schiller-wine

Monday, September 27, 2021

Dinner at the 1 Star Michelin Restaurant Maximilians in Obersdorf, Allgäu, Germany

Picture: Dinner at the 1 Star Michelin Restaurant Maximilians in Obersdorf, Allgäu, Germany

In 2020, following the end of the second corona wave in Germany, when hotels and restaurants began to open again, Annette and I went towards the end of May 2020 for a week to the Allgäu in Bavaria. We stayed at the Hotel Prinz-Luitpold-Bad in Bad Hindelang. Annette had booked half-board, but we went out once for dinner at Das Maximilians, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Obersdorf.

Das Maximilians

Michelin: The flagship of the Fetz family’s restaurants, Das Maximilians serves classically creative dishes prepared with top-quality ingredients, as well as a tasting menu. A plush, elegant interior and professional service, including good wine advice, complete the picture of sophistication.

The 4 star Romantik Hotel Das Freiberg of the Bolkart-Fetz family in Oberstdorf has been with its several restaurants a culinary institution for many years.

When we ate there, in May 2020, Tobias Eisele was the Executive Chef of the Maximilians. He left later in the year. Tobias Eisele joined the Maximilians in 2010, was awarded a Michelin star in the following year and defended it until his departure in late 2020.

Henrik Weiser took over from Tobias Eisele and has kept the Michelin star.

Kleine Vorfreude

Menu

Wine

Weingut Wachtstetter, Baden Württemberg

Vorspeisen

Wetzels Huchen and Räucheraal

Zwischengericht

Vegetarisches Intermezzo

Hauptgerichte

Taube and Wolfsbarsch

Finale

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Friday, September 24, 2021

Fabulous Wine Dinner at Home in Frankfurt at the Occasion of our 44th Wedding Anniversary, September 10, 2020, Germany

Pictures: 44th Wedding Anniversary Wine Dinner with Family

I reported about a wonderful dinner at L'Ecume acouple of days ago at the occasion of our 45th wedding anniversary here:

Dinner at L’ Ecume in Frankfurt, with Chef/ Owner Alexandre Sadowczyk - 45th Wedding Anniversary, Germany

and about the 40th wedding anniversary here:

Lunch at the Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte Restaurant La Grand’ Vigne (Chef: Nicolas Masse, 2 Stars Michelin) - Bordeaux Tour by ombiasy WineTours 2016, France

In 2020, during the corona crisis, we celebrated our 44th Wedding Anniversary at our home in Frankfurt, with 2 of our 4 children and 4 of our 8 grandchildren. The food was exceptionally good, prepared by our children Benjamin and Cornelia.The 5 courses all had a link to certain periods of our joint live.

NV Weingut Kaufmann Pinot Noir brut Rheingau

Spundekaes a la Benjamin (Mainz, Germany)

Oysters Rockefeller a la Benjamin (Virginia, USA)

2006 Grgich Hills Estate Napa Valley Zinfandel

Cevapi/ Cevapcici and Shopska Salad a la Benjamin with 2006 Grgich Zinfandel (Zagreb, Croatia)

1976 Weingut Troitzsch Lorcher Kapellenberg Gewuertztraminer Spaetlese trocken

Poulet aux Coco a la Cornelia (Antananarivo, Madagascar)

1976 Weingut Kuenstler Hochheimer Hoelle Riesling Auslese

Tarte aux Pommes a la Benjamin (Paris, France)

1976 Chateau Langlais Puisseguin Saint Emilion

Calvados 1984

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Lunch at the Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte Restaurant La Grand’ Vigne (Chef: Nicolas Masse, 2 Stars Michelin) - Bordeaux Tour by ombiasy WineTours 2016, France

Dinner at L’ Ecume in Frankfurt, with Chef/ Owner Alexandre Sadowczyk - 45th Wedding Anniversary, Germany

Annual Riesling Party at the Schiller Residence in Washington DC, USA (2019)

Wednesday, September 22, 2021

German Wine Society (Washington DC Chapter): Return to in-person Events with a Wine Cruise on the Potomac, USA/ Germany

Pictures: German Wine Society (Washington DC Chapter): Return to in-person Events with a Wine Cruise on the Potomac

On July 10, 2021, from 4-6 pm, the German Wine Society’s Capital Chapter held its first in-person event since the membership meeting in February 2020 before the start of the covid-19 pandemic, a summer wine cruise on the Potomac aboard the Nightingale operated by Potomac River Cruises. The event was sold out with 50 German wine lovers joining us.

Announcement

Get ready to cast off on the Potomac for a German wine cruise! Yes, the Capital Chapter of the German Wine Society is resuming in-person events this summer. Our kick-off will be an experience we have missed for several years (though it was a regular event from 2010-2013 and earlier), the traditional GWS summer wine cruise past the beautiful river banks and monuments of our nation’s Capital, passing Hains Point and the newly redeveloped Southwest Waterfront.

Please join us to enjoy many wines from Germany and other countries as we cruise along the Potomac for two hours, from 4 pm to 6 pm on Saturday, July 10, 2021. We will board Capitol River Cruises’ Nightingale II from the Georgetown waterfront, at 3050 K Street N.W., Washington, D.C. - the end of 31st Street, by the Fiola Mare restaurant. Be sure to be on the wharf before departure time - the cruise boat cannot wait for late arrivals! We can accommodate only 45 guests on the Nightingale II for this event, so reserve early to avoid disappointment. Reservations for this event are due by Tuesday, July 6, 2021, to give us sufficient time to have enough wine for all aboard. Parking is readily available in garages along the Georgetown riverfront, and it is possible to walk from Metro at the Foggy Bottom station as well.

Pictures: German Wine Society (Washington DC Chapter): Return to in-person Events with a Wine Cruise on the Potomac

We will be providing all the wines for this event, as well as disposable plastic glasses and cutlery, paper plates and napkins. Guests should plan to bring their own food on board for greater safety, though we may provide some surprise treats. This will be a relaxing cruise, with no presentation, allowing everyone to concentrate on the wines, good company and atmosphere. There are many outdoor and indoor dining establishments along the Georgetown waterfront for dinner after the cruise, which we encourage you to try. The Nightingale II is a boat we have used for some previous cruises, and is all on one level, with tables and chairs, and a bar from which we can serve wines. It also has protection against inclement weather, though we have been fortunate with our past wine cruises and reasonably hope for a sunny afternoon once again. The cruise will take place rain or shine, unless weather conditions do not allow the cruise to set out safely, in which case we will reschedule or provide refunds. The wines for our cruise will be a mixture of whites and reds, mostly German but with some other international and U.S. wines included as well for variety - all with some German or Austrian grape connection. Get ready to savor some very special, high-prädikat wines! We want to remind everyone of the lovely qualities of German wines we have missed sharing with each other in-person.

Here’s the wine list we have planned:

nv Peter Lauer Riesling Sparkling Mosel

nv Dr. Loosen Riesling Sparkling Mosel

2018 Villa Wolf Pinot Gris or Gewürztraminer Pfalz

2017 Dr. Loosen Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Mosel

2014 Otium Blaufränkisch, United States

2015 Otium Gruner Veltliner, United States

2012 Shelter Winery Spatburgunder, Baden

2016 Clemens Busch von Roten Schiefer Riesling Mosel

2017 Bernkasteler Doctor Riesling Kabinett Mosel

2015 St. Christopher Piesporter Goldtropfchen Riesling Spatlese Mosel

2015 Max Ferd. Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese

2013 Siefried Nelson Sweet Riesling, New Zealand

Pictures: German Wine Society (Washington DC Chapter): Return to in-person Events with a Wine Cruise on the Potomac

Our event cost is $63 for members and $70 for non-member guests.

We are very pleased that it has become safe enough to contemplate doing in-person events once again, consistent with CDC guidelines and local D.C. health rules. For added security of our members, however, we request that you attend this event only if you have been fully vaccinated against covid-19. Hopefully, by the fall, vaccinations will be widespread enough that we will no longer need to insist on this for all in-person events, but our country and region are not quite there yet, and we want everyone to be able to feel secure in attending this special wine cruise. We have also been informed that the cruise company will ask our guests to wear masks when boarding and interacting with boat crew (the crew has also been vaccinated) but masks will not be required otherwise once everyone is aboard - a significant advantage of doing an outdoor event.

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Annual Riesling Party at the Schiller Residence in Washington DC, USA (2019)

German Wine Society (Washington DC Chapter) New Vintages Tasting Postponed, USA/ Germany

German Wine Society (Washington DC Chapter) Holiday Dinner at the Cosmos Club, USA/ Germany

Announcement: Upcoming ombiasy Wine Tours 2020 - (1) Alsace and Germany South, (2) Rhône Valley, (3) Bordeaux

Renaissance of the Terroir in Germany. Back to the Roots - Wine Tasting Seminar lead by Annette Schiller at the German Wine Society (Washington DC Chapter), USA

Monday, September 20, 2021

Tour, Tasting and Lunch at Château Desmirail, Appellation Margaux, 3ième Grand Cru Classé, with Owner Denis Lurton - Bordeaux Tour 2019 by ombiasy WineTours, France

Picture: Tour and Lunch at Château Desmirail, Appellation Margaux, 3ième Grand Cru Classé, with Owner Denis Lurton

Château Desmirail is another château owned by a member of the Lurton family (the fourth on this tour). Lucien Lurton acquired this property in 1980 and passed it on to his son Denis - a lawyer by profession - in 1992. Before that the château changed hands several times: the château belonged to the Desmirail family until just before the 1855 classification, when it was purchased by Monsieur Sipière, the estate manager at Château Margaux. It was under his ownership that Desmirail was classified as a Troisième Grand Cru Classé. In the early 20s century the property was owned by Robert de Mendelssohn, the nephew of the famous German composer. Shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War it came into the ownership of Château Palmer until 1980. Today, Château Desmirail belongs to the group of the „under the radar“ châteaux.

Denis Lurton was our host. We had a light lunch at Château Desmirail. Before lunch, Denis showed us around and conducted a tasting with us.

Pictures: Tour and Lunch at Château Desmirail, Appellation Margaux, 3ième Grand Cru Classé, with Owner Denis Lurton

History

Denis Lurton: The name DESMIRAIL has been associated with wine production in the Médoc region since the end of the seventeenth century. Jean Desmirail, a lawyer in Bordeaux's parliament, gave his name to the property when he received it as part of his wife’s, Demoiselle Rausan du Ribail dowry.

The château belonged to the Desmirail family until just before the 1855 classification, when it was purchased by Monsieur Sipière, the estate manager at Château Margaux. It was under his ownership that Desmirail was classified as a Troisième Grand Cru Classé (third growth).

Pictures: Tour and Lunch at Château Desmirail, Appellation Margaux, 3ième Grand Cru Classé, with Owner Denis Lurton

At the beginning of the twentieth century the property was briefly owned by Robert de Mendelssohn, the nephew of the famous composer, before being acquired by Martial Michel, a glove maker from the north of France. Michel went on to sell the château shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War to Château Palmer.

The Château Palmer company owned the property for several years before selling it to Lucien Lurton, an iconic figure in the Bordeaux wine world, in 1980.

In 1992, Lucien Lurton passed on his properties to each of his ten children. Denis, one of the older children and a lawyer by profession, took over the management of Château Desmirail. Today Denis is taking his father's work even further, modernizing the wine making facilities and putting all of his energy into the development of this Grand Cru Classé.

Pictures: Tour and Lunch at Château Desmirail, Appellation Margaux, 3ième Grand Cru Classé, with Owner Denis Lurton

3 Different Vat Rooms

Denis Lurton: Desmirail's remarkable winery buildings date from the end of the nineteenth century, and reflect various architectural styles. There are three vat rooms, corresponding to different periods in the property's history.

- At the end of the nineteenth century, an invention arrived that revolutionized vat rooms: the Médoc Vat Room, which operates by gravity. A remarkable example was built at Desmirail; typical of the period, it consists of an exceptional roof structure in the shape of the inverted hull of a ship, and then underneath there are cast iron pillars (emblematic of the industrial era). This room has held four oak casks since 1999.

- In 1997, Denis Lurton invested in a modern stainless steel vat room, with vats of various capacities to enable vinification on a plot-by-plot basis.

- During the 2010 harvest, a smaller vat room was inaugurated, consisting of oak vats, reserved mainly for the vinification of the older plots.

The property is also equipped with three cellar rooms, displaying a combination of traditional architecture and modern features, they are used to store barrels of the First and Second wine.

In the modernisation of these facilities, Denis Lurton and Technical Director Pierre Lafeuillade have been able to optimize and customize the existing buildings while at the same time preserving their original character.

Pictures: Tour and Lunch at Château Desmirail, Appellation Margaux, 3ième Grand Cru Classé, with Owner Denis Lurton

The Birth of the Wine

Denis Lurton: Harvests: Each wine is the result of a year's work in the vineyard. The grapes are hand-picked by a team of sixty people. After being transported to the vat room, the bunches are de-stemmed and the grapes are sorted and crushed, before being vinified on a plot-by-plot basis. This vinification of each parcel enables an expression of the diversity of the terroir and of the individual grape varieties.

Vinifications: Two types of vat are used for vinification: oak and stainless steel. The wooden ones are preferred for the older plots. Traditional vinification techniques are employed, with steady, gentle extraction, adapted to each grape variety.

Blending: The pivotal stage in the creation of each vintage is the blending wich is carried out in November. The owner, assisted by the technical director and the consultant oenologist, Jacques Boissenot, select which vats will be used to make Desmirail (the First wine) and Initial de Desmirail (the Second wine). The decision is based on a consensus between the team at the property and the oenologist, who brings his experience and an external eye.

Maturing: The wines are matured in barrels for about a year. For the Grand Vin, the percentage of new barrels varies depending on the vintage but is never less than 30 %. Approximately every three months, the wines are racked in order to clarify them. Finally, after a year, the wines are blended in the wooden vats and given a final clarification with egg white.

Bottling: This takes place at the château about twenty months after the harvest.

The Wines

We tasted 2 wines, the grand vin 2012 and the second wine, also 2012.

Pictures: Tour and Lunch at Château Desmirail, Appellation Margaux, 3ième Grand Cru Classé, with Owner Denis Lurton

Lunch

Following the winery tour we enjoyed a light lunch with matching Desmirail wines at the château.