Sex sells! Wine is no exception.

Have you ever heard of a grape variety called Domina? Well, no worries, Domina only plays a minor role in the German wine market and has only locally some importance. The total vineyard area of Domina is about 400 hectares and almost 85% (340 ha) are planted in Franconia (Franken). Here it has got some awareness as this region originally is a designated white wine region and yes, Domina is a red variety.

Typically wines made from Domina are deep red, almost black, full bodied but earthy and high in acid and tannins. Earthy and smoky flavors, paired with dark fruit like blackberry make up their bouquet. They usually don’t reach to the elegance of a Pinot Noir (aka Spätburgunder), which is also widely grown here, but nevertheless it has got its fan base among the red wine connoisseurs. This is why you find lots of pure Domina wines in Franconia, whereas in other regions it is often used as a partner in blends to take advantage of the dark color and its extracts.

So, where is the hook to the headline? What is so sexy about this all? Well, in Germany the word Domina nowadays has quite a juicy sound. The original meaning of it (abbess) is not in use anymore but it is used now for a dominant lady in a sexual meaning (in English: Dominatrix). Think of black leather, strong and dominant attitudes, that’s what the Domina wines are associated with. What a marketing coup, isn’t it?

Well, to come to the defense of the cultivator of the grape, Peter Morio, when he crossbred this grape from its parents the Blauer Portugieser and Pinot Noir back in 1927 the word Domina still got its original meaning. What a prospective naming!

Today, with respect to our understanding of self-determination and the right of sexual autonomy, the sexual card isn’t played much in the marketing of the Domina wines anymore, but recently I found an old billboard with an ad for Domina wines, leading the way down to the cellars of a big cooperative winery. At least this made me quite curious about what I would be faced with in the deep dark vaults of the cellar. So you see, it still works!

In other words: Ten weeks of workout can make you feel sexy again, so does one bottle of Domina. 

Happy Easter! Wine out of eggs?

Eggs are all around these days, also in the wine cellars. No kidding! But this time it's nothing to do with Easter, I promise.

At the moment we are facing the next trend in wine cellars in Germany. Well, actually this is not a new method at all, at least it is one of the oldest ways to produce wine, but it is revived by winemakers and transfered into the present. Wine out of the egg!

After vessels of wood, plastics, steel and wood again, it's concrete this time. Eggs made of concrete, to produce and mature wine. One would think this is just wool-gathering or esoteric nonsense but the results proof sceptics to be wrong. Part of this actually is kind of esoteric as the egg is seen as a perfect shape to let energy (and wine) homogenious circulate. No lumps and bumps. But honestly, the wines out of eggs I tasted up to now totally satisfied me and refuted my skepticism.

At least some of the most recognized vintners here in Franconia use the egg by way of trail. One of those, the Weingut am Stein, sitting in the famous vineyard called Würzburger Stein, already is beyond the test and trail phase, as they built a completely new cellar for their seven concrete eggs, where some of their best Silvaner grapes mature. Besides this there are also some amphoras buried here where wine matures "on its mash", just like it was made in the early days and still is widely done in Georgia, where the Qvevri called amphoras originally come from. The Qvevri is also shaped like an egg, an as said, used since the beginnings.

But what makes up this wines? No idea if just my mind played a trick on me, but the samples I tasted were quite smooth and rounded, like the shape of the vessels. But there is some evidence that could explain this a bit. Of course the unhampered flow of the juice and the yeasts foster the homogenious fermentation and maturation of the wine. Experts are at odds if the concrete facilitates the micro-oxidation because of its porosity. Recently I had the chance to talk to an academic of the leading research instistute, the Landesanstalt für Wein- und Gartenbau in Veitshöchheim (regional institute for wine and agriculture), who contradicted this theory. As the concrete usually is quite aggressive against acid it has to be prepared against this, otherwise it would completely neutralize the acids in the wine. By this preparation the pores are closed so that there is no chance for oxigen to come through.

Another theory is that the thick concrete covering sees to it that the temperature is somewhat buffered, but this is also with a stainless steel vessel and temperature control. Actually it is harder to cool the juice during fermentation within the egg. So this seems also not to be the reason. But what's it then?

My personal theory is that a vintner, who is engaged in trying this new methods, is much more sensitive and caring for his wines and therefore could only produce excellent wines. And probably at least there is something inbetween science and belief. The egg is perfectly shaped to the Golden ratio, let it be esoteric, which closes the circle to the beginning of this post.

Let it flow... ah, and Happy Easter after all!
Ingo

100th anniversary of the Scheurebe

Let’s go back, way back, back in 1916. We are looking over the shoulder of Dr. Georg Scheu, who is breeding vines at the regional office of winegrowers in Alzey, in the German wine region Palatinate. He is working as a viticulturalist, cultivating seedlings of vitis vinifera, to create new noble grapes. Indeed he is already known for the creation of many crossbred grape varieties. Somewhen in 1916 Georg planted the seedling number 88 of a hybrid and this one should become his heritage.

A Bocksbeutel of Scheurebe from Franconia

This grape gathered the best of both of its parents, the Riesling and the Bukettraube. Wines made of this grape have a distinctive aroma (German: Bukett) of one of the parents and the racy acidity of the other one. The new grape variety is named for his discoverer Scheurebe (“rebe” means in German “vine”).

Today, one hundred years later, the Scheurebe is under the Top 10 of the white grape varieties in Germany. It also plays a role in Austria where it still is called Sämling 88 (Seedling 88), because of the 88^th seedling Georg Scheu planted back then.

Scheurebe is the German answer to the Sauvignon Blanc. Usually highly aromatic, dominated by rich blackcurrant aromas supplemented with grapefruit, gooseberry and elderflower. Well-made wines of the Scheurebe are full-bodied. Often they are produced semidry, so they have some residual sugar, which compliments quite well the flavors.

The Scheurebe, I had in my glass, was from the German wine region Franconia, you could recognize this by the shape of the bottle, called Bocksbeutel. This one is from a town called Sommerach on the Isle of Wine, a lovely piece of land completely surrounded by the River Main.

Let’s praise Georg Scheu for this great breeding 100 years ago!

Cheerio!

Franconian wine boarded the Ark of Taste

In one of my early posts I told you about a very special wine from Franconia, called “Alter Satz”. The specialty of this wine is that it is vinified from a great variety of grapes -35 in total - which grow together in a single vineyard and are harvested and vinified together. This viticulture is known as “Gemischter Satz” (mixed planting).

Alter fränkischer Satz

What in the distant past was something like the perils insurance for the vintner to ensure that even in bad years he can harvest at least anything is nowadays a precious refuge of biodiversity. But there remained not many of those spots, because this doesn’t fit into a modernized, even industrialized viticulture. Especially in the German wine region of Franconia some vintners sustained such vineyards and preserved this tradition. Here this is called “Alter fränkischer Satz” and the Slow-Food organization recognized the deserving protection of it.

In the truest sense of the motto “eat and drink what you want to preserve” the Slow-Food Foundation for Biodiversity nominated the “Alter fränkischer Satz” as a new passenger to the Ark of Taste. The Ark of Taste lists more than 2000 heritage foods, plant and animal species from all over the world, which are at risk of disappearing. It focusses on the pleasure of good food with the commitment to the region it comes from and to the environment. By consuming those produce everyone can contribute to their preservation, because only if there is demand they will be produced. To be part of this Ark is a great honor for the tradition of Franconian winemaking.

You want to know how this wine tastes! Well that’s a pretty tough question and there is no easy answer. Take thirty and more grape varieties which are in different composition in each vineyard and in different degrees of ripeness. Harvest and vinify them together. Do I need to explain more? This is a too complex equation to solve. Each wine and each vintage is unique, and that’s what makes this so outstanding and worthy to preserve.

Relaunch of Franconias Bocksbeutel

From time to time you find posts from me with this rounded flat bellied bottle called Bocksbeutel, which is the quasi trademark of Franconian wine.
Today the newly designed Bocksbeutel was presented to the public. The silhouette remained almost the same but it became more "edged".

The design was made by the renowned German designer Peter Schmidt, this is why the bottle is named Bocksbeutel(PS).

What do you think of this new appearance?

Bocksbeutel PS - Photo credits: Haus des Frankenweins / Rolf Nachbar

Catfish and Riesling

Catfish with Franconian Riesling

In Franconia there are relatively few natural lakes. To supply the demand for domestic fish there evolved lots of small fish farms during the last centuries. Many of them grow fish in ponds which are fished dry each year during fall season.  So this is the season to have the best domestic fish like carp, trout or catfish.

You could have catfish in all different sizes and there are some restaurants where you could order a fish in advance for a certain number of ‘eaters’. There were three of us with this boiled catfish here. Together with potatoes and a traditional horseradish sauce this was delicious.

We opted for a Riesling from Franconia together with the fish. Riesling is one of the most versatile white wines, which goes well along with many dishes. Pretty well of course with fishes.

It’s pumpkin season!

Risotto with squash and German wine

I love this time of the year, when the nature becomes so colorful. Leaves turn yellow, red and brown and harvest is on its height. And it is pumpkin season!

There are lots of different dishes you could have with pumpkin. I went for a traditional style risotto together with roasted dices of a red kuri squash. To dice the squash is not too easy and needs a good knife and muscles, but the effort definitely is worth it. By roasting the squash it gets a creamy consistency and together with the risotto it almost cries for a wine which takes this texture up and complements the nutty flavors.

A wine which has all this is a full-bodied Pinot Gris which matured in wood. Pinot Gris (or Pinot Grigio) is called Grauburgunder in German, this is what you see on the label here. This one from Franconia got aromas of ripe yellow fruits like peach or quince. Yes yellow (and orange) are nice colors, especially these days.

Old vine from the old winery

Riesling with chicken

Probably you wonder that ze German guy almost never talks about THE German grape, the Riesling. Well here we are!

For sure, Riesling is the best known German grape variety. It is well aromatic, usually of ripe peaches and flowers and it has a tangy acidity caused by the continental climate here in Germany. The wines of the Riesling are real all-rounders, to pair with a lot of dishes. And the wine is very long lasting, indeed it evolves quite well the longer you preserve it in the bottle (given that you store it dark and cool).

This one here in my glass is called “Alte Reben” which means “old vine”. But this refers to the age of the vines rather than to the age of the wine. It is said that the older the vines the better the quality of the wine. Old vines have a very huge rootstock to bring up the best of the soil and this makes up the quality of a wine.

Probably you can decipher the year date on the emblem of the winery, the Staatliche Hofkeller located in Würzburg, the heart of Franconia. The number is 1128 and yes, this is the year when the winery was founded. By this the Hofkeller is one of the oldest wineries in the world.

Today we paired our Riesling with a roast chicken, prepared with a marinade of honey, oil, paprika and herbs. Together with a fresh salad really delicious.

Lentils love Pinot Blanc

Pinot Blanc with fish and lentils

And I love lentils, yes and of course do I also love Pinot Blanc. You wonder why I talk about Pinot Blanc all the time but you can’t see anything of this in the picture? Well, this is because Pinot Blanc translates into German as Weissburgunder and that’s what you find on the label here.

In German all Pinots have this ending “-burgunder”, which means Burgundy grape. Pinot Noir is Spät_burgunder_, Pinot Gris is Grau_burgunder_ and Pinot Blanc is Weiss_burgunder_.

A ripe Pinot Blanc, preferably matured on the lees, has got the perfect creamy mouthfeel to pair with this smooth and earthy texture of the lentils. Yes of course, in this case the lentils are just the side dish for the pickerel but they are the predominant taste on the plate. The fish is fine with the white wine anyway so lets concentrate on the higher intense flavors on the plate to pair with our wine. This is quite often the sauce or the side dish rather than the main component.

Who loves lentils as much as I do (and as the Weissburgunder does)?!

What the heck is a Bocksbeutel?!

Have you ever wondered what it is about this flat, fat bellied bottles you see in many posts about German wine from Franconia? Ugh… what is Franconia? Well then let’s start from the beginning.

Franconia (German: Franken) is one of the 13 defined wine regions in Germany producing quality and premium wines. It is famous especially for its white wines from the Sylvaner grape. Characteristic for Franconia is also the shape of the bottles in use. Special wines of a certain minimum quality and regionally typical grapes are filled in those unique shaped bottles called the Bocksbeutel [spelled: box-boy-tell].

The Bocksbeutel is proven to be used in Franconia for wine for at least 290 years and just recently there has been an “archeological” trove of a Bocksbeutel in NY during construction works. This one evidentially was imported over 100 years ago to the States. Simply by the shape of the bottle (and a seal) the origin was easily allocated to the Bürgerspital estate of Würzburg, Franconia, Germany. Try this in a hundred years with a typical in Bordeaux-style shaped bottle.

The history dates back to at least 1726, when the City Council of Würzburg - the capital of the Franconian wine region - decided that the outstanding wines from the Würzburger Stein vineyard had to be bottled in the Bocksbeutel. The intention of using this special shaped bottle was to protect against forgery. Though today forgery is not the major concern anymore the Bocksbeutel is still used for excellent wines from all over Franconia.

Try and find out!

Alter Satz - Heritage of biodiversity

Traditional Franconian Bocksbeutel bottles

In 1835 first European settlers landed on the north banks of the Yarra River, Australia, in California the gold rush began and in Franconia, Germany, a small vineyard was planted with at least 35 different grape varieties.

A lot changed since then, Yarra Valley became a spot on the map of wine regions, wine became the new gold in California but the small vineyard in Franconia remained as it was back then. Almost forgotten, for god’s sake, too far apart from other vineyards to merge with and too far for Phylloxera to reach, so that there was no need for clearing and grubbing it. Almost 180 years later the vines still produce grapes and thankfully there is a vintner – Otmar Zang of Sommerach - who is anxious to preserve this heritage by caring for this vineyard called “Rimbacher Landsknecht”.

The Gemischter Satz - farmers perils insurance

What today seems completely absurd, to plant in one vineyard 35 different varieties, was back then in Franconia the norm. A so called “Gemischter Satz” (mixed planting) was the perils insurance for the farmer to harvest at least something even in years with bad weather conditions, and there were lots of those back then. Even if some grapes would not ripen others would. And not to forget, the vast biodiversity is a perfect measure of pest management because pests and diseases can’t specialize on certain plants.

No surprise, the wine made from this vineyard is outstanding. The diversity of varieties translates into an overwhelming complexity. The aroma is rather weak in the intensity, without clearly defined peaks, but is composed of too many different impressions to describe it comprehensively. Furthermore it is almost senseless to describe the taste of this wine because it would never be the same again. All 35 varieties are harvested together, this means that each vintage is different. What almost certainly will retain in each vintage is the pleasant minerality which originates from the 30 to 50 ft. deep rootage of the vines in the shell limestone of this area. A distinct acidity is also characteristic for Franconia and so it is for this wine.

The wine is called “Alter Satz” which refers both to the old (German: “alt”) vines as well as to the “Gemischter Satz”, the mixed planting. “Satz” also translates into “sentence” or “phrase” which is a nice analogy. In other words, a single grape variety is like a violin but a “Gemischter Satz” is an orchestra.

You are interested in what grape varieties are planted there, well so is Otmar Zang as well. Of the 35 different varieties there are only 16 identified yet. Even the experts of the Federal Research Institute of viticulture (Bundesforschungsanstalt für Rebzüchtung) could not identify the remaining 19 definitely. Predominant is the oldest German variety “Elbling” which almost disappeared from today’s wine lists. Of course the Franconian signature grape the green Silvaner can be found there but also its less known sisters yellow and red Silvaner. Others are e.g. Aligote, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir, Riesling, Heunisch, Muscateller, Traminer and Gutedel (Chasselas) varieties.

Now, did I water your mouth? If so, then I am deeply sorry to tell you that you need to come over to Franconia to taste it. There are only about 2.000 Bocksbeutel filled each year of this precious wine. But in this case precious does not automatically mean expensive. The 2013 “Alter Satz”, Rimbacher Landsknecht, Franken is listed with 13,50 EUR for the 0,75 liter Bocksbeutel bottle.

Enjoy!

How to read a German wine label

We Germans are known to be well organized, sometimes even over-organized. And we love to know exactly what we buy and what we drink. This is why usually it is quite hard to read a German wine label if you are not German. Of course the language is an issue but probably not the biggest.

Here is a little guide to understand German labels:

In general, the more detailed the information on the label the better the quality!

Usually most prominent on the label is the vintner or wine estate, because we want to know who is responsible for that all. Brand names are not so common, especially in the higher quality range.

Next is the grape variety. Remember, we want to know what we drink! In Germany most wines are made from a single variety and of course this is mentioned on the label. Cuvées are not so common and have quite a dubious image. It usually is not seen as to make an excellent wine from two or more good ones but to try to make at least a drinkable one from two rather bad ones. Probably that's why Bordeaux is not as big here as elsewhere, but don't tell them...

This is why the vintage is so important. You will never get the same wine in different years. So the vintage is important to mention and also to know about the good years and the less good ones. But which are the excellent years is insider knowledge we would never tell to the big audience here :-)

German wine label on a Bocksbeutel bottle

Terroir is a big topic too. We not only want to know what we drink but also where it comes from... exactly. Not only the region (e.g. Franken) but also the village, the cru, the vineyard and sometimes even a single spot called "Parzelle" of the vineyard which is rarely bigger than the average backyard garden in the US. So you can almost localize the grapevine your wine comes from. Remember, we want to know... well I think we had that already.

German wines are predominant dry, Franconian wines usually are bone dry. We know that but nevertheless we mention it on the label. trocken means dry in German. If you don't find it on the label then expect some residual sugar in there. Other terms are used to indicate sweetness, like halbtrocken (semi dry) or feinherb but they are not mandatory.

“Prädikatsweine” (graded wines) often bear a quality level on the label which is derived from the potential alcohol of the must, the "must weight". The lowest level is Kabinett, second Spätlese (late harvest), then Auslese (selection), Beeren- and Trockenbeerenauslese (selection of single berries / affected by noble rot) and Eiswein (icewine). From Auslese upwards you can be sure to have residual sugar in the wine.

Of course the alcohol level is mentioned as well as the volume of the bottle. Finally every quality wine bears an A.P. number (Amtliche Prüfnummer = official testing signature) as every wine is tested and gets its individual number.

That’s it… almost… well for the front label. No, I am not kidding. Most wines have a back label as well because there are lots of other things the vintner thinks we need to know. E.g. if the wine is organic produced this most likely is mentioned there. The address of the wine estate can be found so you find them next time you want to fill your trunk with bottles of this wine.
There can be some other icons found there. For instance, one with an out crossed pregnant woman, I think this means you won’t get pregnant from drinking this wine, but I am not totally sure about this ;-)

Furthermore the mandatory warning that the wine contains sulfite. Frequently the temperature for best serving the wine is mentioned as well as what dishes are best to accompany it, sometimes even the recipes how to prepare them… O.K. that’s rare but not impossible.

You see, lots to read and to understand. Have I already talked about the spelling of the varieties? Well, this is definitely worth another post.