Recommended Wine

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If you are looking for fine French wine and food, consider the Alsace region of northeastern France. You may find a bargain, and I hope that you’ll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a local white Riesling winetasted with several meals and paired with imported cheeses.

Alsace ranks tenth out of the eleven French winemaking regions in terms of its acreage devoted vineyards. But don’t be mislead by statistics; little Alsace is a major producer of quality French wine. Its wine growing area is barely 60 miles (100 kilometers) long, and at most 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) wide tucked between the Vosges Mountains to the west and the Rhine River and Germany to the east. But this relatively tiny area is famous for its distinctive wines. Their wine bottles are also distinctive; tall and thin with labels that feature the grape variety, not the usual practice in France. Chaptalization (adding sugar to the fermenting grape mixture) is allowed for many wine categories.

About 95% of Alsace wine is white. The major white grape varieties are Gewurztraminer, Muscat, Pinot Gris, and Riesling, reviewed below. Its secondary white grape varieties include Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner, and Muscat. The major red grape variety is Pinot Noir, reviewed in a companion article in this series.

The beautiful Vosges mountains are located in eastern France near the Rhine River and Black Forest of western Germany. To a large extent they are composed of granite and red sandstone. Their highest point is the Grand Ballon (also called Ballon de Guebwiller) with an elevation of about 4600 feet (slightly more than 1424 meters). The vineyards of its eastern slopes have an elevation of up to 1300 feet (400 meters).

The Vosges mountains are great for tourists. Attractions include beautiful forests, several castles in ruins, and health resorts. If you are so inclined you can hike their usually gentle slopes and are never far from vineyards and restaurants serving delicious foods and local wines. After all, you are on the Alsace Wine Route, at least for the eastern slopes. Don’t forget the winter skiing. The southern Vosges, near the village of Bussang, is home to a lovely fountain exploiting a spring that originates in the Moselle River. I hope you don’t mind that this particular area is just over the border in Lorraine.

Before reviewing the Alsatian wine and imported cheeses that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region.
Start with Schniederspaetle (Onion Ravioli).
For your second course savor Brochet d’I a la creme (Pike in White Wine and Cream Sauce).
And as dessert indulge yourself with Strudel aux Pommes (Apple Strudel).

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed

Hattstatty Hatschbourg Riesling 2003 12.5% alcohol about $21.00

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials.

This wine won a Gold Medal at the 2006 Concours Riesling du Monde. Established in 1998, the Concours Riesling du Monde (Rieslings of the World) competition takes place every year in Strasbourg, Alsace. Rieslings from throughout the world are submitted to an international jury of oenologists and wine critics. This hugely respected competition illustrates the diversity and brilliance of fine Riesling from around the world. And now for the review.

My first meal consisted of home made barbecued chicken in a sweet and sour Thai sauce with Portabello mushrooms and red pepper. The wine was fruity, nice and complex. It was quite a good match and I knew that this would be a quality wine.

The next shot was a commercially barbecued chicken leg (of course not as tasty as my own barbecued chicken) with its skin in a paprika sauce accompanied by, Turkish salad, and Greek olives. I started by sipping the wine alone, as I was afraid that I might have lost the bottle because the wine sat in the fridge for quite some time. No problem. This Riesling wine was fine with an appely taste but in the positive sense. In response to the food the wine got even better. It was quite long and powerful and yet delicate. While I liked the Greek olives and I liked the wine, I did not enjoy the two together. The Riesling’s acidity actually intensified in the presence of the moderately spicy Turkish salad. I finished my glass with overripe cherries. This time the wine went flat, especially with the sweet ones.

The final meal was an omelet with a local Provolone cheese and a side of Turkish salad. The wine was nice and crisp. I tasted a touch of lime. As dessert I had a high-quality chocolate-coated vanilla ice cream bar. The ice cream bar was fine but it did flatten the wine somewhat.

My first cheese was a nutty, fatty, and slightly sour Dutch Edam cheese. My German Edam was well beyond edible by humans, although the spores looked like they were having a real feast. Anyway, in the presence of this Dutch Edam the Riesling was round and fruity, with pleasant acidity. In the presence of an Italian Friulano cheese the wine became sour and flatter.

Final verdict. Great wine, I will buy it again and watch my pairings more closely. This should accompany very well the right gourmet meal.

This is our second review of Australian wine in just a few weeks. You may realize that Australia is a major wine exporter especially to the United States and the United Kingdom. While this wine was bottled in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales in Australia’s southwest, the grapes come from the Geographical Indication of Beechworth in New South Wales neighbor, Victoria. Beechworth was once a great place to dig for gold and is now considered a fine wine region, in particular for Chardonnay and fortified wines. If money is no object look for Giaconda’s wines, including their Pinot Noir.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed
Pinot Noir New South Wales (Brokenwood Winery) 2005 14.0% alcohol about $20

There were no marketing materials so I’ll quote the back label. This Pinot Noir is sourced from Victoria’s exciting Beechworth region, in the lower region of the Alpine Valleys. A very hot, dry season giving concentrated flavors… This is a ripe style with background French Oak and sappy/cherry Pinot fruit. The palate has strawberry flavors and lingering soft tannins. Drink over the short term with duck and Asian dishes. Our wines are now sealed with screw cap to guarantee quality and consistency.

Re screw caps: I want to mention that when I used adjustable pliers the bottle opened nicely. And now for my review.

At the first sips the wine was quite powerful with good length and tobacco but no tannins. I first paired this wine with a dry barbecued chicken breast and a tastier chicken leg. This Pinot Noir was very present with some chocolate when it met the white meat. When it faced the chicken leg it was somewhat too acidic. On the upside, this wine was chewy and mouth filling. Once again there was tobacco and no tannins.

The next meal centered around a middle-eastern specialty called as kube, ground beef in crushed bulgar jackets in a slightly sour, delicious broth containing lots of Swiss Chard. This Pinot Noir was thick. I even got a taste of tar and black licorice. There was a lot of body but, at the risk of repeating myself, there were no tannins. They didn’t seem to be missing. I tasted dark fruit, especially black cherries. I finished the meal with some smoked almonds and tasted tobacco and some earth.

Then I went to fatty beef ribs that had been slowly cooked with soft wheat kernels. There was a side of moderately spicy guacamole. The Pinot Noir was round and thick with a lot of oak and a good length. Its acidity worked well with the meat’s grease. Not only the meat was chewy and it presented black, black cherries. The wine retained some of its power and all of its length when paired with the guacamole.

With some Matjes herring the wine was long, balanced, and mouth filling. The herring didn’t get in the way. A local Provolone actually weakened this Pinot Noir at first its acidity became slightly harsh. A tastier Swiss slightly weakened the wine but it was still powerful and long, oaky with the taste of tobacco.

Final verdict. This wine is definitely worth buying again and again. Next time I won’t waste it on the cheese. And maybe someday I’ll try Giaconda’s offerings. You’ll be the first to know.

If you are looking for fine German wine and food, consider the Franconia region of southeastern Germany. You may find a bargain, and I hope that you’ll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a local Riesling.

Franconia is bordered by the Danube River on the south and by the Main River on the north. Both France and Franconia are named after the Franks, a Germanic tribe. Franconia had been independent for centuries but the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815 joined it to neighboring Bavaria in southern Germany as part of the reshaping of Europe.

Franconia ranks sixth out of the thirteen German wine regions in both vineyard acreage and total wine production. Over 85% of Franconian wine is white. Its main grape varieties are Müller-Thurgau, a German hybrid, responsible for almost half the local production of white wine and Silvaner. Unlike many other German wine regions, here the Riesling grape is not a major player. About 40% of the region’s wine is middle-quality QbA wine, and almost 60% is the higher quality QmP wine. Only about 0.5% of Franconian wine is table wine.

Nürnberg (Nuremberg) is the largest city in Franconia and the second largest in Bavaria. It’s a very historic city, slightly less than one thousand years old. It was the site of the first Diet of the Holy Roman Empire, the site of Hitler’s most important rallies, and the site of the Allied War Crimes Tribunals after the Second World War.

Among its many sights are the city walls surrounding Nuremberg’s Old Town. Be sure to see the Albrecht-Dürer-Haus, where the great Renaissance painter spent almost the last twenty years of his life. The Germanisches Nationalmuseum (German National Museum) is the largest such museum in all of Germany. Should you so desire, there’s enough to view to spend days there. Outside the museum is the Strasse der Menschenrechte (Street of Human Rights) with thirty huge columns inscribed with excerpts from the Declaration of Human Rights. Make sure to see the Kaiserburg (Imperial Castle) complex, which in bygone times was the home of the Holy Roman Emperors. As its name might suggest, the Neues Museum (New Museum) is devoted to modern design. Children and the young at heart will like the Spielzeugmuseum (Toy Museum) and Tiergarten (Zoo) which includes a dolphin show. Nuremberg’s historic churches include Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), St. Sebaldus Kirche (St. Sebaldus Church), and St. Lorenz Kirche (Church of Saint Lawrence). If you get hungry you might want to stop in the Historische Bratwurst-Küche Zum Gulden Stern, the oldest bratwurst restaurant in the world dating back to 1419. Their slogan is Wer nicht hier war, war nicht in Nürnberg; if you weren’t here, you weren’t in Nuremberg.

Before reviewing the Franconian wine and imported cheeses that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region.
Start with Hochzeitsuppe (Wedding Soup – Meat Broth, Dumplings, and Sliced Potatoes)
For your second course enjoy Hackfleischküchla (Franconian Hamburgers).
As a dessert indulge yourself with Lebkuchen (Gingerbread).

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed
Burgerspital Zum Hl. Geist Riesling Kabinett 2004 12% alcohol about $17.50

We’ll start by quoting the marketing materials. Description Franken is best known in our market for their Silvaner-based wines and squat, green bottles called bocksbeutal. Here, we have a rare opportunity to explore the incredible job Franconian winemakers can do with Riesling too. Tasting Note Aromas suggest rose petals, apple, apricot and mineral. On the palate it is off-dry, fresh and lively. Light- to medium-bodied, this long finishing wine would complement veal cutlets, pan-fried freshwater fish or mildly spiced Thai cuisine. And now for the review.

The first meal was consisted of slow-cooked chicken legs in a supposedly spicy tomato sauce, potatoes, and a medley of small salads. Wow! This wine just hit it right with its acidity and fruit. I tasted lime. It was very round. Frankly, no pun intended, I could have finished the bottle.

The next meal was an omelet with sliced brown mushrooms and chopped red onion and a side of smoked salmon. Once again I tasted great acidity and lime. The smoked salmon intensified the wine. It was a very pleasant combination.

Then I went to spaghetti and meatballs but a bit different from the usual style. The spaghetti was whole wheat and the meatballs were made with ground turkey. The Riesling was honey-flavored, rather light, but somewhat complex and slightly acidic. I finally found a disappointing combination; fresh pineapple which flattened the wine. On the other hand, the wine went well with honeydew.

First I tried this Riesling with a French goat’s milk cheese that really seemed more like a Camembert. The wine was refreshing with good balance of fruit and light acidity. Then I tasted it with a nutty Swiss Gruyere. The wine became more acidic and was nice and long. When it finally faded away, it did so delicately. I saved the best cheese for last, a local Asiago that I prefer to the native Italian variety. Ironically the best cheese made the worst pairing; the wine was weaker.

Final verdict. This wine is a winner. I plan to buy it again. And I won’t be wasting it on cheese, especially local Asiago cheese.

I had never even heard of the Scheurebe grape until I read a fascinating book, Papilles et Molecules by one of Canada’s (Quebec’s) top sommeliers and wine authors, Francois Chartier. This book opens new vistas in wine and food pairings. Chartier is a proponent of this grape variety, which he identifies as a fraternal twin of Gewuertztraminer and a cousin of Sauvignon Blanc. It is a cross between Riesling and, in spite of the marketing materials quoted below, an unknown grape variety. Between you and me, grape crosses are usually not all that good. Note, the word usually. Let’s give this grape variety a chance. In the interest of full disclosure, I recently translated Chartier’s book into English and will be writing more about it once the book is published.

The Pfalz is a very special area in southwestern Germany near the border with Alsace, France. Like Alsace, this is wine country. There is a great wine road for exploring the local production. You may want to visit Neustadt and its wine suburbs. In this lucky part of the world October means the Deutsches Weinlesefest (German Wine Harvest Festival) complete with a German Wine Queen and a parade with one hundred floats.

Before reviewing the Pfalz wine that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region. Start with Schonhof Pfaennchen (Ham Gratin in Brandy Cream Sauce). For your second course enjoy Rumpsteak mit Bratkartofflen (Beef Steak with Home Fried Potatoes). And for dessert indulge yourself with Basilihumels (Basil Ice Cream).

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed
Pfeffingen Scheurebe Spaetlese 2007 11.0% alcohol about $21

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials. Description: Scheurebe is a wonderful grape variety to explore. A crossing of Riesling and Silvaner, this variety was developed by (and is named after) famed viticulturalist Dr. Georg Scheu. The grape thrives in sandy soils, so Pfeffingen’s sand- and limestone-rich Ungsteiner Herrenberg vineyard is an ideal home. This wine expresses rich grapefruit, lime and mineral character. Its moderate sweetness is balanced by racy acidity, leading to a lip-smacking finish. And now for my review.

At the first sips the wine was absolutely delicious. What a combination of sweetness and acidity. The first pairing involved slowly cooked beef ribs that were accompanied by sliced potatoes and overly spicy salsa containing tomato, onion, lime, cilantro and green peppers. The wine was strongly present when dealing with the fatty meat. It’s sweetness was not a problem. The dominant taste was grapefruit. It became more acidic with the potatoes. The lime in the wine joined the lime in the salsa, taming its spiciness. Dessert was orange-flavored fruit candy, which managed to mute the wine which also lost acidity. I was out of wine and there was still some candy left. But there was no way that I would waste the wine on this candy.

The next meal was much more traditional for a sweet white wine; namely barbecued chicken with potatoes that was roasted in chicken fat and a moderately spicy oriental tomato salad. The Scheurebe was very fine and mouth filling with a fine combination of sweetness and acidity when facing the chicken breast. It helped make up for the meat’s dryness. The results were essentially the same with a tastier, moister chicken leg. With the potatoes the wine’s acidity increased, great for washing down that (delicious) grease. The wine became longer when paired with the salad.

The last meal centered on a portobello mushroom omelet. The Scheurebe was sophisticated and powerful, a little bit went a long way. This wine is elegant. Dessert was a high-quality French-style lemon pie with a very buttery crust. The wine was thinner, but still delicious.

I finished the tastings with Matjes herring followed by two local cheeses. With the herring the wine was long and pleasantly sweet with a lime taste. When facing a brick cheese this Scheurebe retained its pleasant sweetness and some grapefruit taste. In the presence of tastier Swiss cheese the wine tasted of lemon and honey.

Final verdict. This is a definite yes. I am developing a taste for high-quality Germanic sweet wines and this is one of the best that I have tasted in a long time. I would suggest that you give this, or perhaps some of its lower priced cousins that I have reviewed recently a chance. You may be pleasantly surprised. And gone are the prejudices against hybrid grape varieties.

If you are looking for fine German wine and food, consider the Mosel region of central western Germany on the border of Luxembourg. You may find a bargain, and I hope that you’ll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a local white Qualitätswein (read inexpensive) Riesling.

The Mosel Valley is felt to be one of the most beautiful river valleys in the world. This region, previously called Mosel-Saar-Ruwer in honor of its three rivers, is famous for its Riesling wine. Some of the greatest Rieslings in Germany and in fact in the entire world come from the Mosel Valley. Experts can often identify Mosel Rieslings because of the slate in the local soil, which may impart a taste of flint. The slopes are among the steepest in the wine-producing world, and sometimes attain 70 degrees. The soil is so precious that every spring local workers lug pails of soil up these steep slopes, temporarily reversing the effect of the rains that wash the soil down every winter.

Mosel ranks number five among the thirteen German wine regions when it comes to both vineyard acreage and total wine production. Slightly over three quarters of the regional wine is classified as QbA and somewhat less than one quarter is higher quality QmP wine. Only one percent is table wine. More than half of Mosel wine is Riesling. The German hybrid white grape variety Müller-Thurgau represents about 20% of the wine production. In third place is the historic Elbing that dates back to Roman times. Only about 2% of Mosel wine is red.

The Mosel Valley pretty well stretches from Koblenz which isn’t far from Germany’s former capital Bonn to the city of Trier sitting very close to the border with Luxemburg. These two cities are linked by the Mosel Weinstrasse (Mosel Wine Road) approximately 140 miles (224 kilometers) long on the eastern side of the river and somewhat less on the western side. Of course, you could take the autobahn to travel between Koblenz and Trier at breakneck speed. If you do, you’ll miss the interesting little towns and vineyards along the way.

Cochem lies about one third of the way from Koblenz to Trier. It’s a fine little Mosel River Valley town. This medieval town is long and narrow. You should take a boat trip as well as a walking tour. Outside the town gate is the Kaiser Wilhelm railway tunnel, which at 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) is the longest in all Germany. About fifteen minutes of walking get you to the Reichsburg (Imperial Fortress), a thousand year old castle that overlooks Cochem. The castle hosts a medieval banquet which features period costumes and music on Fridays and Saturdays but you must reserve in advance. North of the city is a larger castle, the Burg Eltz a few miles inland from the Mosel.

Before reviewing the Mosel wine and imported cheeses that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region. Start with Aalsuppe (Eel Soup). For your second course enjoy Rolladen (Beef rolls with Bacon and Pickels). As a dessert indulge yourself with Moselweintorte (Chocolate and Wine Cake).

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed

Moselland Bernkasteler Kurfurstlay 2005 9.5% alcohol about $8.50

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials. Tasting Note: Pale straw yellow colour; citrus, mineral and dried apricot aromas and flavours; balanced with crisp acidity in the finish. Serving Suggestion: Serve chilled with pork, turkey or appetizers. Spicy asian dishes.

My first pairing was with a homemade pizza with lots of tomato sauce, vegetables, and cheese but no meat. This wine displayed refreshing acidity that worked well with the pizza sauce. It had good fruit and was surprisingly long.

The next meal included a barbecued chicken marinated in a commercial Mediterranean-style light sauce, red-skinned potatoes, and a somewhat spicy Turkish salad. The wine’s acidity cut the fat very well and yet complemented the tomato’s own acidity which largely defined the salad. This little and lightly alcoholic wine (9.5% when 13% plus seems to be the new norm) was quite assertive, especially with the potatoes. And yet it was somewhat flat with dessert, some orange fruit-juice candy.

The final meal was whole-wheat pasta in a sauce that started our as your basic commercial pasta sauce and then livened up by a fried medley of garlic, red onions, red and green peppers, topped with anchovies and shredded (local) Asiago cheese. The wine was light and fruity and the combination was quite tasty. I was happy that this Riesling was low-alcohol (and inexpensive) so that I could drink quite a bit without any negative effects, including to my pocketbook.

The initial cheese pairing was with a mild Italian Pecorino Fruilano. The wine was sweet but didn’t impress me very much. Then I tried it with a nutty Dutch Edam cheese. Once again the wine was sweet but it was round and the combination went quite well.

Final verdict. Great bargain. The wine really goes well with simple food. I didn’t get a chance to try it with gourmet specialties but wouldn’t be surprised if it did as well as many wines including Rieslings at twice the price. If I didn’t have so many wines to taste (talk about problems) I’d buy half a case and drink one every two months or so. Then I’d try one from the next vintage and hope to repeat the process.