Celebrating the Rieslings of the Finger Lakes Region, New York State, US East Coast

Picture: 2007 Dry Riesling, Finger Lakes, Dr. Konstantin Frank, 2010 Dry Riesling, Finger Lakes, Anthony Road, 2008, Riesling Trockenbeeren, Finger Lakes, Martini Rheinhardt Selection, Anthony Road, 2009 Dry Riesling, Magdalena Vineyard, Finger Lakes, Hermann J. Wiemer, 2009 Dry Riesling, Finger Lakes, Hermann J. Wiemer

The 2011 Finger Lakes Riesling Month is coming to the end in a couple of days. One of the highlights, the 2011 Finger Lakes Riesling Hour, which will take place on Thursday, May 26 at 7:00pm - 8:00pm, New York time. The idea is that wherever you are, open up a bottle or two of Finger Lakes Riesling and join others on Facebook and Twitter. To join on Twitter, use #flxwine in all your tweets. If you join on Facebook, tag @Finger Lakes Wine Country and @Riesling Rocks so all your posts and photos feed to the Fanpages. If you are in Finger Lakes Wine Country come to the Red Newt Cellars.

Germany is by far the largest Riesling producer in the world and the grape is strongly associated with German winemaking traditions. Against this background, this posting sheds some light on 3 Finger Lakes Riesling producers, who all have a special relationship with Germany. These are the 5 Rieslings I will share with my friends at a private Finger Lakes Riesling Hour party on May 26 in Washington DC.

Riesling in the World

Worldwide, there are about 34.000 hectares planted with Riesling. Germany – with 22.400 hectares – accounts for 2/3 of the total. The second largest Riesling producer is Australia, with 4500 hectares. But this is only about 1/10 of the total. Alsace follows with 3500 hectares. Austria, the US with Washington State and New York State as well as New Zealand make up the remainder. But overall Riesling is really a niche wine, accounting for only less than 1 percent of total wine production in the world - but a very special niche wine.

Finger Lakes AVA

The Finger Lakes AVA in upstate New York State encompasses seven glacial lakes, although the majority of plantings are around Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca, and Cayuga Lakes. Most vineyards are planted on hillsides overlooking the lakes. These deep lakes help to moderate the climate, as stored heat is released from the lakes during the winter, keeping the weather mild (relative to surrounding areas) and preventing early frosts. The reflection of the sun off the lakes during summer extends the growing season. This cool-climate region is often compared to the wine-growing region of Germany, and like Germany, has had special success with Riesling.

Picture: New York State and the Finger Lakes Region

The Finger Lakes include 4,452 hectares of vineyards, making it New York State's largest wine growing region. New York State is with Washington State the second largest wine producer in the US, with a bit more than 10.000 hectares. Of this, 400 hectares are accounted for by Riesling.

My Finger Lakes Rieslings

I have tried quite a bit of Rieslings from the Finger Lakes region and have discovered a number of gems. But 3 Riesling producers stand out as far as I am concerned because of their German roots: Dr. Frank, Wiemer and Anthony Road

Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery and the Vitis Vinifera Revolution

Dr. Konstantin Frank (1897-1985) was a viticulturist and wine maker in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, USA. He was born in Europe, in Odessa, now Ukraine into a Russian-German family. Dr. Konstantin Frank ignited the so-called vitis vinifera revolution, which changed the course of wine growing in the Finger Lakes and the North-East of the US.

Well, was Dr. Konstantin Frank a German? He was born in the former Soviet Union into a family with German roots. The Germans came in waves from the West to Russia and settled there from the 16th century onwards. A big wave of German immigration occurred in the 18th century under Catherine the Great, who herself was a German from Anhalt. The Frank family belongs to the Black Sea Germans. They settled in the territories of the Black Sea in the 18th and 19th centuries in what is now Ukraine. At the time Konstantin Frank was born, Odessa belonged to the Russian Empire. When he left for the US, it was part of the Soviet Union. Now, after his death, it has become Ukraine. I met Dr. Konstantin Frank's grandson, Fred, who now owns and runs the estate this year; we communicated in German. Fred got his wine growing and wine making training at the wine college in Geisenheim in the Rheingau, Germany.

Picture: Dr. Konstantin Frank

Dr. Konstantin Frank’s achievement is that he was the first to find a way to plant vitis vinifera varietals in the cool northern fringes of the north-eastern US. The struggle to do this goes back many centuries.

In the original charter of the 13 colonies was a royal commission to pursue three luxury items that England was unable to provide for itself: wine, silk, and olive oil. Every colony made attempts to satisfy the requirements of its charter, but made only limited progress. The problem was that on the one hand there were the native American grapes. All these native American grapes were cold tolerant and disease and pest resistant, but not that well suited for wine making, due to their coarseness, high tannins, and foxy flavors. On the other hand, the vitis vinifera which settlers brought from Europe, were well suited for wine making, but uniformly unable to survive long enough to produce a crop.

Despite many years of failure, the early Americans persisted in their efforts. And they had some success. A big step forward was made in 1740 when a natural cross pollination occurred between a native American grape and a European vitis vinifera. Other successful crossings followed.

So, only native American grapes and European American hybrids were grown in the Finger Lakes area, when Dr. Konstantin Frank arrived in the United States in 1951, finding work at a Cornell University experimental station in the Finger Lakes region. Having grown vitis vinifera back home in regions so cold that "spit would freeze before touching the ground" Dr. Frank believed that the lack of proper rootstock, not the cold climate, was the reason for the failure of vitis vinifera in the Finger Lakes region. He thought that European grapes could do well on the rolling, well-drained hills around the Finger Lakes provided they were grafted onto early maturing American rootstock.

With the help of the French champagne maker Charles Fournier, Dr. Frank put his ideas into practice. He developed the right root stock and grafted European vitis vinifera on them. He planted these vitis vinifera in the slate soil around Lake Keuka and he opened a winery, Vinifera Wine Cellars, in 1962. Despite his success, other winemakers still doubted him for many years and he had trouble getting New York distributors to handle his wine.

Today, Dr. Frank is recognized as having led the revolution in wine quality in New York State and the East Coast. With the help of his cousin Eric Volz as vineyard manager, Fred Frank, Konstantin's grandson took over the winery in 1993. Fred’s business degree from Cornell University and his study of viticulture and enology in Germany helped prepare him to take over the family business.

When I conducted a wine tasting about American wines from the East and the West Coast recently in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Fred was so kind to provide me with his Rieslings. All the communications were in German!

Hermann J. Wiemer and the Riesling Revolution

Hermann J. Wiemer is another pioneer of viticulture and winemaking in the Finger Lakes region with German links. He was born and raised in Germany, and arrived in the US in 1968. His first wine was released in 1980. In the 30 years since then, the winery has been lauded as one of the nation’s premier white wine producers, in particular of Riesling. Hermann J. Wiemer was born in Bernkastel into an influential family in the wine business. Hermann's father was the head of the Agricultural Experiment Station in Bernkastel and was responsible for restoring vines in the Mosel region after WWII. He came to the US in the early 1970s. When he arrived, wine making in the Finger Lakes area was dominated by native American grapes and American European hybrid grapes. Riesling, for which Hermann J. Wiemer has become famous, was not grown. Initially, he made hybrid and American wines for Walter Taylor at the Bully Hill winery on Keuka Lake.

Picture: Hermann J. Wiemer Estate

In 1973 Hermann J. Wiemer bought 140 acres of land, the barn and a mid-19th-century house on the west side of Route 14, which runs along Seneca Lake and turned it into one of the premier vineyards and nurseries in the region. Starting with four acres, he developed the right root stock for grafting European vinifera on them. The first vintage, a 1979, was released in 1980. Hermann Wiemer quickly became known for his German-style vinifera wines. He claims that he made the first dry Riesling in the US and said that many scoffed at him for making Riesling even though today it's the flagship wine grape variety of the region. Wiemer has three estate vineyards within 10 miles of the winery on the west side of Seneca Lake: Magdalena, Josef, and HJW. The vineyards are farmed under strict sustainable agricultural practices.

Hermann J. Wiemer retired a few years ago. Today the winemaking process is managed by Hermann J Wiemer’s long-term winemaker Fred Merwarth who has worked closely with Hermann as one of his winemakers for the last 8 years. Hermann is still passionately and practically involved in the life of the winery, and Fred continues faithfully executing the Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard legacy and heritage.

5 Rieslings from around the world – 3 from Germany, 1 from Alsace and 1 from the US – were on last year’s Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines List. The Riesling from the US was: Hermann J. Wiemer, - Riesling Finger Lakes, Dry Reserve, 2008, 91 Points, $23.

Anthony Road Wine Company and the Riesling Du Monde Competition

The Anthony Road Wine Company, a top winemaker in the Finger Lakes region, caught international attention recently with their 2006 Finger Lakes Riesling Trockenbeeren, when it was awarded one of the 7 Trophies of Excellence of the Riesling Du Monde Competition 2010 in France. I have written about it here.

Ann and John Martini opened the winery in 1990. It is on the west shore of Seneca Lake in the town of Torrey, about 10 miles south of Geneva. The German connection? The winemaker, Johannes Reinhardt, is a German native, born in at little village of Franconia, 80 miles east of Frankfort. Johannes grew up in a family that has been in the wine business since 1438. He has been in the vineyards and wine cellars all his life. He joined Anthony Road in 2000.

Picture: Riesling Du Monde Competition

The award winning wine was released in the Martini-Rheinhardt Selection Series. These are special wines named after the Anthony Road’s vineyard manager, Peter Martini, and winemaker Johannes Reinhardt to honor the collaboration between the vineyard and the winery.

This is a lusciously sweet wine. How was it made? Mother Nature, under normal circumstances, produces dry wines in the vineyard - everywhere in the world. All the sugar in the grapes at harvest disappears during fermentation and no sweetness remains in the wine. There are, however, plenty of sweet wines made around the world. Different techniques exist to make a wine sweet. One of them is to let the noble rot – botrytis cinerea – suck the water out of the grape, so that the degree of sugar in the grapes is extra-ordinary high. Botrytis cinerea is a fungus that under the right conditions attacks already-ripe grapes, shrivelling them, concentrating the sweetness and acidity. The grapes end up looking disgusting but they make profound sweet white wines.

Picture: 2008, Riesling Trockenbeeren, Finger Lakes, Martini Rheinhardt Selection, Anthony Road

The 2008 Finger Lakes Riesling Trockenbeeren was produce with this method. 2008 was a good year for noble rot in the Finger Lakes region, with some rain, enough heat and fog or dew in the morning at harvest time.

Botrytis cinerea is the key to the success of many of the world’s most famous noble sweet wines. These include the Sauternes in France, the Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese in Germany and in Austria, the Austria Ausbruch and the Tokaji from Hungary. No doubt, the first noble rot wines were created by accident - both the Hungarians and the Germans have similar stories of how the harvest was delayed for some reason, but the over-ripe grapes were vinified anyway and then the resulting wine found to be delicious.

Participating Finger Lakes Wineries

Cayuga Lake

Knapp Winery & Vineyard Restaurant | 800.869.9271 | 2770 Ernsberger Rd, Romulus, NY 14156 | www.KnappWine.com

Lucas Vineyards | 607-532-4825 | 3862 County Road 150, Interlaken, New York 14847 | www.LucasVineyards.com

Montezuma Winery | 315-568-8190 | 2981 U.S Route 20, Seneca Falls NY 13148 | www.MontezumaWinery.com

Sheldrake Point Vineyard | 607-532-9401 | 7448 County Road 153, Ovid, NY 14521 | www.SheldrakePoint.com

Six Mile Creek Vineyard | 607-272-WINE/800-260-0612 | 1551 Slaterville Rd., Ithaca NY 14850 | www.SixMileCreek.com

Swedish Hill Winery | 315-549-8326 | 4565 Rt. 414 Romulus, NY 14541 | www.SwedishHill.com

Keuka Lake

Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars | 607-868-4884 | 9749 Middle Road, Hammondsport, NY 14840 | www.DrFrankWines.com

Heron Hill Winery | 800-441-4241 | Multiple locations: Heron Hill Winery 9301 County Route 76 Hammondsport NY 14840, Heron Hill Tasting Room on Seneca Lake 3586 Route 14 Himrod NY 14842, Heron Hill Tasting Room at Bristol 5323 Seneca Point Rd. Canandaigua NY 14424 | www.HeronHill.com

Hunt Country Vineyards | 800.946.3289 | 4021 Italy Hill Road, Branchport, NY 14418 | www.HuntWines.com

Seneca Lake

Atwater Estate Vineyards | 607-546-8463 | 5055 Route 414 Burdett, NY 14818 | www.AtwaterVineyards.com

Damiani Wine Cellars | 607-546-5557 | 4704 Rt 414 Burdett NY 14818 | www.DamianiWineCellars.com

Fox Run Vineyards | 315-536-4616 | 670 State Route 14, Penn Yan, NY 14527 | www.FoxRunVineyards.com

Fulkerson Winery | 607-243-7883 | 5576 Route 14, Dundee, NY 14837 | www.FulkersonWinery.com

Glenora Wine Cellars | 800.243.5513 | 5435 Route 14, Dundee, NY 14837 | www.Glenora.com

Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards | 607-546-9463 | 5712 State Route 414 Hector, NY 14841 | www.Hazlitt1852.com

Lakewood Vineyards | 607-535-9252 | 4024 St. Rte. 14, Watkins Glen, NY 14891 | www.LakewoodVineyards.com

Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars | 607-582-6011 | 9224 Route 414, Lodi, NY 14860 | www.LamoreauxWine.com

Penguin Bay Winery | 315-549-8326 | 6075 Rt. 414 Hector, NY 14841 | www.PenguinBayWinery.com

Red Newt Cellars | 607-546-4100 | 3675 Tichenor Road, Hector NY 14841 | www.REDNEWT.com

Three Brothers Wineries | 315-585-4432 | 623 Lerch Road, Geneva NY 14456 | www.3BrothersWinery.com.

Ventosa Vineyards | 315-719-0000 | 3440 Rte 96A, Geneva, NY 14456 | www.VentosaVineyards.com

Wagner Vineyards | 607-582-6450 | 9322 State Route 414, Lodi, NY 14860 | www.WagnerVineyards.com

Canandaigua Lake

Casa Larga Vineyards | 585-223-4210 | 2287 Turk Hill Road, Fairport, New York 14450 | www.CasaLarga.com


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The Wines of Franz Kuenstler from Hochheim, Rheingau, Germany

Picture: Franz Kuenstler at a Weinfreundeskreis Hochheim Event in 2009

This posting is part of the WeinRallye, a monthly blog event in Germany. Participating wine bloggers - mainly in Germany - are all releasing postings today under the heading "Aged Wine”. Weinrallye is the brainchild of Thomas Lippert, a winemaker and wine blogger based in Heidelberg, Germany. The first wine rally took place in 2007. Thomas Lippert is the author of the wine blog Winzerblog. This month's wine rally is organized by the Drunkenmonday Wein Blog, which brings together a group of 6 wine writers.

I chose to write about a winemaker, who has been very influential in terms of my appreciation of wine, and his wines, the late Franz Kuenstler, founder of the world renowned Weingut Kuenstler in Hochheim, in the Rheingau region of Germany. Franz Kuenstler left us about a year ago, on August 6, 2010.

The Franz Kuenstler Estate

The Franz Kuenstler Estate is one of Germany’s world class wine producers. It has 5 F’s (out of 5) in the Feinschmecker WeinGuide 2011 ranking. The Wine Estate is currently run by Gunter Kuenstler, who took over from his father Franz a number of years ago. Basically, until the late 1980s Franz was in charge and from the early 1990s on, the Kuenstler wines were made by Gunter.

I have Known Franz Kuenstler for Over 30 Years

I met Franz Kuenstler more than 30 years ago, when I used to live in Mainz, Germany. Hochheim is very close to Mainz and my wife and I developed a special relationship with the winemakers of Hochheim. That was boosted by the Weinfreundeskreis Hochheim – a wine brotherhood – whose founding members Franz, my wife and I are. Franz was awarded an Honorary Lifetime Membership of the Weinfreundeskreis Hochheim just a few months before he died. I remember at this event, there were no signs whatsoever that he might pass away a few months later.

During the many wine tastings and excursions we both attended, I always felt blessed and proud to have such a world class winemaker as Franz among us.

1976 Hochheimer Kirchenstueck, Riesling, Beerenauslese, Weingut Franz Kuenstler, Hochheim, Rheingau, Germany

When my wife and I married in 1976, we bought many cases of Rieslings of this year from Franz. At that time, his winery was still in a regular house in Hochheim, I think it was a row house. When we moved to the US in 1983, all the Kuenstler wine came over here by ship. Most of bottles are gone, but I still have a few 1976 Beerenauslese.

Here are my tasting notes: 1976 was an excellent vintage, dark golden in the glass with thick legs, attack of tropical fruits on the nose, good structure, notes of pear and pineapple on the palate, still good acidity to balance the sweetness, a senior citizen, but still in good health.

Pictures: 1976 Hochheimer Kirchenstueck, Riesling, Beerenauslese, Weingut Franz Kuenstler, Hochheim, Rheingau, Germany

Franz Kuenstler: From Moravia (Maehren) to the Rheingau

The Künstler’s wine tradition goes back to the end of the Thirty Years War when in 1648 they first planted grapes along the river Thaya in South Moravia, an area then in the domain of the Hapsburgs. Franz Künstler, born 1926 in Unter¬ Tannowitz, was forced to take charge of the estate at age 13 while his father was fighting in World War II. After the war, South Moravia reverted back to Czechoslovakia and the Künstlers became refugees in then West Germany.



Pictures: Franz Kuenstler at Events of the Weinfreundeskreis Hochheim in 2009 and 2010

Franz completed his formal education at the wine institute in Württemberg and upon graduation went to work in several wineries. In 1951, he was appointed cellar master and administrator at the Domdechant Werner Estate in Hochheim. He stayed at Werner for 11 years and then started to formulate plans to produce his own wine again. In 1965, he started his own winery in Hochheim. In the following years Franz slowly and diligently worked to build the reputation of his estate. I still have his outstanding 1976er in the wine cellar.

Franz and Gunter Kuenstler

After completing his studies, son Gunter joined his father in 1988 and assumed full control of the estate in 1992. After the aquisition of the Aschrott estate, the Künstler estate is currently comprised of about 26 hectares with 85% planted to Riesling and 15% to Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), all in Hochheim. A tiny bit of Chardonnay is planted to be used in the estate sparkling wine. Even though it belongs to the Rheingau, Hochheim is actually situated along the Main river. Its vineyards have amongst the best exposure and climate in all of the Rheingau. It is located in Hochheim, Rheingau, just 30 Minutes away by S-Bahn from Frankfurt am Main central railway station. Coming from Frankfurt, you arrive in vineyards and it is a beautiful walk up the vineyards to the village and the Kuenstler Estate at the village entrance.

Pictures: Joelle Schiller in front of the Franz Kuenstler Estate and Christian G.E. and Annette Schiller with Gunter Kuenstler

Weingut Künstler is a member of the Rheingau Charta group and since April of 1994 a member of the Rheingau V.D.P. Gunter Kuenstler is one of the two winemakers of Hochheim who have ventured out to the American market (the other one is Weingut Domchechant Werner), benefiting from the increasing popularity of Rieslings in the US and in general in the world.

Hochheim

Hochheim is at the eastern edge of the Rheingau, well know around the world for its Riesling wines. Moving from Hochheim to the west, the fairly flat, dimpled landscape evolves into progressively steep slopes. It is a quietly beautiful region, rich in tradition. Queen Victoria's enthusiasm for Hochheim's wines contributed to their popularity in England, where they, and ultimately, Rhine wines in general, were referred to as Hock.

Picture: The Rheingau with Hochheim

The third President of the USA - and notable bon viveur - Thomas Jefferson visited the Rheingau in 1788 and wrote that the wine of the "Abbaye of Johnsberg is the best made on the Rhine without comparison … That of the year 1775 is the best." He also referred to the Rheingau’s Riesling as the "small and delicate Rhysslin which grows only from Hochheim to Rudesheim". Impressed by the quality of the Rheingau Riesling wines, he bought 100 grapevines in Hochheim to take back to his estate in Virginia.


Franz Künstler Estate
Freiherr vom Stein Ring 3 - 65239 Hochheim / Germany
ph +49 (0) 6146-82570
e-mail: info@weingut-kuenstler.de
Internet: www.weingut-kuenstler.de

Rudi Wiest Selections by Cellars International
1780 La Costa Meadows Drive, Suite # 100
San Marcos, CA 92078
ph 760.566.0499 - fax 760.566.0533
e-mail: info@germanwine.net
web: www.germanwine.net

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1.International Riesling Symposium

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The Doctor Made a House Call - A Tasting with Ernst Loosen, Weingut Dr. Loosen, at MacArthur Beverages in Washington DC, USA

Picture: Ernst Loosen and Christian G.E.Schiller in Washington DC

I joined Phil Bernstein at MacArthur Beverages in Washington DC for a tasting of the new Weingut Dr. Loosen releases, which was announced under the heading “The Doctor is Making a House Call.” Although most often associated with his sweet-style, low alcohol wines he makes in the Mosel Valley, Ernst Loosen also produces wine in the Pfalz in Germany and in Washington State and Oregon in the US. We tasted, however, only his sweet-style, low alcohol Weingut Dr. Loosen wines.

Weingut Dr. Loosen in the Mosel Valley

Ernst is the owner of Weingut Dr. Loosen, located just outside Bernkastel in the Mosel wine region, which is with a 130,000 annual bottle production one of the larger producers in the Mosel region. It is particularly known for the quality of the Rieslings and won the "Riesling of the Year" of the German wine magazine Der Feinschmecker in 1989. In 2001, the Gault Millau Weinguide named Ernst Loosen as the German winemaker of the year. Interestingly, for many years, Weingut Dr. Ernst Loosen was one of the dozen or so German Estates that got 5 grapes (out of 5 grapes) by the Gault Millau Weinguide. Last year, however, it lost one Gault Millau grape, while it maintained its top position in the Feinschmecker WeinGuide (FFF), along with 15 other estates.

Picture: Christian G.E.Schiller and Ernst Loosen in New York City

Ernst is not only a star in Germany, but also in the US. Only two German wines made it last year to the Top 100 wines of the Wine Spectator. One of them was Dr. Loosen’s Dr. L, a wine that is a big success in the US. The Loosen Dr. L. Riesling (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, $13) is a delightful wine and a good value. However, it is completely unheard of in Germany and only produced for the export market.

The wines of Weingut Dr. Loosen are prime examples of Germany’s famous delicious low alcohol, sweet-style Rieslings from the Mosel. These are exceptional wines, skillfully made by first-class winemakers like Ernst Loosen, essentially made by not letting the fermentation going its full course so that natural sugar remains in the wine and/or adding a bit of sweet-reserve (sterilized grape juice) to increase the sweetness level in the wine. These are the wines that are so popular among the fans of German wine in the world. When you go to the trendy restaurant Spruce in San Francisco, which has won many awards for its exceptional German wine portfolio, these are the wines you find there. German wine loving Americans drink overwhelmingly sweet.

But today, German wine loving Germans drink dry. There is no doubt about it. The overwhelming majority of the wines produced in Germany are dry. And the German (dry) grand cru Rieslings can compete with the best wines in the world. The word is getting around - slowly but surely - and more and more dry German Rieslings appear on the international market. But these are not the wines of Dr. Ernst Loosen. However, one of the so called friends of Ernie, a small group of winemakers who market their wines in the US through Ernst Loosen, Wilhelm Weil in the Rheingau, makes these dry grand cru wines, in addition to his noble-sweet wines, in the Rheingau, and so does Ernst Loosen himself in the Pfalz at his Weingut J.L.Wolf.

Weingut J.L.Wolf in the Pfalz

In 1996, Ernst Loosen took over the J.L. Wolf estate so that he could make traditionally crafted Pfalz wines to complement the light and elegant Dr. Loosen Rieslings he produces in the Mosel. In the classic style of the Pfalz, these wines are more full-bodied than Mosel wines, with higher alcohol and rich flavors of ripe fruit and stone.



Pictures: Ernst Loosen in Washington DC

The Pfalz region lies between the Haardt Mountains and the Rhine River, directly north of France’s Alsace region. As in Alsace, the mountains protect the area from harsh Atlantic weather, making it one of the warmer and drier areas of Germany. In this climate, achieving full ripeness is possible in nearly every vintage. Mature, fully ripened fruit is the key to making concentrated dry-style wines that have enough body to balance the naturally high acidity.

Eroica in Washington State

Promoting the worldwide ascendancy of Riesling was a big reason why Ernst Loosen began a joint venture with Chateau Ste. Michelle in Washington State a bit more than 10 years ago. He was convinced that it would take a seriously good New World Riesling to help bring the variety back to the forefront. Eroica was launched in 1999. Named for Beethoven’s Third Symphony, Eroica is supposed to reflect not only its variety and site, but also its heritage: bold and forward from its Washington roots, elegant and refined from German inspiration.

Picture: Ernst Loosen and Bob Bertheau (Chateau Ste. Michelle)

Eroica is a collaboration between Chateau Ste. Michelle, the huge Washington State winemaker, and Dr. Ernst Loosen, the eminent Riesling producer from the Mosel region of Germany. The wine is made at Chateau Ste. Michelle from grapes grown in the Columbia Valley.

They make three kinds of the Eroica. The regular Eroica, an icewine and a single berry selection. The latter is made in the traditional German Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) style and is one of the few TBAs in North America. Literally, the word means a wine made from a selection (Auslese) of individually picked grapes (Beeren) which have been left on the vine until so ripe as to be practically dry (trocken) or raisened. They are raisened because of noble rot (Botrytis). This wine is made in very limited quantities, typically less than 75 cases a year. The single berry selection has scored a 98 in the Wine Spectator.

J. Christopher in Oregon

Ernst Loosen’s most recent project is a joint venture with Jay Somers in Oregon. Located in Oregon’s Northern Willamette Valley, J. Christopher Wines is a small winery that specializes in Pinot Noir made in the traditional style of Burgundy. The winery also produces Sauvignon Blanc modeled after the great wines of Sancerre. Owner Jay Somers has been making wine in Oregon for more than 15 years, including with Bill Holloran. Jay’s wines are hand-crafted in small lots and are sourced from some of the best vineyards in Oregon. The philosophy at J. Christopher is to produce wines in an Old World style that emphasizes focus, length and balance.

Picture: Ernst Loosen and Jay Somers

Jay Somers and Ernst Loosen met years ago, and quickly realized that they shared a similar taste and passion for Pinot Noir. Their friendship led to a partnership, and in 2010, they began building a winery and vineyard in Newberg, Oregon. The new venture, Loosen Christopher Wines LLC, produces wines under the already-established “J. Christopher” brand. As winemaker for the joint venture, Jay is in charge of all winery operations. Ernst sees his role as that of an investor who both supports the growth of the brand and broadens the winery’s exposure to Old World ideas and techniques.

The new venture, Loosen Christopher Wines LLC, will produce wines under the already-established J. Christopher brand. The venture has purchased a 40-acre property for a new vineyard and J. Christopher Winery on Hillside Drive in Newberg, Oregon. Planting of the first block of Pinot Noir will begin this spring. Barrel cellar construction is planned to occur before the 2010 harvest.

As part of the J. Christopher Wines, the two winemakers have started to produce a boutique bottling of Oregon Pinot Noir called Appassionata after their passion for Pinot Noir. So far, they have produced four vintages of their boutique wine but released none giving Appassionata extra time to barrel- and bottle-age. Appassionata is a collector’s item which retails in the $70 –$80 range.

What Ernst Poured

These were all 2009. The current exchange rate is Euro 1 = US$ 1.42.

Picture: Dr. Loosen Wines

Dr. L QbA 750ml 13.99 10.99
Erdener Treppchen Spatlese 750ml 32.99 26.99
Urziger Wurzgarten Spatlese 750ml 33.99 26.99
Erdener Treppchen Auslese 375ml 33.99 27.99
Erdener Treppchen Auslese 750ml 66.99 54.99
Urziger Wurzgarten Auslese 375ml 33.99 26.99
Urziger Wurzgarten Auslese 750ml 69.99 54.99

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Ernst Loosen Wines Up and Down

As Close as You Can Get to Champagne – Claude Thibaut and his Virginia Thibaut Janisson Sparklers at screwtop Wine Bar, USA

Pictures: Christian G.E.Schiller with Claude Thibaut and the Thibaut-Janisson Sparklers from Virginia

What a delight to meet Claude Thibaut at screwtop wine bar in Arlington. Claude Thibaut is winemaker/co-owner at Thibaut-Janisson, a small producer of ultra-premium sparkling wine in Charlottesville, Virginia. Their flagship sparkler NV Thibaut-Janisson Chardonnay, Brut is arguably the best sparkler produced in the US East Coast and is as close as you get to (French) Champagne outside of France (in terms of quality). No wonder, that the NV Thibaut-Janisson Chardonnay, Brut was served at President Obama’s first State Dinner in November 2009 and, has become a darling of the Washington DC restaurant scene. I have also written about Thibaut-Janisson here and here.

Some Sparkling Wine Basics

Sparkling wine is wine that contains carbon dioxide, which makes it fizzy, when you open the bottle. The French monk Dom Perignon is credited with having invented sparkling wine.

The production of a sparkling wine is essentially a two-step operation. The first step is the production of a still wine - not different from any other still wine. Then, in the second step, you have to get the carbon dioxide in the bottle. There are 3 methods: The carbon dioxide may result from (1) a second fermentation in a bottle (méthode champenoise), the most sophisticated and costly method use for ultra-premium sparklers, (2) a second fermentation in a large tank that can withstand the pressures involved (Charmat process), the typical method used for good quality sparklers, and (3) an injection of carbon dioxide, the method used for cheap mass sparklers.

The most sophisticated and expensive is the méthode champenoise: The introduction of yeast and sugar triggers a second fermentation in the bottle that the wine will eventually be sold in. If you leave it at that, you will have a sparkler made in the methode ancestral. The appearance of the sparkling wine will be marred by lees, the sediment of dead yeast cells that are still in the bottle. Until Anton Mueller, the German cellar master of Veuve Clicquot, invented with Veuve Clicquot the system of remuage (riddling), it was necessary to either decant the sparkling wine before serving it or to leave it in the glass for some time so the sediment could settle before drinking the Champagne.

Mueller’s remuage technique revolutionized sparkling wine drinking and remains a key elemement in the méthode champenoise production of sparkling wine until today. The system centers around wooden racks into which the bottles are placed neck first at an angle of 45 degrees. Each day the bottles are turned and tilted so that the bottle points further downwards with each day, the process gradually bringing all the sediment into the neck right behind the cork. The sediment is then frozen to form a "plug" which is then being removed (dégorgement).

Pictures: Claude Thibaut and Wendy Buckley at screwtop Wine Bar

After adjusting the level of fill and setting the sweetness, the bottle is corked, caged and labeled; the sparkler is clear --- without any sediment.

Importantly, the amount of sugar added after degorgement determines the sweetness level of the sparkler. Most Champagnes are brut, i.e. with no or very little sweetness.

The Charmat method is much simpler and more cost effective as the second fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks that are pressurized. The process of carbon injection is the most basic one as it does not involve a secondary fermentation but rather injecting carbon dioxide gas directly into the wine. This method is generally only used in the cheapest sparkling wines.

The classic sparkler of course is Champagne, produced according to certain rules in the Champagne region of France. Other sparkling wines in France are referred to as Crémant. The grapes used are generally Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and the production method is the secondary fermentation in the bottle.

Sparkling wines are made throughout Italy. Though Franciacorta wines are made according to the traditional method, most Italian sparkling wines, in particular Asti and Prosecco, are made with the Charmat method.

The majority of Sekt – the German term for sparkling wine – is made by the Charmat method while the premium Sekts are being made according to the méthode traditionnelle. German production of sparkling wines dates back to the early 1800s, when G. C. Kessler & Co. was founded by Georg Christian Kessler, who had previously worked at the Champagne House Veuve Clicquot. Also, many (French) Champagne Houses have German origins, such as Bollinger, Mumm, Taitinger.

Austria's history of producing sparkling wine dates back to the Austro-Hungarian empire. The first Austrian producer of sparkling wine was the German Robert Alwin Schlumberger, who had worked in the Champagne House Ruinart and fallen in love with an Austrian, before he moved to Vienna in 1842 and started to produce premium sparkling wines.

Production of premium sparklers in England – were vine growing conditions are not that different from the Champagne region - started in the 1960s. Today, there are over 100 producers of sparkling wines.

The United States is an important producer of sparkling wine and has agreed to no longer call its sparklers Champagne, although there is a grandfathering clause. In the US, the history of producing quality sparkling wine goes back to the Korbel brothers, who immigrated from Bohemia on the 1850s. The last decades of the 1900s have seen a wave of foreign investments from some of France’s most prominent Champagne Houses, including Moët et Chandon, Louis Roederer and Taittinger.

Thibaut-Janisson

Thibaut-Janisson is a new French-French joint venture of the production of ultra-premium sparkling wine in Virginia, owned by Claude Thibaut and Manuel Janisson. Claude is also the winemaker, while Manuel is producer of Grower-Champagne in France. Output currently is around 2500 cases. The NV Thibaut-Janisson Chardonnay, Brut was served at President Obama’s first State Dinner (in 2009), which gave the Thibaut-Janisson sparkler a nation-wide audience.

Claude Thibaut

Born and raised in the Champagne, this worldly winemaker, after having studied oenology in Reims, left his family’s vineyard in France to spend years creating well-known sparklers in Australia (3 years) and California (7 years). Claude Thibaut has worked at the Kendall-Jackson, Jordan and Iron Horse wineries in California as well as Champagne Veuve Devaux, Bar sur Seine, France and Yarra Bank, Victoria, Australia. Claude is the original winemaker for the popular J sparkling wine from California

In 2003, Claude moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, joining the Kluge Estate (which was recently bought by Donald Trump) as a consultant to spearhead the creation of a sparkling wine. Two years later, in 2005, he started his own label – Thibaut- Janisson - in partnership with Frenchman and friend Manuel Janisson, producer of the Champagne Janisson & Fils. Right from the beginning the objective was to produce ulta-premium sparkling wines from Virginia grapes.

The first sparkler was released in November 2007. Since then, the Thibaut-Janisson sparklers have gained the reputation for being American sparklers that are as close as you can get to their cousins from Champagne.

What Claude Thibaut Poured

Claude poured 4 sparklers, 2 Thibaut-Janisson from Virginia and 2 Janisson & Fils from Champagne

NV, Thibaut-Janisson, Chardonnay, Brut, Monticello

This is their flagship sparkler, 100% Chardonnay, aged for 3 years. This wine is a perfect combination of French talent and Virginia terroir. The nose is apples, pears, and mushrooms; the palate is citrus, green apples, pears and nectarines, with a belt of tangy acidity and a convincing finish.

Picture: Thibaut-Janisson Virginia Sparklers

“Why is it 100% Chardonnay and not a blend of Chardoannay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier” I asked Claude. “Because of the Virginia terroir and climate, there is Pinot Noir produced here” said Claude.

NV, Thibaut-Janisson, Virginia Fizz, Chardonnay, Brut, Virginia

The Virginia Fizz is a 100% Chardonnay sparkler that aged for only about 1.5 years. It is fruitier, creamier, less yeasty than the NV, Thibaut-Janisson, Chardonnay, Brut, Monticello. It is also slightly sweeter.

“I choose grapes that are little riper and have a little bit less acid than the grapes I choose for Thibaut-Janisson,” Claude said. Also, the pressure of the Fizz is a bit lower. “I put less sugar in the bottles for the second fermentation, so less pressure develops” Claude said.

Fully sparkling wines are generally sold with 5 to 6 atmospheres of pressure in the bottle. Semi-sparkling wines are defined as those with between 1 and 2.5 atmospheres of pressures and include Italian frizzante and French pétillant wines. The amount of pressure in the wine is determined by the amount of sugar added for the secondary fermentation with more sugar producing increased amount of carbon dioxide gas and thus pressure in the wine.

NV Janisson Brut Tradition, Verzenay, Champagne
NV Janisson Brut Rose, Verzenay, Champagne

The Janisson Family winery started in 1920’s with Manuel Janisson’s grandfather vision to produce his own wines from the vines that he grew in Verzenay, France. Starting with small acreage and buying fruit from his neighbors’ he vision and labor produced a signature style, which stands today as Champagne Janisson & Fils Tradition.

Picture: Champagnes Janisson & Fils

Manuel grew up within the winery and was tutored in all facets of the operation, from vineyard management, winemaking, negotiating for grapes, to selling and delivering of the Champagnes the winery produced. In 2005, he ventured out to produce ultra-premium sparklers in Virginia, while he continues to produce Champagne in France.

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Meeting Rupert Symington from the Symington Family - One of the Oldest Families of Port Producers

Picture: Christian G.E.Schiller with Rupert Symington

I am not a regular Port drinker, but when I heard that Rupert Symington was in town, I got very excited and had to meet him. Symington Family Estates is the leading producer of premium quality Ports, with the combined sales of the family’s Port companies making up over a third of all premium Port sold throughout the world. In addition, the group also produces Madeira and non-fortified Duoro wines.

Wine Producer Portugal

Portugal is a wine producer with a long history that is mainly known for its Port wines and the Mateus label. With 250.000 hectares of vineyard area, it is the 7th largest wine producer in the world, compared with the US with 400.000 hectares. Portugal possesses a large array of native varietals, many of them completely unknown in the rest of the world.

Picture: Wine map of Portugal, provided by www.cellartours.com

Vinho Verde, in the northwestern corner of the country, is the only region of Portugal where white wine dominates. Douro is the region where port wine is produced, but increasingly also red table wine. Continuing south of the Duoro into north-central Portugal is the Dao region, known for big, full bodied reds.
In the terms of classification, wines from the top regions are labeled D.O.C. (Denominação de Origem Controlada). Below that are the categories of Indicação de Proveniência Regulamentada (IPR, Indication of Regulated Provenance), regional wine - Vinho Regional Carries and table wines - Vinho de Mesa.

Port, Sherry and Madeira

Port, Sherry and Madeira are fortified wines produced in Portugal and Spain. Sherry, produced in southern Spain, can either be sweet or dry, unlike Port. Port wine is made sweet by adding alcohol to the fermenting must so the fermentation stops and the sugar of the grapes remains in the wine. What you get is a wine with lots of alcohol and remaining sweetness in the wine. Sherry, on the other hand, is made by letting the fermentation go its full way so that a dry wine emerges. Then, alcohol is added to boost the alcohol level. If the winemaker stops there, you get a dry Sherry. If he also adds sterilized juice, you get a sweet Sherry. Thus, Sherry can be sweet or dry, while Port is always sweet. Madeira is a fortified Portuguese wine made in the Madeira Islands. Madeira is noted for its unique winemaking process which involves heating the wine up to temperatures as high as 60 °C (140 °F) for an extended period of time. Furthermore, Madeira is deliberately exposed to air, causing it to oxidize.

Port

Port is produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is a sweet, red wine with an alcohol level of typically 20%. More than eighty different varieties of red and white grapes are permitted although in practice only seven are used on a regular basis. Port’s wine style was 'invented' by the British wine merchants for the British market in the 1600-1700s. They added brandy to the still wine to help preserve it on its trip by sea from Portugal to the British market. Typically, grapes are picked with about 13.5% - 14% potential alcohol and then fermented to about 7%, when brandy is added. This brings the fermentation to a halt, while retaining between 80 to 110 g/l of natural sugar in the wine.

Port is divided into two main styles: wood matured and bottle matured Ports.

(1)Bottle matured Ports spend a relatively short time in the barrel and mature in the bottle for many years. These are the wines that have made Port one of the greatest wines of the world. Wines that have matured in sealed glass bottles, with no exposure to air, have experienced what is known as "reductive" aging. This process leads to the wine losing its color very slowly and produces a wine which is smoother on the palate and less tannic.

Vintage port is bottle matured and made entirely from the grapes of a declared vintage year. While it is by far the most renowned type of port, vintage port actually makes up only a small percentage of production. Vintage ports are aged in barrels for a maximum of two and a half years before bottling, and generally require another 10 to 30 years of aging. Because they are aged in barrels for only a short time, they retain their dark ruby color and fresh fruit flavors.

(2) Barrel matured Ports Wines experience what is known as "oxidative" aging, as the barrels allow some exposure to oxygen. Wood matured Ports are bottled when ready for drinking and are not intended for further ageing. Aged Tawnies (10, 20, 30 and 40 years old) are a blend of Ports aged in cask, using the Solera process, exposing them to gradual oxidation and evaporation. During this time they lose their deep, youthful ruby color and become pale and eventually “tawny".



Pictures: Rupert Symington in Washington DC

The continued English involvement in the port trade can be seen in the names of many “port shippers” as port producers are often called: Cockburn, Croft, Dow, Gould, Graham, Osborne, Offley, Sandeman, Taylor and Warre being amongst the best known. Shippers of Dutch and German origin are also prominent, such as Niepoort and Burmester.

Douro DOC

While the Douro region is associated primarily with Port wine production, it produces just as much table wine as it does fortified wine. While table wine has always been produced in the region, for a long time little of it was seen outside the region itself. A few Douro wines made their appearance on the international market from the 1970s, but it was not until the 1990s when a large number of wines made their appearance.

Symington Family Estates

Symington Family Estates is the leading producer of premium Ports, with the combined sales of the family’s Port companies making up over a third of all premium Port sold throughout the world. They also produce Madeira and non-fortified wines. The group is easily Douro’s largest landowners with no less than 25 quintas (estates) totaling 1,769 hectares, of which 940 are under vine.

The company was founded by Andrew James Symington who arrived in Oporto from Scotland in 1882, and initially joined Graham's. By 1905, Andrew James Symington was a partner of Warre & Co and in 1912 he became a partner in Dow's Port. In 1970, the Symington family bought both Graham's and Smith Woodhouse. In 1989, the Symington family became a partner of the Madeira Wine Company. From 1999, dry Douro wines were added to the Symington range. Today no less than seven Symingtons (six from the 13th generation in the Port trade) work in the business.

The wineries and brands owned by Symington Family Estates are the following.

Port

* Graham's (established in 1820)
* Warre's
* Dow's
* Smith Woodhouse
* Quinta do Vesuvio
* Gould Campbell
* Quarles Harris
* Martinez

Douro Wine

* Chryseia
* Altano
* Quinta de Roriz

Madeira wine - through the Madeira Wine Company.

* Blandy's
* Cossart Gordon
* Leacock's
* Miles

Rupert Symington

Rupert Symington, who I had the pleasure to meet, is joint CEO of the family businesses along with his cousins Paul and Johnny, and is specifically responsible for sales for the U.S. and Canada, as well as other smaller markets. Rupert was born and grew up in Portugal before going to university in Oxford, UK. Following a five year stint in the financial sector in London and upon completing the M.B.A. program at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France, he joined the family business in 1992. As per tradition in the Symington family, he worked alongside his father, James, for five years prior to James’ retirement.

We had an animated conversation about his wines but also about the question whether Portugal would need an EU/IMF bail-out. He is great fun to talk to.

What Rupert Symington Poured

Picture: The Wines Rupert Poured

DOW’s VALE DO BOMFIM 2008 $ 9.99
Graham’s Six Grapes $ 19.99
DOW’s LBN 2004 $ 16.99
Graham’s Ten Year Old $ 29.99

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The Best Wines for US West Coast and Other Oysters

Picture: Oyster Lover Christian G.E.Schiller Eating Atlantic Oysters

The 2011 Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition

The 2011 Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition has just taken place in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle and the winners have been announced. The wines were blind-tasted with Kumamoto oysters. The 2011 Oyster Award recipients – all wines from either California, Oregon or Washington State - are:

Washington State

2010 Cadaretta 2010 SBS
2009 Chateau Ste. Michelle 2009 Columbia Valley Sauvignon Blanc
2009 Hogue Cellars Pinot Grigio

Oregon

2009 King Estate Signature Collection Pinot Gris
2010 Van Duzer Vineyards Estate Pinot Gris

California

2009 Brassfield Estate Winery 2009 Sauvignon Blanc
2010 Kunde Family Estate 2010 Sauvignon Blanc
2010 Pine Ridge Vineyards Chenin Blanc-Viognier
2009 Robledo Family Winery Sauvignon Blanc
2010 Three Pears Pinot Grigio

4 Types of Oysters

The judges consumed about 1200 Kumamoto oysters. The Kumamoto belongs to the family of Pacific oysters. In fact, it is one of the most famous Pacific oysters. But oysters are found all over the world. I recently had delicious oysters in South Africa and Madagascar, which are typically not on the radar of the mainstream oyster eater. I distinguish 4 types of oysters:

The Pacific

Originally from Japan, the Pacific or Japanese oyster is the most widely cultured oyster in the world. It accounts for 75% of world production. In France, it has crowded out the Belon and now accounts for 99% of oyster production there. Gone are the days of the Belon in Paris. The Pacific oysters are marketed under a variety of names, often denoting their growing area. The Kumamoto is one of the most famous Pacific oysters. I tend to think of a Pacific oyster as a creamy oyster, with a mineral note.

The Olympia

The Olympia is a very small oyster seldom exceeding 2 inches. For comparison, in Massachusetts, oysters must be a minimum of 3 inches to be sold. Olympia is a native American oyster, which once flourished on the West Coast, before the Pacific took over. Olympias are hard to find today as they grow very slowly and are difficult to transport. They hold very little liquid and dry out quickly. The Olympia has a very full flavor with a distinct aftertaste.

Picture: Oyster Lover Christian G.E.Schiller Eating Atlantic Oysters

The Atlantic

Another American native, there are many varieties of Atlantic oysters, such as the Malpeque from Prince Edward Island in Canada and the Blue Point from Long Island in New York State. Bluepoints were originally named for Blue Point, Long Island but now the term is generally applied to any Atlantic oyster two four inches long. These two are now the most common restaurant oysters in the US. Also called Eastern oyster, the Atlantic has a thick, elongated shell that ranges from 2 to 5 inches across. It's found along the Atlantic seaboard and the Gulf of Mexico in the US.

The Belon

The Belon, or European Flat, is Europe’s native oyster. The Belons are round and shallow. That’s why they are called Flats. They are also not very liquid and dry out fast. They have a long history. They used to grow in Brittany, Normandy, England, Spain, Holland, Greece and the Black See. But a disease is wiping them out worldwide. The Flats from the Belon river in Brittany were at some point the connoisseur’s top choice and the name was soon adopted by all oyster growers, a bit like the Blue Points from Long Island. The Belon oyster grows in limited quantity in Maine on the rocks of the Damariscotta river bed.

Wine that Goes with Oysters

What wine do I drink with oysters, this vibrant combination of minerals, sweetness and the sea?

I have eaten Oysters in many places. I will focus on Europe, the American East and West Coast, Japan, and Africa.



In general, first, I always try to go local. Second, the best oyster wines are dry, crisp, clean-finishing white wines, both sparkling and still. I avoid red wines and the sweeter style German Rieslings, although in South Africa I had a Cabernet Sauvignon with my oysters on the half shell, as suggested.

Europe

In Europe, where now most likely you will eat a Pacific, a Champagne or another sparkler would be the perfect marriage and my first choice.

In London, one could try an English sparkler. The English sparkler Nyetimber's Classic Cuvee 2003 was crowned champion of worldwide sparkling wines in the 2nd annual "Bollicine Del Mondo" competition in Verona, Italy, about a year ago, impressing judges more than sparklers from French legends such as Bollinger, Pommery and Louis Roederer. See here.

Then of course, in Europe, a Sancerre, a Muscadet or a Cablis are perfect matches. These wines come from the northern region of France where Mother Nature does not produce these ripe gapes and instead lean, grassy wines with a ringing tartness.

I like in particular the Muscadet with oysters. It is made from the Melon grape grown in the granite soils of Muscadet, where the Loire runs into the North Atlantic. Made "sur lie," kept on the "lees" or sedimented yeast left over after fermentation until bottling, Muscadet gains earthy, yeasty and stony flavors from this process and from the soil, mingled with tart lemon-zest and green-apple flavors from the cool-weather grape. It's a natural with fresh oysters, and a good pick with all kinds of seafood and fish.

In Germany, I would go for a dry Silvaner, a grape that reminds me a lot of Sauvignon Blanc and that in its heydays was used for cheap blends, but is experiencing a strong comeback as autochtonous grape in Franken and Rheinhessen. See for example the Sylvaner of Michael Teschke from Rheinhessen.

US

On the West Coast, I would pick one of the winners of the 2011 Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition (see above). On the East Coast, there are now interesting Sauvingon Blanc wines produced in Long Island and the Finger Lakes region, but which are not so easy to find outside of the region. So probably I would go for a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

Japan

In Japan, I would definitely experiment with the Koshu grape, which is now entering the world market; if not available I would go for a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.

Africa

I recently had oysters in Stellenbosch in South Africa and Antananarivo in Madagascar. In South Africa, at The Big Easy in Stellenbosch, the bartender suggested oysters (Pacific) with a Cabernet Sauvignon sauce - an unusual, but very delicious combination. With that I had a Rust en Vrede 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon.

Picture: Pacific Oysters in Stellenbosch with Cabernet Sauvignon sauce

The Pacific oyster forms the mainstay of the South African oyster farming industry, with currently 4 million oysters produced annually. In addition, the Namibian oyster production amounts to 6 million oysters per year, with about 70 per cent exported to South Africa.

In Madagascar, I am usually a bit hesitant to eat oysters. But one place, where I have no hesitations is La Rotonde (Hotel Gregoire) in Antananarivo, undoubtedly the best place to eat fish in Tana. An institution, which unfortunately has a bit of a problem to survive in light of the many new-wave restaurants. La Rotonde serves oysters on the half-shell from Mahajanga and Fort Dauphin. La Rotonde has the Grand Cru d’Antsirabe and the Clos Malaza on the wine list (either blanc or gris), both good value Malagasy table wines that go very well with oysters from Madagascar. For more on Malagays wines go here.


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