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Germany "More than just Beer!"

Extra Facts from the City Pages Blog

FACTS:

*Germany along with France are the 2 oldest quality producers of fine wine

*Germany is the farthest Northern Quality Wine Region in the world

*The number one grape is Riesling

*Riesling quality is categorized in terms of Qba (everyday wine) and Qmp (higher level wine)  The Qmp categories are listed below

*The Mosel and Rhine Rivers play a big part to the success of wine in Germany

*Terroir is important here

*Great Vintages 2005, 2001

*Good Vintages 2008, 2007, 2006, 2004, 2003, 2002

 

The Grape Varieties

Reds:  Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir)

Whites:  Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Rulander, Silvaner, Muller-Thurgau

QbA Wines- Quality Wine

This category is quality everyday wines.  Most all Rieslings with the QbA rating on the bottle are good values.

Pradikatswein or Qmp Wines (Categories)

*Note in 2007 Pradikatswein replaced the QmP Category

These categories are a measure of the ripeness of the grapes at harvest.  The higher the sugar the higher the category. The acidity balances out the sugar levels in all these wines.

Kabinett- lightest wine

Spatlese- Late harvest

Auslese- Hand selected clusters of late harvest grapes

Beerenauslese- Selected individual berries of late harvested grapes

Trockenbeerenauslese- most concentrated

Eiswein- most concentrate and grapes are picked once the temperature hits freezing

 

Mosel-Saar-Ruwer

*The best wine region in Germany

*Steep slopes produced the best wines.  The soil is slate based which reflects the sun off of the river to warm and ripen the grapes.  Best vineyards face South.

*Bottles are green based on traditions

*Great recent vintages:  2005, 2001

*Price varies with Kabinett wines costing $15 to $20 and Eiswein wines costing as much as $800 for a 375 ml bottle

Famous Villages:

Bernkastel, Brauneberg, Erden, Graach, Piesport, Urzig, Wehlen, Zeltingen

Famous Vineyards:

Bockstein, Doctor, Goldtropfchen, Himmelreich, Juffer, Pralat, Sonnenuhr, Wurzgarten

Best Producers:

Christoffel Erben, C. von Schubert, Dr. Loosen, Egon Muller, Fritz Haag, Joh. Jos. Prum, Selbach Oster, Willi Haag, Willi Schaeffer, Zilliken, Robert Eymael

Key Wine Terms

Botrytis cinerea- A mold that is referred to as Noble Rot.  This mold attacks the grapes and the shrivels them up to allow the water to evaporate.  This leaves concentrated sugar and creates the best sweet wines from Germany.

Gold Caps- Gold cap separate the wines from the estate.  A winery might have 3 Auslesen wines and the gold cap will separate the sweetness and quality of the wine.  An upgrade from Auslese

Gutsabfullung- Estate Bottle

Halbtrocken- Half dry.  Less sugar has been fermented then a trocken wine

Liebfraumilch- Inexpensive white blend that is popular in America

Mittelmosel- middle Mosel location and produces some of the best wines in Germany

Nahe Wine Region-  Good everyday wine with the exception of Herman Donnhoff wines which are really popular

Sekt- Sparkling wine in Germany

Slate-  The best Rieslings have a slate soil base on steep slopes

Trocken- Very dry wine

Vintage- Year the grapes were harvested.  Almost all recent vintages from Germany are outstanding

Vitus Vinifera- The bulk of all wine is under this species of grape.  All the major varieties  are labeled vitus vinifera such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Chardonnay, etc.

Weinberg- Vineyard

Weingut-  A wine estate in Germany

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                Wehlener Sonnenuhr courtesy of Ernst Loosen

 

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Chile Rocks on Reds!

A featured article on my City Pages Wine Blog on Chilean Reds.  Since the completion of the article I added a few new wine reviews on a few of the bottles which showed even better the second time around.

2006 Viña Siegel Gran Crucero Limited edition - Chile, Central Valley, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley (6/9/2010)
Even better this time around! Medium purple in color and aromas of raspberry, floral, chocolate, and plums. Nicely balanced on the palate and good acidity. Highly recommend this wine! (92 pts.)

2008 Viña Siegel Cabernet Sauvignon Crucero - Chile, Central Valley, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley (6/9/2010)
Spice, cherry, cranberry and plum. A very clean and fresh wine. One of the best QPR wines out of Chile and it sells around $8. This bottle was even better the second time around. (89 pts.)

 

 

 

 

 

Meek Family Estate

Meek Family Estates is a newer winery out of Yakima Valley, Washington.  Michael Meek a local resident of Minnetonka is the owner and wine maker and is crafting some of the best wines in America under $30.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St. Innocent Tasting

The Rock Star Offline!

Edina Country Club

March 7

St. Innocent is one of my favorite Oregon Pinot Noir producers. Mark Vlossak is one of the top wine makers in Oregon and his Pinots are wines to age in your cellar. 

 

 

A few more recently reviewed this past fall:

2007 St. Innocent Zenith Vineyard Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

Chalk, bitter, wood, and some fruit trying to emerge.  Not my style of wine and the weakest of the lineup.  87 points

2007 St. Innocent Shea Vineyard Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

I always enjoy the Shea wine and this should blossom down the road.  Medium purple with raspberry, mineral and floral notes with a solid backbone.  Cellar five and come back to it.  90 points

2007 St. Innocent Justice Vineyard Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

This was the best right now!  Five years no clue but this is drinking well right now.  This wine features smooth tannins, raspberry, and mineral, smoke and light oak.  The finish was medium and full of flavor.  92 points

2007 St. Innocent Anden Vineyards Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

A wine that needs some aging.  Solid fruit and earth components that needs some serious time.  88 to 92 points

2007 St. Innocent Temperance Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

Light wine with strawberry, raspberry and a little bitter.  I think with some time in the bottle this will improve.  Currently 89 points

 

 

A Great Wine Blog

 

Locally we are not blessed with wine blogs.  The ones we have are not real accurate and don't offer great info for the consumer.  As a matter of fact a local wine educator has the nerve to promote terrible wines on their blog and really doesn't offer much in the line of education.  While I would love to have an interactive blog I don't have time at the present and with the new Internet Radio Program:  Don't Fear the Grape my time will be spent improving the quality of each show and allowing the listener to learn the world of wine.  Expect great things in 2010 from the Radio Show.

In the meantime do check out Dr. Vino.  He is a hard hitting, straight to the point wine blogger who has important wine related information.  I also like the extensive following he has and the fact he is not afraid to challenge Robert Parker himself. 

Check it out at www.drvino.com/

 

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Eric Levine of Cellar Tracker

Eric Levine is one of the most important people in the wine world right now.  He has develop software to keep track of your cellar and write tasting notes to share with the world.  Many of my wine reviews end up on Winestreets Sales trying to move their wine.  Check out the website at:  www.cellartracker.com

 

A great article on the importance of Cellar Tracker from Jancis Robinson

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/4698b2c6-...144feab49a.html


A Sample Review from Cellar Tracker

2006 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley - USA, California, Napa Valley (2/12/2010)
Medium purple. Nose with cherries, oak, and vanilla. On the palate classic toasted oak, vanilla, cherry, plums, and spice. Tannins are well represented here and paired with steak it was perfect. Really nice finish and it adds a floral element. For $15.83 on a case purchase a non brainer to have as an everyday Cab. Only the Waterstone 05 is better for this price point in the last year for me. (91 pts.)

 

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Don't Judge a Wine on Day One

The other day I opened a 2000 Domaine De La Terre Rouge Ascent Sierra Foothills Syrah and the wine was hot (heavy alcohol sensation).  It was a mess to say the least.

I left the bottle on my counter on day two and went back to retry on day 3.  What a big difference this made.  The alcohol blew off and the wine is revealing Northern Rhone Syrah qualities.

My review on day 3:

2000 Domaine De La Terre Rouge Ascent Sierra Foothills Syrah

www.terrerougewines.com

Color:  Dark purple

Nose:  Bacon, charcoal, minerals, raspberries

Taste:  Spices, charcoal, cranberry, raspberries, minerals

Finish:  Medium and concentrated with earth character

Evaluation:  This wine is still young and will benefit from cellaring 92 points

If I were to review this on day one it would have been an 82 point wine.  A lesson to all is to experiment over the course of a few days with your red wines.  Too many people consume the wine to quickly and never get the benefit of the evolution over a few days.

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The Wines of Zaca Mesa

www.zacamesa.com

In the fall of 2009 I had the privilege of sampling the wines of Zaca Mesa.  These Rhone inspired wines from California are amazing and are reasonably priced.  We also did a Zaca Mesa Wine Dinner at Muffuletta in November and the guests really enjoyed the wines.  This is one of my favorite new finds of 2009.

  

Location of the Vineyards

Zaca Mesa is the extreme northern section of the Santa Ynez Valley appellation in Santa Barbara County, California.  We are at 1500 feet elevation and about 30 miles from the Pacific Ocean, so we have plenty of cool sunshine which is great for growing grapes.

Acreage

We farm 200 acres of vineyards on our 750 acre estate.

Case productions

Depends on Mother Nature, but usually around 30,000 cases.

Who is the wine maker?

Eric Mohseni has been our winemaker for the last year and a half.  He started with us in 2001 in the lab and has worked his way up.

What year were the vines planted?

We still have vines dating back to 1973 when we were established.  Over half of our vineyard is less than 10 years old.

What inspired the Rhone wines and other then Chardonnay did you produce non Rhone varieties?

Based on experience.  We had Cabernet, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot all planted on our property at one time, but they were not as good as our Syrah, Grenache, and Viognier.

What outside influence was the most important for Zaca Mesa success?

The Syrah surge in the 1990’s helped a lot as has the consumers’ increasing sense of adventure to try new varieties (outside of the usual suspects) from new regions.

What is the future vision for Zaca Mesa?

More Rhône’s all the time from our estate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Wine Reviews

2005 Zaca Mesa Estate Bottled Roussane

This is a beautiful wine which features lemon, floral and mineral notes.  On the palate there is a touch of sweetness.  Pair this with seafood or enjoy as a starter wine at your next party.  90 points

2007 Zaca Mesa Estate Bottled Santa Ynez Viognier

This wine is big and showcases floral, honey suckles, lemon and ripe peaches.  A complex finish and very balanced. 89 points

2007 Zaca Mesa Estate Bottled Santa Ynez Chardonnay

The non Rhone grape variety but was a crowd favorite at one of my events.  Light gold with aromas of lemon, minerals, and apple.  Very clean wine and light oak flavors.  Very drinkable for the average wine consumer.  88 points

2006 Zaca Mesa Estate Bottled Late Harvest Santa Ynez Viognier

Light gold and is sweet.  Apricots, floral and tropical fruits dance around in your mouth.  It is priced right and under $20.  88 points

2006 Zaca Mesa Estate Bottled Santa Ynez Z Cuvee

The least expensive of the reds this wine is a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Cinsaut.  A try Rhone Blend and features spice, raspberry, floral and earth.  Needs some food as it is a bit tannic.  87 points

2003 Zaca Mesa Estate Bottled Z Three Santa Ynez Rhone Blend

A blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre

You would not guess 03 on this one.  There is a ton of life left.  Aromas of cranberry, spice, floral and cinnamon.  Balanced and concentrated on the finish.  Enjoy with a big meat dish.  92 points

2003 Zaca Mesa Estate Bottled Santa Ynez Syrah

Nice aged bottled with floral, spice, meat and leather.  The finish is short/medium and this wine is ready for final consumption.  88 points

2005 Zaca Mesa Estate Bottled Santa Ynez Syrah

Much more fresh then the 03 and has aromas of meat, blueberries and cinnamon.  A concentrated wine and shows good structure.  90 points

2006 Zaca Mesa Estate Bottled Reserve Santa Ynez Syrah

A really dark wine with power.  The aromas dance out of the glass with floral, blackberries, spices and plums.  Very concentrated wine with a long finish.  A super effort from the best vineyard sites.  93 points

2005 Zaca Mesa Estate Bottled Black Bear Syrah

The flagship wine from Zaca Mesa and a top 10 of 2009 from Wineglas.  Black and super fragrent.  This showcases the best land at the Estate and aromas of floral, blackberries, spice, raspberries.  The mouth is working to taste all the concentrated fruit.  A long finish and really balanced.  If you don't like this Syrah you don't like Syrah!  95 points

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Great Wine Videos

 

Everything you need to know about Bordeaux: 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EG1Yi_RdWk&feature=related

A great video on Port:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTILOlzCyv8

 

 

 

 

Winestreets Does Joh. Jos. Prum 2007

April 9, 2009

 

A nice tasting from Winestreets and it was enjoyable to compare notes on the ripeness levels.  While I enjoyed the Kabinett wines I was much more impressed with the Spatlese wines and my wine of the night was the 2007 Joh. Jos. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese.  As everyone agreed these wines need some serious cellar time to truly show what they are capable.

 

It will be hard to shell out the money for these wines as I have found several options priced far less then the Prum line.

  

2007 Joh. Jos. Prum Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Kabinett

Light gold.  Slate, apple, and pear dominate the nose and on the palate this wine shows good acidity with some spice emerging.  A medium finish with plenty going on.  91 points

2007 Joh. Jos. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett

Light gold.  Petrol and honey on the nose with a floral note on the palate.  This had the shortest finish of all the Prum’s we sampled.  It just lacks depth. 88 points

2007 Joh. Jos. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett

Light gold.  Big peach cobbler nose with some heavy sulfur.  After five minutes the wine opened up and revealed slate, petrol, and ripe peaches.  Sweet up front on the finish and showed some consistency across the board.  90 points

2007 Joh. Jos. Prüm Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese

Light gold.  Spice, slate aromas.  This had the most spice of the Spatlese wines and showed a solid finish.  91 points

2007 Joh. Jos. Prum Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Spatlese

Medium gold.  Slate, petrol and pear aromas.  Finally some honey on the palate along with slate, petrol, apple and minerals.  Again another nice Spatlese wine from Prum.  92 points

2007 Joh. Jos. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese

Light gold.  Golden apples, peach and candied fruits.  The palate showed a domination of beautiful fruit flavors and really lingered on the finish.  A well made wine.  92 points

2007 Joh. Jos. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese

Light gold.  Peach, pear and slate aromas with a multi layered mouthful of slate, minerals, peach and pears.  This wine was rich and showed a consistent finish.  Very nice wine.  92 points

2007 Joh. Jos. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese

Light gold.  Aromas of honey and floral.  Slate, floral and honey with a rich taste.  Not the intensity of the Wehlener Auslese but a solid, medium finish.  93 points

 

2007 Joh. Jos. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese

Light gold.  Wow what a nose with peach, slate, and honey.  Rich taste and multi layered pleasure throughout this wine.  Classic slate, honey and peach qualities.  This shows a long finish and was the best of the 3 Auslese wines on this day.  95 points

2007 Joh. Jos. Prum Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Auslese

Medium gold.  Nose of spice, peach and slate.  Taste of honey, green apples, honey and mineral.  A spritzy quality on the finish and shows good acidity.  Well made.  93 points

 

Only a select few people who attend my Minneapolis Wine Club Events were invited to this stellar tasting.

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Kilikanoon Wine Tasting

October 2008

Kilikanoon is one of the top producers of Australian Wine.  They make good wines under $20 and represent powerhouse wines over $30.  These wines are readily available at a number of wine shops throughout the Twin Cities so they are worth check out.

Visit their website at:

www.kilikanoon.com.au/

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Germany Fest 2008

 

Germany offers some of the best wines in the world.  There is a myth that the wines are sweet however good quality wines (QmP Level) offer an incredible balanced, mesmerizing wine.  The links below offers great information on learning German Rieslings.

 

GERMANY:

Check out this link for regions, terms, and great producers.

 

Minneapolis tastes Dr. Loosen. 

     Brian Harlan National Sales Manager for Loosen Bros. was in town and another wine expert and I sampled their product line.  Click on the link for all the reviews.

 

Great Interview Series:

www.graperadio.com

"Three Days in the Rhine" is a 3 part series of exploring great wineries from the Rhine River Regions. 

 

Great Websites:

German Wine Institute: www.deutscheweine.de


Wines of Germany: www.germanwineusa.com

 

Latest German Reviews:

2006 Urban Mosel Saar Ruwer Riesling QBA $$

Color:  Pale yellow

Nose:  Intense, mineral, straw, pear

Taste:  Sweet, mineral, straw, little spice, Balanced acidity

Finish: A balance wine with mineral, sweetness, straw on this medium finish

Evaluation:  Well done and a great everyday wine.  87 points

2006 St. Urbans Hof Ockfener Bockstein Kabinett Riesling $$

Color:  Medium gold

Nose:  Floral, mineral, honey suckles

Taste:  Sweet with floral, honey, tropical fruit, mineral, and the acidity is well balance

Finish:  Medium and sweet with floral, tropical fruit and mineral

Evaluation:  Balanced wine that pairs really well with smoked gouda cheese.  88 points

Sample March 08

Color:  Dark gold

Nose:  Honey, mineral, floral

Taste:  Well balanced between acidity/sweetness.  This is a thick wine with honey, mineral, tropical fruit, and floral notes

Finish: Medium with pleasing character

Evaluation:  This wine has improved since the last sample in 07.  91 points

2006 St. Urbans Hof Ockfener Bockstein Spatlese Riesling  $$

Color:  Dark gold

Nose:  Mineral and honey suckles

Taste:  Thick wine with honey, floral, and mineral notes

Finish:  Balanced wine with a satisfying finish.

Evaluation:  A solid example of a Spatlese Riesling.  87 points

2006 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Auslese $$$

Color:  Medium gold

Nose: Honey, must, slate

Taste:  Sweet with golden apples, intense floral notes, honey, minerals

Finish:  Short and light

Evaluation:  Not the most impressive Auslese as the finish is weak 87 points

2006 Dr. Loosen Wehlner Sonnenuhr Spatlese Riesling $$$

Color:  Medium gold

Nose:  Mineral, honey, apple

Taste:  Slate, honey, nice acidity, crisp

Finish:  Medium with slate, honey, sour apples

Evaluation:  Slate as in Terroir here.  A great before dinner sipper or try with some fresh fish.  92 points

2006 Dr. Loosen "Dr. L" Estate Riesling $$

Color:  Light gold

Nose:  Slate, honey

Taste:  Crisp, acidic, honey suckles, apple

Finish:  Medium with a nice balance to the wine.

Evaluation:  Buy a six pack for your next party.  88 points

2006 Polka Dot Pfalz Riesling $

Color:  Light not the best clarity

Nose:  Mineral, honey

Taste:  Sweet but the sour component is disjointed.  Not concentrated

Finish:  Mineral and unbalanced

Evaluation:  A very poorly made wine.  78 points

2006 Urban Mosel Saar Ruwer Riesling QBA $$

Color:  Light gold

Nose:  Peach, mineral, pear

Taste:  Sweet with mineral, pear, and peach

Finish: Medium and balanced

Evaluation:  Summer time wine.  88 points

2007 St. Urbans Hof Ockfener Bockstein Spatlese Riesling $$

Color: Medium gold

Nose:  Straw, honey, pineapple, slate

Taste:  Sweet with mineral, peach, honey, pear, straw

Finish:  Complex but short with a variety of pleasing flavors featuring peach

Evaluation: Great Vintage and another solid effort from Urbans Hof 93 points

2007 St. Urbans-Hof Mosel-Saar-Ruwer  Piesporter Goldtropfchen Kabinett Riesling $$

Color:  Medium gold

Nose:  Floral, slate, Petrol

Taste:  Sweet, slate, floral, petrol, peach

Finish: Short with a heavy slate quality

Evaluation:  Not in the same league as the 07 Spatlese from Urbans 87 points

2007 Dr. Loosen "Dr. L" Mosel Riesling $$

Color:  Light gold

Nose:  Apple, pear, mineral

Taste:  Apple, pear, slate, honey

Finish:  Great acidity with peach, pear, slate, honey

Evaluation:  Wonderful wine!  90 points

2007 Paul Anheuser Kreuznacher Scheurebe Riesling $$

Color:  Light gold

Nose:  Mineral, peach, honey

Taste:  Semi sweet with peach, slate, and graham cracker

Finish:  Medium with slate, peach, and a nice, crisp acidic quality

Evaluation:  Solid everyday Riesling 88 points

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Wineglas Brings Sheridan Vineyards and Meek Family Estates to Minnesota

John Glas of Wineglas is the most important wine critic in Minnesota.  No one benefits the wine consumers like John as he does not sell wine for a living.  This past Spring John was able to bring in 2 exciting wineries from Washington State.  Click on the link above to see the reviews.

 

To learn more about Washington State Wines go to www.washingtonwines.org.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                 

 

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Le Cadeau Winery September 2007

Tom and Deb Mortimer (Twin Cities Locals) are living their dream with their winery in Oregon.  Enjoy the article and you must track down some of their Pinot Noir Cuvees'!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Tim Smith Wines of Australia April 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2003 Tim Smith Barossa Valley Shiraz is still currently the second best wine I have reviewed (97 Points).

 

 

                                       

 

 

 

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