English:  Quality Wine with Special Attributes.  These attributes include being made from grapes grown in the best vineyard sites.  Additionally, QmP wines are not chaptilized - they are all natural, baby. 

Generally speaking, QBA wines are good, straightforward, easy-drinking wines at a decent price.  Try Schloss Schonborn - it's a good example of QBA-wine-hood.

Generally speaking, QmP wines are better quality, more serious, elegant wines at (usually) higher/premium prices.  Get your feet wet in the world of QmP with:

Gunderloch 'Jean Baptise' Riesling Kabinett, '00 ($15)
Origin:  Nackenheim/Rhein
Pale gold in color
Pears, honeysuckle and peach scents
Distinct crispness in the mouth, balanced by subtle, honey-like sweetness & a long finish
***.5 (3.5 stars out of 5)

Try it with cream-based soups and sauces.  Yum.

Dr. Riesling

In my opinion, there are few things better than well-made German Riesling.  Conversely, poorly-made, flabby, sweet, limp Riesling is always a disappointment.

I've fallen in love with the latest string of German Rieslings from 2000, 2001 and now 2002.

Of course, high end German Rieslings cost a pretty penny (and considering the labor costs associated with harvesting grapes on steep, slate covered slopes, these prices are usually warranted).  The little gems are good tasting Rieslings that hit the target of 10-15 bucks.

Steep-sloped vineyards along the Mosel River

Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler QBA Riesling was my first find.  Alas, the stock in the wine store is now gone. 

I have since moved up a couple bucks and discovered Dr. Loosen Riesling '02 (~ $13).
This wine is from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region of Germany. 

The skinny
light, pale gold in color
scents of white peaches, Golden Delish apples and a hint of honeydew melon
flavor is delicate, slightly sweet, but with enough acidity to avoid heaviness/syrupy-ness
A great aperitif wine.  Also very good with Indian food (had it with saag paneer and naan == Yum!)
***.5 (3.5 stars out of 5)

The label: