A Master Sommelier became a Web 2.0 Digital Sommelier- An interview with Germany's Hendrik Thoma (Part 2)

Picture: Hendrik Thoma

This is the second part of a two-parts interview with Hendrik Thoma, which was conducted via Skype in early April 2010. The first part was published on Schiller Wine on April 12 2010. See here. Following the text of the interview, there is a post scriptum: A link to a youtube video with Hendrik Thoma and Katharina Pruem and Ernst Loosen on the planned High Mosel Bridge.

CS: Let’s move to America. The American wine industry has exploded in the last 50 years, after the famous 1976 tasting. America is the leader of the New World Wine Group and Napa Valley it’s geographical center. When I am in Germany, however, I often hear very critical voices with regard to New World Wines. What would you tell these voices in Germany and what would you say to the producers and exporters in America?

HT: A couple of things. First, America is a big wine producer but not a big exporter. In addition, they export a lot of cheaper wines, which you find in Germany in the supermarket and on discount shop shelves. When I first came to the US, German wines were perceived in the US like American wines here today: easy to drink and fruity.

Of course, there are also the high-end wines from Napa Valley and elsewhere. These are highly appreciated by the German wine connoisseurs, but I have to say that the so-called garage wines are viewed with some skepticism.

Then there is the issue of plastic wines. When two years ago American wines having been subjected to the spinning cone and other sophisticated processes were allowed to be imported into the EU, there was an outcry in the European press. There is a lot of prejudice here in Europe which I think is absolutely wrong. I get mad when people say that wines from the New World are plastic wines and European wines are superior. After Americans started exporting wines with the cone spinning, countries like Italy, France and Spain, who are far bigger producers, also started to make wines with cone spinning.

Also, for Americans, wine is just a beverage. Here in Germany, people want to know the vineyard and the winemaker, and develop a relationship with the wine. People think just because you see the vineyard and have a relationship, it’s a better wine. In my opinion it’s not. So I think this prejudice against American and New World Wines is such a crap thing, because in America you have great producers that make really nice wines.

The only thing that you could say is that New World wine has a little bit more fruit due to the climate. If you like something jammy and thick, go for Napa Valley. If you want to have something elegant and fine, go for Mosel valley. The wine world has become global. Germans need to open up and realize that there is good stuff from everywhere.

CS: Germany has introduced the concept of Grosses Gewaechs wines, which are bone-dry wines in the French grand cru tradition. One of them, from Weingut Wittmann, made it to the Top 100 Wine Spectator List. How do you see the future of these wines on the world market?

HT: This is an interesting issue. If you look at the first German Grosses Gewaechs wines you notice that they were not made for consumption. They were made to show off, they were big wines meant to impress people. Frankly, my feeling is that many of the German winemakers prefer lighter and more elegant wines. Grosses Gewaechs wines are sometimes just very big, very fat, too alcoholic. I know I could get beaten up in Germany for saying this. It does certainly not apply to all the winemakers, but there is a tendency.

Another problem with Grosses Gewaechs wines is that they do not all deserve the label. Like Burgundy, where you have the Grand Crus: If you don’t look at the producer you make a big mistake. A great vineyard doesn’t necessarily generate a great wine. It is the same here in Germany. Some of the Grosse Gewaechs wines are in my view not really first growth wines.

CS: The Austrians have brought the Guener Veltliner to the US and the Americans love it. These are easy drinking table wines. Could the Germans repeat this with for example the Silvaner grape?

HT: Silvaner is nice because it can be very dry, yet very steely and also has a good creaminess. But it would probably be the wrong grape variety because it’s just too small here. There are only 2000 hectares in Rheinhessen and 1300 hectares in Franconia, the two regions that have a meaningful production of Silvaner.

I would instead suggest Pinot Grigio (or Pinot Gris or Grauburgunder). The Pinot Grigio from Germany can be beautiful. We have a good climate for it and it is less creamy and not as thick as that from Alsace.

Picture: Hendrik Thoma

Riesling is a complete overhype with food I think. Because of its sweetness it can be very good with certain foods. But certainly for me the more gastronomic wine is the Pinot Gris. That’s why I think people should go for that grape variety

CS: To conclude on German wine, let us talk about the German flagship wines, the noble-sweet wines. Tell us a bit about these extraordinary wines, such as the famous German Eiswein.

HT: Well it’s another interesting story. I think noble sweet wines are our real show wines. These are wines that you don’t drink too often. There is a very small market for them, but I think it’s very important for Germany to produce these wines because the German style of noble-sweet Rieslings - combining the sugars, acidity and freshness - is difficult to find anywhere else in the world.

CS: The Wall Street Journal just published an article about the wine industry in China. What role do you see for German wine in China and Chinese wine on the global wine market?

HT: I think the whole world is waiting for China to pick up on wine. We know there are parts of China with a great wine culture, especially Hong Kong and, increasingly, Shanghai. If you talk to people about China, everybody is very excited, but I am not sure if people know how that market works. Probably you need to invest a lot of time and money. India is another interesting wine market.

China is very much a market that is driven by premium brands, which makes sense to me. People first rely on the brand and then take a second or third look, but at the moment we are still in the brands phase. The next stage can take a couple of years and then people look for smaller producers.

With regard to Chinese wines, I have already tasted some Chinese wines and what I had in the glass at these tastings was not bad.

India is another very interesting market. And India is closer to Europe in terms of culture due to the British influence.

CS: I know you were in Argentina a few months ago. Tell us a bit about your impressions from this trip.

HT: Wine from Argentina has freshness and elegance. These are big wines, for which there is a demand in the United States. They go well with steak. So I think these wines with their mountain climate have good tannins and are not oversaturated. Again coming to price, Argentinian wine is great if you look at what you can get for the money. The wines of Chile, which were also quite big in the US, seem to be a little heavier, a little sweeter. Argentine wines seem to be fresher, lighter, a little more European. But the Argentine wine industry is very much depending now on the US, which is very dangerous.

CS: Thank you very much, Hendrik.

Post Scriptum

Hendrik asked me to post a video with Ernst Loosen and Katharina Pruem here. It was recorded on April 10, 2010 in Berlin, in the context of an effort to stop the construction of a huge bridge over the Mosel valley. Others who came to Berlin included Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson from the UK, ex foreign minister Joschka Fischer and English-born, Berlin-resident, leading wine writer Stuart Pigott. See the video here.

I co-signed the petition: Sie haben erfolgreich die Petition Bundesstraßen - Baustopp für den so genannten Hochmoselübergang mitgezeichnet. Ihre Stimme wurde vom System unter der Mitzeichnungsnummer 1377 erfasst. Hendrik asks you to do the same.

Hendrik Thoma, Hamburg, Germany
www.hendrikthoma.de
www.tvino.de




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In the Glass: 2008 Gemischter Satz, Richard Zahel, Vienna, Austria

Picture: In Grinzigen beim Heurigen

Gemischter Satz is a Field Blend Wine

This is an unusual wine, made in an age-old Austrian tradition. It is a Gemischter Satz, which is made from a blend of grapes that are grown together in the field, and then picked and fermented at the same time. Not too long ago, this age-old Austrian tradition was about to die, threatened by the mania for "single varietal" bottling. But luckily, the tradition was maintained, the grapes remained planted in mixed vineyards of Gruener Veltliner, Riesling, Muscat, Ottonel, and other grapes. Typically, Gemischter Satz wines do not specify the grapes within.

Field blends are different from more typical blended wines – cuvees - like Bordeaux, where the various grapes are grown separately and vinified separately. Many famous wines are blended wines. Red Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. As a very broad generalization, Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the blend in red wines produced in left bank of the Gironde estuary. Typical blends are 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc and15% Merlot. Merlot dominate in Saint Emilion, Pomerol and the other right bank appellations. These blends are typically 70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc & 15% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Another Cuvee is Edelzwicker, which I discussed in my “in the glass" column on my Blog on November 5, 2009. See below. In the past, blending was the norm in Alsace, and these blends were called "zwicker". Edelzwicker (noble-blend) is a "zwicker" made only from grapes considered to be noble.

The German Schiller used to be a Gemischter Satz Wine

In Germany, there is a wine called ‘Schiller” that is produced by blending red and white grapes before fermentation. It looks like a Rose, but it is not, at least not in the French tradition. You can find Schiller only in the region of Württemberg in the south of Germany. The wine got its name from the verb “schillern”. The verb “schillern” means “to scintillate”. “Schiller” is thus a wine with a scintillating color, reflecting the fact that the wine is a blend of red and white grapes. In the past, Schiller used to be a Gemischter Satz wine, but to my knowledge nobody does it any more. Today, Schiller is a blend, but not a field blend. See my posting of August 12, 2009 below.

Is Gemischter Satz Wine the True Terroir Wine?

Some people argue that Gemischter Satz is the true terroir wine. They say that winemakers can resort today to all sorts of tricks if the wine does not come out the way they want it. They can add acid if necessary, or tannins, or color, compensating in the wine cellar for what they did not get from nature in the vineyard. In the old days before the advanced techniques of today became available, they had to think ahead about what their vineyard give them. One could say that in the way they planted the vineyard you could see their vision of what would make the most complete wine.

In France, Jean-Michel Deiss from the Domaine Marcell Deiss is a well known proponent of this approach. Jean-Michel Deiss believes that the truest expression of Alsatian terroir comes from field blends. He has planted his best vineyards with numerous grapes, which he harvests and vinifies together. Jean-Michel Deiss treats them as a true field blend, and consequently harvests, vinifies and blends them together. Jean-Michel Deiss' approach is viewed by many as radical. He argues that his goal is a return to the methods, style, and traditions that gave Alsace wines such fame and fortune from the Middle Ages until the end of the 19th century.

Indeed, the Gemischter Satz practice was common throughout Central Europe in a time when most growers had very small vineyards. To reduce the risk of having no grapes - and no income - at all, they planted many varieties. It also was viewed as an approach that produces over the years a wine with consistent quality. To achieve this, they mixed varieties with a different ripening time and with different acidity levels, with a view of minimizing risk and ensuring a consistent quality of wine.

Gemischter Satz Wines in Austria

I typically drink the Austrian Gemischter Satz wines only when I am in Grinzing, Vienna, Austria. There, you typically drink the Heurigen wine, the wine of the current year, in one of the many wine taverns and these are typically Gemischter Satz wines.

That any wine comes from Vienna seems absurd on the face of it. Great urban centers are not known for their vineyards, beyond a novelty acre here and there. But Vienna is different. Around 1,700 acres of vines are planted within the city limits. Of the great metropolises in wine-growing countries, Vienna alone has its own appellation. Viennese viticulture stretches back centuries if not millenniums to early Celtic and Roman settlements. Most of the production is destined for Vienna itself.

Tasting Notes

2008 Gemischter Satz, Richard Zahel, Vienna, Austria

12 % alcohol, Gruener Veltliner, Riesling and Chardonnay

Light yellow in the glass, notes of petrole and green unripe apple on the nose, very refreshing, sour, high in acidity without the sugar to neutralize it, comes across very watery when you first drink it, but develops nicely on the palate, good party wine.

Weingut Zahel, Austria

www.zahel.at



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The Wines of Duckhorn Vineyards, Napa Valley, US

Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller and Dan Duckhorn

The Wines of Duckhorn Vineyards, Napa Valley, US

At Pearson's in Washington DC, I had the pleasure of participating in a Duckhorn Vineyards tasting with Owner and Founder Dan Duckhorn.

Duckhorn Vineyards

Duckhorn Vineyards is a 20.000 cases winery based in St. Helena, California. Margaret and Dan Duckhorn started Duckhorn Vineyards in 1976 with eight investors. Though they have often made outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon, they are best known for Merlot, a variety that they helped pioneer in Napa Valley. In 2007, GI Partners, a private equity firm, purchased a controlling interest in Duckhorn Wine Company at a valuation believed to exceed $250 million.

Today, along with its three production facilities, Duckhorn comprises seven vineyards comprising 168 acres in Napa and four vineyards totaling 153 acres in Anderson Valley. The Napa properties are located in five different appellations: the (proposed) Calistoga AVA, Howell Mountain, St. Helena, Yountville and Napa Valley. In addition to the Duckhorn, Paraduxx and Goldeneye brands, the company also has two second labels: Decoy, which uses fruit not included in Duckhorn; and Migration, made with grapes from the Anderson Valley properties. Prices for the brands range from about $30 for Decoy up to $95 for single-vineyard Duckhorn Cabernets. The company currently has 75 employees.

Dan Duckhorn

For over thirty years, Dan Duckhorn has been a leader in the Napa Valley wine community. A native of northern California, Dan earned his Masters in Business Administration in 1962 from the University of California at Berkeley. In 1976, Dan and his wife Margaret co-founded Duckhorn Vineyards with a small group of friends. Influenced by what he had learned on a journey to France, Dan decided that the Napa Valley was ideal for the cultivation of Bordeaux varietals. Going against the grain of what other local producers were doing, Dan decided against producing Chardonnay. Instead, he made the decision to focus his passion and resources on the production of a world-class Napa Valley Merlot. Though many other wineries were using Merlot as a blending grape, Dan pioneered the crafting of a premium stand-alone Napa Valley Merlot. Dubbed "Mr. Merlot" by Frank Prial of the New York Times, Dan is a highly respected leader in the wine industry.

The Wines we Tasted

DUCKHORN DECOY SAUVIGNON BLANC 2009

Winery Notes: "Since 1982, Duckhorn Vineyards has been crafting a Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc that has become a benchmark for the varietal in North America. Expanding on this rich winemaking tradition, Decoy Sauvignon Blanc allows our winemaking team the opportunity to explore a different expression of Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. Made using grapes from top independent growers, our Decoy Sauvignon Blanc is fermented exclusively in stainless steel to preserve its lively aromas and bright flavors. The result is an enticing wine that highlights vibrant citrus and lemongrass layers." $20

DUCKHORN DECOY PINOT NOIR 2008

Winery Notes: "Building on the traditions established by our acclaimed Goldeneye and Migration Pinot Noirs, Decoy Pinot Noir continues Duckhorn Wine Company's exploration of the depth and diversity of Anderson Valley winegrowing. Decoy Pinot Noir allows our winemaking team to highlight a distinctly plush and approachable expression of Pinot Noir that is crafted for more youthful enjoyment. The resulting wine offers bright red-fruit flavors of Bing cherry, raspberry and cranberry, alongside hints of toasty oak." $30

DUCKHORN DECOY CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2007

Winery Notes: "This appealing Napa Valley bottling highlights the complexity of the Cabernet Sauvignon varietal. Since 1978, Duckhorn Vineyards has been producing Cabernet Sauvignon that embodies the flavorful complexity of Napa Valley winegrowing and offers classic Cabernet elements of currant, cherry, plum and olive." $30

DUCKHORN DECOY ZINFANDEL 2008

Winery Notes: "Our Paraduxx winemaking team has been crafting a world-class red blend using Napa Valley Zinfandel since 1994. Decoy Zinfandel allows us to explore this robust and appealing grape as a stand-alone wine. It offers the concentration and complexity that has made the Napa Valley famous, while highlighting classic Zinfandel elements of raspberry, strawberry jam, white pepper, cedar and spice." $30

DUCKHORN VINEYARDS CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2006

Winery Notes: "A complex blend of grapes from the greater Napa Valley and seven of its acclaimed appellations, this wine also incorporates a significant amount of fruit from our Estate vineyards. The result is a wine that strikes an effortless balance between dark fruit, oak and tannins. Classic Cabernet elements of black currant, dark cherry, plum and raspberry are accentuated by more subtle layers of mint and black olive. Though a big, structured and age-worthy wine, the tannins are beginning to soften, framing both the fruit and the oak-inspired vanilla and cocoa notes." Wine Spectator 91 points. $70

DUCKHORN VINEYARDS HOWELL MOUNTAIN MERLOT 2004

Winery Notes: "In 1880 the St. Helena Star contended that Howell Mountain "would be to California what Medoc is to France." In 1983, Howell Mountain was approved as a viticulture appellation, confirming what the turn-of-the-century growers already knew about the uniqueness of the region. We believe that this wine will be the Medoc of our portfolio. This is a well-balanced wine with medium weight, beautiful texture, bright acid, and integrated, supple tannins. The aroma is elegant, with elements of earth, black cherry, vanilla and clove, accompanied by a slightly meaty character. On the palate, the wine is layered with rich fruit flavors, most notably blueberry, blackberry, and plum, and accented by subtle notes of lavender and sage." Wine Enthusiast 90 points $80

DUCKHORN VINEYARDS THREE PALMS VINEYARD MERLOT 2006

Winery Notes: "Three Palms Vineyard is legendary in the world of California Merlot and for good reason. A hot site with free-draining soils, Three Palms consistently delivers focused red fruit flavors balanced by an austere minerality, which contributes to elegant aging potential. The 2006 Three Palms Vineyard Merlot delivers all the vibrant fruit one would expect, with layers of red currant, raspberry and black cherry underscored by elements of piecrust, strawberry, caramel and wet stone. The tannins are dry and elegant, leading to a long, jammy finish." $90

GOLDENEYE GOWAN CREEK VINEYARD 2006

Winery Notes: "Gowan Creek is the home to our new winery and offers a perfect mid-valley winegrowing location that combines warmer Anderson Valley elements with coastal fog and cooling influences from the northern end of the valley. As a result, this wine is a classic expression of Pinot Noir, with signature aromatics, lush extraction and rich texture. The nose displays the wild blueberry and blackberry layers that have come to define Gowan Creek, supported by notes of loganberry, char, black pepper and dried meats. On the palate, the attack is immense, the tannins long and the acidity persistent, all combining to create a wine with sumptuous, dark- fruit-driven complexity." Wine Enthusiast 94 points $90

Duckhorn Vineyards, Napa Valley
http://www.duckhorn.com/DuckhornDNN/

Pearson’s, Washington DC
http://www.pearsonswine.com/




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The German VDP - the Oldest Association of Wine Estates - Hot Topics

This year, in 2010, the German Prädikat Wine Estates Association (VdP) celebrates its 100th anniversary. Since its founding, the VDP, the world’s oldest association of wine estates, has helped set high standards in German wine culture. During the century of its existence, the association has achieved tremendous recognition among wine enthusiasts and professionals alike. Today, the image of German wines and the high quality of wines produced from the finest vineyard sites has reached a level comparable with that of the heyday of German wines a century ago. Many a fine German wine enjoys cult status.

Steffen Christmann from Weingut Christmann in the Pfalz region is the association’s current President. He recently distributed a list of themes that wine bloggers might be interested to give some thought to and write about them. Here is the list with some initial thoughts and questions by the VDP. It is an interesting list, providing some insight into what themes are currently discussed at the VDP.

VDP Portrait: What is the VDP? Who Makes it Tick?

The VDP is celebrating its centennial in 2010. What better time than now to provide a little primer to help demystify “VDP” by clarifying the who, what, when, where and why behind this abbreviation for Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates, i.e. estates that strive to produce a high proportion of top-quality wines at all levels).

VDP: Germany’s Vanguard of Fine Winemaking in the Course of a Century

The forerunner to today’s VDP was founded 100 years ago, at a time when fine German wines enjoyed a heyday. They numbered among the most expensive wines traded, and graced the tables of imperial houses as well as leading hotels and restaurants of the day. What role has the VDP played in the German wine industry during its century of existence and how do its quality standards compare with minimums prescribed by law?

VDP Pioneers: Traditional Innovators and Innovative Traditionalists

Some 20 years ago, when VDP members gathered for their annual meeting, their then-new president, Michael Prinz zu Salm-Salm, had an agenda – and he was successful in implementing new ideas based on ecologically friendly viticulture, yield restrictions, and a new capsule depicting the VDP logo (the stylized eagle bearing a cluster of grapes) to improve recognition value and signal a common marketing measure among members. At the same time, there were ongoing discussions about “terroir” and a vineyard classification. What ensued?

VDP Classification: A Venture into Terra Incognita on Behalf of Terroir

The Rheingau region, in conjunction with the Geisenheim Research Institute, among others, gathered scientifically based data on temperature, altitude, wind conditions, rainfall, solar exposure, etc., for decades – all of which to track “vineyard performance” over the years, i.e. to determine why some sites consistently yield a top-quality, ripe crop vs. others, where results fluctuate. The VDP firmly believes that the “top performers” are Erste Lagen (top sites) and that the wines sourced from these sites, which show site-specific characteristics, merit mention of the vineyard name on their labels. Other wines bear proprietor or regional/village names only. How does the VDP classification mesh with the German wine law and/or the classification systems of other wine-producing nations?

VDP Visions for a Sustainable Future

Dating from the efforts of Michael Prinz zu Salm-Salm, but even before his time, the concept of ecologically friendly viticulture was already in practice by several VDP estates, not least by pioneers, such as Wittmann and Heyl zu Herrnsheim (both in Rheinhessen). Today, controlled, environmentally sound viticulture is standard operating procedure. Numerous estates have switched to even more stringent, biodynamic measures. Sustainability is an important – and basic – issue for VDP member estates.

VDP’s Feminine Touch: From Helping Hands to Taking the Reins

It comes as no surprise that in family-owned and -operated estates, women have always lent a helping hand, primarily in vineyard maintenance and marketing. In recent years, however, an increasing number of estates are owned by women and/or viticulturally well-educated women are acclaimed winemakers. Let’s take a closer look.

VDP: Riesling and Other Varietals of Choice

Germany’s prime white wine variety, Riesling, has long been the grape of choice for VDP members. Other, traditional varietals are also cultivated, e.g. the ancient white varietal Silvaner (particularly in Franken and Rheinhessen), and members of the Pinot family, including Germany’s all-important red wine grape, Spätburgunder Pinot Noir), and the white wine grapes, Weiss- and Grauburgunder (Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris, respectively). Why?

VDP at Home: Germany’s Wine Châteaux, Medieval to Postmodern

Not only in the Rhine Valley, part of which is a UNESCO World Heritage site prized for its wonderful mix of breath-taking natural landscapes and manmade cultural monuments, are castles home to some of Germany’s finest wine estates, such as Schloss Johannisberg or Schloss Vollrads (both in the Rheingau), to name but a couple with an international following. In recent years, many estates have undergone extensive renovations at the hand of leading architects, often with stunning results. Let’s take a closer look.

VDP Wine Auctions: A Lively Tradition Lives On

From day one, wine auctions have played an important role in the VDP. After all, the name under which the association was founded in 1910 was the Verband Deutscher Naturweinversteigerer, referring to estates that sold their Naturweine (“natural” or unchaptalized wines) exclusively at auction. What’s behind the concept of Naturweine and why did the prices for these wines sold at auction serve as a benchmark within the German wine industry? To this day, many of these wines fetch worldwide record prices at VDP auctions. Except for one-bottle lots, these top wines can be sampled prior to and during the auction itself.

VDP’s Treasures: What’s Tucked Away in Members’ Cellars

The Schatzkammer (literally, treasure chamber) of every wine estate is hallowed ground within which many a treasure lies at rest for decades, until a bottle is opened to celebrate a festive occasion and/or make its way to auction, to the delight of many a wine connoisseur or collector. Let’s take a closer look at some VDP members’ treasure chambers.

You can contact Kerry Brady (phone +49-611-373230, mail kerry.b@online.de) for any questions.



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China’s Wine Boom: Is Jeannie Cho Lee the New Robert Parker?

Picture: Jeannie Cho Lee, MW

Will the American Parker Story Repeat itself in China?

Many people say, China’s wine industry is now there were America was 50 years ago. In the last 50 years, we have seen a wine revolution and boom in America and a lawyer from the Washington DC region emerging as the most influential wine critic in the world, guiding the American consumers with their enormous purchasing power in the choice for buying a wine and having an enormous impact on wine making around the globe.

While being very popular and highly appreciated in the US and elsewhere, Parker is very much disliked in Europe. Many Europeans feel that European winemakers have changed the style of their wine to please Parker and to get high scores from him. Parker, in their view, was also detrimental to a diversified range of wine styles. Everyone was moving towards Parker’s taste. Because, when he gave high scores to wine, 200 million American wine consumers would by the wine.

Will the same happen again with China? Will a Chinese wine expert emerge as leader of the large and growing purchasing power of the new generation of wine consumers in China? Who will be the Chinese Robert Parker? Will there be another Parker effect?

The Parker Effect

The Parker effect – European wine producers were changing the way they had been making their wine for ages with the view of pleasing Mr. Parker and achieving high points in his ratings – had two root causes.

First, the globalization of the wine market. Bordeaux wine were not only shipped to London any more but around the world, including to America and Japan, where affluent consumers started to drink wine.

Second, these affluent consumers were new in the wine business. Before World War II, there was no wine in America – the period of Prohibition. After World War II American military personnel observed diners in other countries enjoying daily wine with their meals, and they brought this concept back to their own homes. The sale of gourmet cookbooks rose, wine tastings became popular as a new kind of social event and wine became a symbol of culture and status.

The American Wine Boom and the Unsure American Wine Drinker

In 1968, consumption of table wine finally surpassed that of dessert wines in the US. And by 1972, wine consumption was 340 million gallons, or about 8 liters per person, which was three times the figure before prohibition. A wine revolution had begun in the US.

But American wine consumers were unsure. Wine was a new thing. They had not gone through the school I had gone through in Europe – daily wine on the table and wine consumption during the lunch and dinner with my family, but were not sure what to buy, and were looking for guidance. They had not started to drink wine at home for lunch or dinner early on in their lives. They had not had a father or mother who taught them what a good and what a bad wine was. This guidance gave them Robert Parker and thus became the most influential and powerful wine drinker in the world.

This guidance could have given them somebody like the Brit Hugh Johnson. But they did not trust him. They wanted an American.

The Chinese Wine Boom and the Unsure Chinese Wine Drinker

Aren’t we in China in a similar situation?

The wine industry in China is developing at a remarkable pace. China could become the world’s largest producer of wine in 50 years time, experts predict.

China has a long tradition of producing all kinds of wine, but produced practically no vinifera wine before the economic reforms of the early 1980s. It now ranks 6th in terms of production, ahead of Australia, Germany, South Africa and Chile, almost at par with Argentina, which is in 5th place. The top four producers are France, Italy, Spain and the US.

The renowned Pauillac estate Chateau Lafite Rothschild, partnering with CITIC, China's largest state-owned investment company, is in the process of setting up a winery in China to produce grand cru wines there.

In terms of consumption, China was the eighth largest wine consumer last year, behind leader Italy, France and the United States in the top three spots. One of the main features of the China wine market, as supposed to western markets, is the predominance of red over white wine. Around 85 per cent of the wine drank in China is estimated to be red. However, as more Chinese women develop a taste for wine, white wine drinking is expected to rise relative to red wine.

At 0.4 liters per person a year, wine consumption is still quite low by international comparison. In France, where wine is culturally embedded, people drink 50 liters a year with consumption in Australia, another major wine producing nation, 25 liters and in the United States 15 liters. If China's per capital wine consumption was to only increase slightly because of the scale of the population it could easily shift the center of gravity of the world's wine industry.

Imports are small but growing. Consumers in China have very limited knowledge about wine. It is very difficult for them to assess the quality of either branded or even non-branded wine. Consumers still find the process of buying imported wine difficult because even in international supermarkets like Carrefour or Tesco there is little information on the label to tell them what the wine is.

Jeannie Cho Lee

Most likely, Chinese consumers will increasingly look for guidance when to buy wine. That guidance may be provided by somebody like the the Korean-born, Hong Kong-based Jeannie Cho Lee . She is a Master of Wine and the first Asian, among 300 wine experts around the globe, to have been awarded this prestigious title by the Institute of Masters of Wine in London. The recognition has landed Lee, currently a wine consultant to Singapore Airlines, sixth place on CNN Hong Kong's "20 People to Watch" list. Now, she's come up with a book. "Asian Palate" is the first comprehensive work to match Asian cuisine with wine. See here.

Picture: Jeannie Cho Lee's New Book

Regardless of whether it will be Jeannie Cho Lee, who will become the new Robert Parker or not, it will be an Asian, or more likely a Chinese who will provide guidance to the Chinese consumer the way Parker did for the Americans. It will not be a European or American for the same reasons as it was not a European who would guide the American consumers.

The taste of this person will play a huge role in the shaping up of the global wine market. Just as Robert Parker with his enormous purchasing power of the Chinese consumers, looking for guidance, in the back.

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A Master Sommelier became a Web 2.0 Digital Sommelier- An interview with Germany's Hendrik Thoma (Part 1)

Picture: Hendrik Thoma

I interviewed Hendrik Thoma via Skype in early April 2010. This is the first of two parts. Here is the second part.

CS: You do not need an introduction for the German readers of this Blog, but half of the readers are from the US, Canada and Latin America, and one quarter from Asia, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. Tell them a bit about you.

HT: My name is Hendrik Thoma and I live in Hamburg, Germany. I am one of 175 Master Sommeliers in the world.

A couple of years ago, I was working as head sommelier at the top Restaurant Louis C. Jacob, a very traditional restaurant, when I decided to change course and step into the exciting world of the internet. I had always been doing some journalistic work on the side, so it was not a complete U-turn.

My main job now is being the moderator of a video wine blog, TVINO. This is done in cooperation with Germany’s largest wine retailer, Hawesko. On average, I moderate 2 wine tasting shows per week. I do other things as well, but TVINO is at the center of my activities.

In my shows I try to talk about my passion – wine - in as straightforward a manner as possible. Sometimes winemakers or other people from the wine industry are on my show as guests and sometimes I am just on my own.

I am the moderator, and link the producer with the customer. I was doing this in a restaurant as a sommelier for many years and now I am doing it in a kind of virtual restaurant.

In the US, you have Gary Vaynerchuk’s video wine shows. TVINO is different, although Gary Vaynerchuk was very inspiring to me. He’s a big guy in the scene. He paved the way and I am very grateful for that. After I visited him last year I received so many nice comments. Hey, I thought, this is the modern way to communicate with people.

It is very important for me to present myself the way I am, and I can do this with the internet. Since I started TVINO, I have heard so many people saying “That’s him? We thought he was a conservative, traditional guy”. I was never traditional, I was never a snob, and I was always trying to get people to enjoy a glass of wine. Now these people get the right picture of me and this is a great thing.

Picture: Hendrik Thoma

CS: Talking about social media, you are clearly one of the leaders of social media in the wine industry in Germany. You have your own internet show, TVINO. You are very active on Facebook. Where do you see all this is heading?

HT: Well, one thing is that Europeans are very concerned about the security and transparency of the internet. Germans in particular are big believers in security and there is some blockage from those Germans who are more wary of the internet. At the same time, a lot of people realize that this way of communication has enormous potential. But in general people are still afraid when they put information on the internet. There is a lot of hesitation and concern. The internet is used more by the younger people who are in a way natives of the internet. They know the rules and for them the internet is something very natural. You and I are immigrants.

Another factor is that Europe is just so different from the US. In Germany, people live comfortably in a social net of long term friends, acquaintances and family. In America everybody is constantly moving. It is all about networking, networking, networking. Here in Europe we have a lot of people who are happily living in the old structures and don’t really see the need to change. But they will be forced to. We, the active internet people are still a small segment, but a growing one. The elder generation has to realize this. I say: Step into the web, get active and participate.

CS: You mentioned ProWein, the German wine fair in Duesseldorf which just finished. What did you take home from there?

HT: I would like to mention a couple of important trends. There is the trend to move to fun wines, away from expensive big show-off wines. Parker has pushed the market into wines which are big-image, fruity, heavy wines, with high scores. But people really don’t want that anymore. Gone are the days when everything was great, the economy was booming and people were eager to bring 96 or 97 Parker point wines on the table.

Drinking rose wines is another trend. Imagine ten years ago: In Germany people said they would rather stay out of rose and now roses, good roses are, hot.

Another thing is sweet versus dry: I was talking to the Mosel winemaker, Markus Molitor, who produces great wines with residual sugar. People are now more comfortable with that. Wines don’t have to be as dry and acidic as German Rieslings sometimes can be. Winemakers are playing again with sweetness, with the Mosel and the Rheingau area at the fore.

All in all, I see a move to wines with more elegance and more finesse. People prefer to drink local rather than international wines. People don’t want to pray when they sit in front of a glass. They want to drink, they want to enjoy. You can pray on Sunday in church.

Social media, coming back to this, plays a big role in this because now it is no longer top to bottom information. People pretty much obeyed wine gods like Robert Parker and would check at the winery if the wines had an 88 or 89 score. Now people have direct contact with me and many other people in the web, such as you, Christian, with your Wine Blog. I think that this will create a more democratic way of drinking wine. Less academic and more passionate. That is what I want.

(The second part of the interview will be published on April 19, 2010)

Hendrik Thoma, Hamburg, Germany
www.hendrikthoma.de
www.tvino.de




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Meeting Owner and Winemaker Dominique Ferret, Domaine Guillaman, Cotes de Gascogne, France

Picture: Winemaker and Owner Dominique Ferret and Christian G.E.Schiller

The Cotes de Gascogne is part of what is called South West France. The brandy-producing region Armagnac is situated within the Cotes de Gascogne.

South West France

Picture: On the Roads of the Gascogne

The South West is a wine region in France covering several wine-producing areas situated respectively inland from, and south of, the wine region of Bordeaux. These areas, which have a total of 16,000 hectares of vineyards, consist of several discontinuous wine islands. The brandy-producing region Armagnac is situated within the Gascony, one of the wine islands.

Even though Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc are grown in certain parts, the South West remains first and foremost a veritable mosaic of ancient grape varieties, unique to the region, including the red grape varieties Négrette, Duras, Tannat (now also the signature grape of Uruguy), Malbec (now also the signature grape of Argentina) and the white grape varities Colombard (at some point very popular in the US), Mauzac, Manseng, Courbu and Baroque.

Picture: The AOC Wine Regions of the South West of France

The South West of France is also known for a its delicious regional cuisine: Foie gras, Jambon de Bayonne and Cassoulet, to name a few.

There are 18 AOCs, 20 Vins de Pays, with the following the best known appellations, from the south-west up to the north-east:

• The Pyrenean Piedmont: Irouléguy, Jurançon
• The Gascogne Basin: Côtes de Gascogne, Madiran, Saint Mont
• The Garonne Basin: Gaillac, Fronton, Côtes du Brulhois
• The Lot Valley: Cahors
• The Aveyron: Marcillac

Côtes de Gascogne

The Association of Producers of the Vins de Pays Côtes de Gascogne determines the production standards and is controlling the respect of these rules. The association counts at this moment approximately 1,400 wine makers. Of them, 1,300 are a member of a wine co-operative. The remainder is independently working winemakers, including Domaine Guillaman.

2009 Cotes de Gascogne, Domaine Guillaman

Picture: 2009 Cotes de Gascogne, Domaine Guillaman

Technical information: Colombard and Ugni Blanc, tank-fermented at very cool temperatures to keep the fruit flavors fresh, 11.5 percent alcohol, natural cork.

Colombard is an early fruiting white variety of wine grape, better known as French Colombard in the US. In France, Colombard was traditionally grown in the Charentes and Gascony for distilling into Cognac and Armagnac, respectively. It is also widely grown in South Africa where it is known as Columbar, and to a lesser extent in Australia.

Much of the success of California’s bulk white wine production in California’s early days can be attributed to this highly-productive varietal. At one time, it represented close to 40% of all white grapes under vine in the state. Colombard helped establish California, Australia and South Africa as producers of clean, crisp, value-priced, white wines. Over time, however it has been crowded out by Chardonnay in the US.

Picture: Room with a View in the South West of France, near Bayonne.

Ugni Blanc (or Trebbiano) is the second most widely planted grape in the world. It gives good yields. It can be fresh and fruity. Ugni Blanc is the most widely planted white grape of France, particularly along the Provençal coast, in the Gironde and Charente. Like Colombard, it is important in the production of Cognac and Armagnac.

My tasting notes: overwhelming attack of white peach and grapefruit on the nose, very fruity on the palate, good acidity, light-bodied wine, attractive finish, great summer party wine.

Domaine Guillaman, Dominique Ferret
DominiqueFerret@free.fr


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Winetasting: The Excellent Wines of Ken Wright Cellars, Oregon, US

Picture: Ken Wright and Christian G.E. Schiller

Ken Wright from Oregon came to the Washington DC area to show us his wines. I attended a tasting at Cecile’s in McLean, Virginia.

Oregon

Ken Wright is in the Willamette Valley, were about two-thirds of Oregon’s wineries and vineyards are. Buffered from Pacific storms on the west by the Coast Range, the valley follows the Willamette River north to south for more than a hundred miles from the Columbia River near Portland to just south of Eugene. But Oregon is not only about Willamette Valley. Oregon’s vineyards span the whole State, rising up and falling over the rolling hills and gentle valleys of more than 12,000 acres (4,858 hectares) of wine grapes. Oregon’s major wine regions are the Willamette Valley, Rogue Valley, Umpqua Valley, and the Columbia Gorge. Some regions straddle the border between Oregon and the States of Washington and Idaho.

Wine was made in Oregon in the 19th century already, when Italian and Swiss immigrants planted wine grapes and started bottling wine. Oregon's wine industry was suppressed during Prohibition. It wasn’t until1961, when Richard Sommer set up shop in southern Oregon and planted Riesling, that the modern Oregon wine industry was borne. Other pioneers include David Adelsheim, Dick Ponzi and Bill Sokol-Blosser. Then the French also came with Domaine Drouhin bringing European sophistication to Oregon. In the past 40 years, Oregon has become one of the country’s top three wine States, with 350 wineries producing an average of 5,000 cases each a year. Most of it is Pinot Noir, but there’s also Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and modest amounts of Riesling and Merlot.


Oregon produces wine on a much smaller scale than its southern neighbor California. Oregon's biggest producer ships only 125,000 cases per year and most produce under 35,000 cases. The State features many small wineries which produce less than 5,000 cases per year. In contrast, E & J Gallo Winery, the US’ largest winery, produces about 70 million cases annually. The majority of wineries in Oregon operate their own vineyards, although some purchase grapes on the market.

Like New Zealand, Oregon rode the Sideways Pinot Noir boom for several years, expanding vineyard plantings repeatedly. Now the financial crisis has hit the wine industry. Malbec from Argentina and Camenere from Chile are hot and prices are tumbling. As if weak demand and strong competitors weren't enough, the 2009 crop was a big one -- up 23% from 2008. Combined with the unsold inventory from 2008, the State faces its first significant surplus of wine in many years.

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir in the US has become synonymous with the relative cool climate grape growing regions of Oregon. The reputation that gets Pinot Noir so much attention, however, is owed to the wines of the Bourgogne in France, where it has probably been cultivated since at least the 4th century. It's responsible for the great red wines from the Bourgogne, which includes Chambertin, Pommard, and Romanee-Conti, to name a few. In the Champagne region, Pinot Noir is one of the three grape varieties (along with Chardonnay and Meunier) allowed in the sparkling wine. Pinot Noir is also an important red grape in Germany. In northern Italy, Pinot Noir is known as Blauburgunder in some areas and Pinot Nero in others. Some of California's better Pinot Noir wines come from the State's cooler regions such as Carneros, the Russian River Valley and Santa Barbara.

Regardless of where it’s grown, Pinot Noir is not typically a value wine. That is so because Pinot Noir is such a delicate grape that it is difficult and expensive to grow. It is a fickle grape that demands optimum growing conditions with warm days supported by cool evenings. As the German name – Spaetburgunder - implies, it ripens late (spät). Compared with those from California, in general, the Oregon Pinot Noirs are lighter in color, fruitier in the nose and cleaner on the palate.

Ken Wright Cellars

Ken Wright Cellars was founded in 1993 and its first vintage was produced in 1994. Prior to creating Ken Wright Cellars, Ken founded Panther Creek Winery in 1986 and made wines there from 1986 through 1994. In 1993, Panther Creek was purchased by Ron and Linda Kaplan, the current owners. Current production levels are at 7500 cases of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Blanc.

Ken Wright’s Philosophy of Winemaking

Ken really knows his stuff and he talked a lot about various aspects of wine producing while we were tasting his wines. He has been credited with leading the way in a number of areas.

Single vineyard designations: Ken is often credited with the single-vineyard movement in Oregon. Of course, a key aspect of that approach is paying attention to the soil and its characteristics. What's below ground is terribly important, Ken said at the tasting.

Fruit and leave thinning. Pinot Noir is a late ripening grape. In Germany, it is called Spaetburgunder, and “spaet” means “late. At the same time, the Jet Stream often brings detrimental rains in the fall in Oregon. Ken has therefore tried to do whatever is necessary to achieve full ripeness as early as possible. How? Dropping fruit and leave management are important.

Traditionally, excessive fruit has been cut from the vine at the point in the growing season when color changes. But Ken has been experimenting with dropping fruit earlier, so the vine doesn't put any extra energy into growing fruit that ultimately would be cut away. Removal of leaves around the fruit zone also contributes to earlier ripening of the fruit. It's a huge amount of work which is extremely expensive, Ken said, but it really pays off; you may gain 4 or 5 days of ripening.

Picture: Ken Wrigth at Cecile's

Accrage contracts: Removing so much fruit has required a major shift in thinking about purchasing grapes. To gain control over the crop yield and how the vines were managed, Ken introduced in 1988 a new business concept: acreage contracts, i.e. paying growers not by weight but by acre. The introduction of acreage contracts, believes Ken, helped start a process of elevating the quality of Oregon's wine.

Handsorting of fruit: Ken was one of the first to make hand sorting of fruit standard practice. He said he employs an almost maniacal, berry-by-berry, sorting regime.

Cold soaking of the fruit: Another innovation that Ken pioneered was cold soaking the fruit before fermentation to extract character. It used to be that winemakers, if they did any maceration at all, did it after fermentation, when alcohol was present.

The Evaporator: This is a highly controversial issue, I believe. Ken was the first Oregon vintner to use the machine to reduce the water content of the must.The evaporator works on the principle that when liquid is placed in a vacuum, the boiling point is depressed. The water begins to boil at room temperature, or around 68 degrees Farenheit. The evaporator performs only one function, removing water, Ken emphasized, it won't give you quality. That has to come from the field. And it's only useful if there is an unseasonable rain. It's a mistake to remove water from already balanced fruit, Ken said. The result is coarse, tannic, unfriendly wine.

What Ken poured and Notes from Ken

Pinot Blanc Freedom Hill 2008, Coastal Range $30

Pinot Blanc is a lighter-colored natural mutation of Pinot Gris. The source for this fruit is a one acre block of Freedom Hill Vineyard. After pressing the juice, it is fermented in one year old French barrels. The new wine remains in barrel with the original yeast and is not racked until bottling. The wine has a floral/mineral focus. 200 cases are produced.

Chardonnay Calilo 2008, Washington State, $40

This is a unique vineyard situated on a 1,000' bluff overlooking the Columbia River in the Columbia River Gorge. It lies on the south face of Mount Underwood, which is currently an inactive volcano. The soil is pulverized basalt, extremely porous and loose, which promotes deep rooting. The vineyard was planted in 1983. Unlike the Chardonnay grown in the hot eastern desert of Washington, this is a much cooler site. As a result, the fruit retains more acidity and the wine displays a clean mineral character with an expansive texture. 385 cases produced.

Pinot Noir Nysa Vineyard, 2008, Dundee Hills, $60

Vineyards planted in the Dundee Hills of the northern Willamette Valley provided the start for the modern wine industry of Oregon. These initial plantings took place in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. The most common soil type of the area is described as Jory. These soils are volcanic in origin with basalt as the mother rock. They are unusually deep for hillsides, often 6 to 8 feet to bedrock. There is also a high percentage of clay in the soil which, combined with the soil depth, tends to hold moisture later into the season than other soils we work with. The wine from this region typically displays aromas of red fruits, strawberry, cherry and raspberry. The mouth feel is often rich and emollient.

The Nysa vineyard was planted in 1990 to own-rooted Pommard and Wadenswil. Located in the heart of the Dundee Hills between Domaine Drouhin and Archery Summit with a southeast to northeast inclination. Jory soil. The nose exhibits a mix of red and black fruits. The wines are forward, textural and elegant. Approximately 350 cases are produced. The vineyard is owned and managed by Michael Mega.

Pinot Noir Carter Vineyard, 2008, Ecola Hills $ 60

Located just 1 mile from Canary Hill in the Ecola Hills, Carter Vineyard is lower on the hillside yet has a leaner and less fertile soil. It is mainly Nekia soil, which is formed from weathered basic rock. It lies at an elevation of 325' and was planted in 1983. This bottling is comprised of the Wadenswil, Dijon 777, Dijon 667, Dijon 115, and Pommard clones. The wine is firmer than Canary Hill in its youth but evolves beautifully after a few years in bottle to show black fruits and fresh, healthy earth scents. Approximately 650 cases are produced. The vineyard is owned by Jack and Kathleen Carter, and managed by Mark Gould.

Pinot Noir, Meredith Mitchell Vineyard, 2008, Coastal Range $60

We source fruit from two vineyards located in the foothills of the coastal range. Both tend to be late to ripen due to the cooling influence of maritime air flowing into the valley from the Van Duzer Corridor. These sites also tend to have higher levels of tannin which make them great candidates for extending cellaring but they are unlikely to be as immediately pleasurable as many of our other sites.

The Meredith Mitchell Vineyard was planted in 1988 to own-rooted Pommard clone. The site is southwest of McMinnville in the coastal foothills. Spacing is 12’ x 6’ with an average elevation of 300’. Soils are shallow with basaltic mother rock only 20 to 30 inches below the soil surface. Consistently producing small clusters and berries this vineyard renders wine which is intense and structured, requiring a bit more aging than may of our sites. Approximately 310 cases are produced. The vineyard is owned and operated by Susan Meredith and Frank Mitchell.

Pinot Noir McCrone Vineyard, 2008, Yamhill-Carleton, $60

The vineyards of the Yamhill-Carlton District were planted mostly in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. The primary soil of this area is called Willakenzie, named after the Willamette and McKenzie rivers. It is a sedimentary soil with a sandstone base rock. The sand content is quite high and the soil therefore very well drained. The sites are generally on the lower slopes of a volcanic ridge. Wines of the area possess aromas of red and black fruits, with added elements of cocoa, leather and fresh-turned earth. Acidity levels are generally lower than other regions, prompting these wines to be lush and agreeable in their youth.

Located in the Yamhill-Carlton District, the McCrone vineyard is a densely planted vineyard (1 meter x 2 meters). The sedimentary soil, know as Wellsdale, is extremely well drained and promotes early ripening. Elevation is 400' with a south-southwest inclination. Slopes are 5 to 15 degrees. Half of the vineyard was planted in 1992 to the Dijon 115 clone grafted on 3309. The second half was originally planted to Dijon Chardonnay clones but was grafted in 2000 to the Dijon 777 clone of Pinot noir. The wine from this site is powerful, dense and deeply colored focusing mainly on black fruits. Approximately 700 cases are produced. Don and Carole McCrone are the vineyard owners. Mark Gould is the vineyard manager.

To conclude, here is a nice Youtube video with Ken.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQvCRdQ1Pjo

Ken Wright Cellars, Oregon, US
http://www.kenwrightcellars.com

Cecile's Wine Cellar, Virginia, US
http://www.cecileswine.com/



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Champagne in Russia

Picture: Soviet Champagne Poster, around 1940s

Prokofiev's War and Peace

In the first Act of Sergei Prokofiev’s monumental opera “War and Peace”, after Tolstoy’s novel, you see a lot of Champagne on the stage, at least at the Mariinsky Opera performance which I saw. The scene is in St. Petersburg in the beginning of the 1800s, before the battles against Napoleon Bonaparte’s army. Of course, at the time, the Bolsheviks takeover was hundred years away and the Russian aristocracy at that time was very well integrated with the rest of Europe. And at the various European Courts and among the aristocrats, Champagne from France was very popular.

Champagne

Nicole-Barbe Ponsardin, the future Veuve Clicquot, had just taken over. Under her tenure, Veuve Clicquot initially did very well, in part thanks to the German chef des caves, Antoine Müller, with whom Nicole-Barbe invented the system of remuage, but also because of her successful marketing efforts. Veuve Clicquot played an important role in establishing champagne as a favored drink of haute bourgeoisie and nobility throughout Europe, including Russia.

Picture: Veuve Clicquot

The remuage technique invented by her and Mueller revolutionized sparkling wine drinking. It remains a key element in the production of Champagne until today. Until the beginning of the 1800s, the appearance of Champagne was marred by the lees, the sediment of dead yeast cells that remained suspended in the wine following the secondary fermentation in the bottle. In consuming a bottle of Champagne it was thus 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. The remuage technique put an end to that.

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, from where it can be removed during disgorgement. Today, this manual way of riddling sparkling wine is still used for Prestige Cuvées , but has otherwise been largely abandoned because of the high labor costs. Mechanized riddling equipment called gyropalettes, invented in Spain in the 1970s, is used instead.

Sparkling Wines

Sparkling wine houses sprung up all over Europe in the 1800s. In Germany, Kessler, was the first Sekt house, founded in 1826 by Georg Kessler, who had worked for Veuve Clicqot. Fürst von Metternich started to produce Sekt in a beautiful castle overlooking the Rhein river in the Rheingau. Von Metternich received the castle from the Austrian Emperor Franz I in 1816 as a gift for his skillful negotiations as his Minister of Foreign Affairs during the Vienna congress (1814 -15). In Austria, the German Robert Schlumberger moved from the Champagne region with his future wife to Vienna and established in 1842 a Sekt House there. Schlumberger was born in Germany, worked in Reims in a Champagne house and married an Austrian, who brought him to the capital of Austria. There, he rose quickly and became the “father” of the Austrian Sekt industry. For over 150 years Schlumberger has been producing their Sekts in the méthode champenoise.

The Tsar Period

Russia also tried to produce its own sparkler, but it took almost another 100 years. Only in 1891 was the first successful winery established at Abrau-Durso in Crimea by Prince Lev Golitsyn, to to provide the Tsar Court with Russian sparklers. Lev Golitsyn was a renowned winemaker himself, but he also brought a team of French Champagne makers to Russia. Demand boomed almost immediately and at the Paris World Fair in 1900, Golitsyn's Novy Svet won the Grand Prix for sparklers, beating all the French Champagne wines taking part.

The October Revolution of 1917

But this success was short-lived. The October Revolution of 1917 came and the Bolshevik took over. The French specialists fled Russia. The days of Champagne-style sparklers for the Tsar Court were over.

Then came the period of mass production. Stalin decided in 1936 that the Soviet Union had to make “Champagne” (as well as Cognac and table wine) available and affordable for the ordinary people. Anton Frolov-Bagreyev, a former collaborator of Prince Lev Golitsyn, and also an aristocrat, became a key figure in the development of mass production of sparklers in Russia, by introducing the bulk method to Russia. 22 plants with large high-pressure steel tanks were built throughout the country, and still wine was transported from the wine growing regions to the plants in order to be transformed into bubbly there.

World War II was tough on the sparkling wine industry in Russia, followed by the creation of the Soviet Union. After the war, German and Rumanian prisoners of war were assigned to the reconstruction of the Abrau-Durso winery which lasted until 1953.

The Soviet Union

Picture: Soviet Champagne

During the period of the Soviet Union, Sovetskoye Shampanskoye was produced by the collective farms in an effort to fulfill quotas and retain an identical taste across the board. In 1969, the Soviet Union began to export its sparklings abroad. The bottles I drunk in Germany were cheap and sweet stuff.

Today

Things changed again in 1989, when the Berlin Wall came down and the Soviet Union disintegrated. The dissolution of the Soviet Union resulted in the closing down, restructuring or privatization of the collective farms.

Today, in an effort to integrate with the world market, the Shampanskoye part of label of the Soviet days is gone and has been replaced by vino igriskoye, sparkling wine. Oddly enough, while the former Soviet Union countries busily eradicating most traces of their Soviet past, the Soviet part of the label has remained: its brand recognition is unparalleled with “Soviet” indicating that the bottle was cheap and the contents dependable.

Picture: Abrau Durso, Semi-sweet

In terms of taste, during the past 100 years, the Soviet sparklers have moved away from the world market trend towards dry sparklers. Soviet sparklers are almost always sweet. The most common type by far with an 80% market share is polysladkoye, which means "semi-sweet". Lots of the sparklers now came from the Ukraine and sell in the US$ 5 to 7 range.

Golitsyn's Abrau-Durso remains a major producer, and is trying to regain the world-class standards it had reached in 1900 by hand-crafting dry sparklers the way they used to. Abrau-Durso now produces about 6 million bottles of sparklers. In August 2002, the local earth dam located upstream of the Durso River collapsed, washing away some of the grape fields in the Durso Valley. Currently Abrau-Durso does not grow its own wine grapes.

Abrau Durso, Russia
http://www.abraudurso.ru/index-eng.shtml

Austria’s 13 Top Zweigelt Wines – the 2009/2010 Falstaff Selection

Picture: The Wine Regions of Austria

Austria’s 13 Top Zweigelt Wines – the 2009/2010 Falstaff List

Falstaff Wine Guide

The Falstaff is Austria’s most prestigious wine guide. The Falstaff Rotweinguide 2009/2010, the wine guide for red wine only, was released on December 9, 2009, in Vienna, Austria. Now, the Falstaff monthly journal has published a list of the Top Zweigelt wines in its Falstaff monthly journal.

Austria and Red Wines

At first thought one might think of Austria’s climate as being quite cool for red wine. In the Alps and the western and northern reaches of the country this tends to be true. The eastern plains that border Hungary and Slovenia, however, are a different story. Right in the heart of this region is Mittelburgenland, and this is Austria’s red wine country, with 95-percent of the vineyards planted to red wine varietals. And there is global warming changing the wine map. Yes, Austria has an international reputation for its white wines, but there has been a revolution going on in terms of red wines in recent years. In Austria, red wine now accounts for about 1/3 of the wine production.

Zweigelt

Zweigelt was developed in 1922, in Austria, by Fritz Zweigelt. It is a crossing of Blaufraenkisch and St. Laurent. It is now the most widely-grown red grape variety in Austria, accounting for about 6500 hectares of land. Zweigelt is said to combine some of the best qualities of its parents: winter hardiness (resistance to frost), late bud-break, and early ripening. It combines the bite and fruity character of the Blaufränkisch grape and the body of the St. Laurent. It does have a tendency to over-crop, leading to low quality if not corrected. When the crop load is high, however, the wine can be too dilute. Zweigelt is also planted in Canada and Hungary.

Austria's Red Grape Varieties

There are four key Austrian red varieties, although others are grown, including some ‘international’ grapes.

Zwiegelt: The most abundant red grape; makes good wines ranging from simple cherry fruit gluggers to more substantial reds destined for ageing.

Blaufränkisch: Common in Burgenland this makes spicy, sturdy, berry fruited reds which can have some tannic structure. Probably Austria’s best red grape.

Blauer Portugieser: This red grape makes soft, approachable, juicy wines mainly for early consumption. The most widely planted red grape but not for top quality wines.

St Laurent: Makes soft, slight herby, expressive reds; it’s a bit like Pinot Noir.

Falstaff uses the 100 points scale. Prices are ex-winery in Euros. The current exchange rates are 0.90BP = 1Euro = 1.35US$ = 125JPY. Prices range from Euro 4.50 to 11.50. All are 2008 wines.

The top wines got 91 and 90 points.

91 Points

Zweigelt Rubin Carnuntum, Weingut Trapl, Stixneusiedl, Euro 10
www.trapl.com

Blauer Zweigelt Heideboden, Weingut Wurzinger, Tadten, Euro 6.50
www.weingut-wurzinger.at

Zweigelt Dornenvogel, Weingut Glatzer, Goettlesbrunn, Euro 11.50
www.weingutglatzer.at

90 Points

Blauer Zweigelt, Winzerhof Julius Steiner, Podersdorf/See, Euro 5.90
www.julius-steiner.at

Zweigelt “Cabernet”, Weingut Aumann, Tribuswinkel, Euro 7.40
www.aumann.at

Blauer Zweigelt Klassik, Weingut Leth, Fels/Wagram, Euro 7.90
www.weingut-leth.at

Zweigelt, Weingut Claus Preisinger, Gols, Euro 7.90
www.clauspreisinger.at

Zweigelt Rubin Carnuntum, Weingut Gottschuly-Grassl, Euro 9
www.gottschuly.at

Zweigelt Classique, Weingut Poeckl, Moenchhof, Euro 9.25
www.poeckl.com

Zweigelt Rubin Carnuntum, Weingut Artner, Hoeflein, Euro 9.50
www.artner.at

Zweigelt Rubin Carnuntum, Weingut Jahner, Wildungsmauer, Euro 9.50

Zweigelt Rubin Carnuntum, Weingut Hans und Philipp Grassl, Goettlesbrunn, Euro 10
www.weingut-grassl.com

Zweigelt Selektion, Winzerhof Landauer-Gisperg, Tattendorf, Euro 10
www.winzerhof.eu



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