Distinguished American Wine Blogger Lindsay Morriss from New England Interns at Weingut Georg Albrecht Schneider in Rheinhessen

Pictures (from top to bottom): Lindsay Morriss, Christian G.E.Schiller tasting wines with Lindsay Morriss and wine guru Matthias Pohlers, and Christian G.E.Schiller with Albrecht Schneider

If you follow German wines in the American wine blogger scene, you inevitably come across the wine blog Lindsay du Vin. The author is Lindsay Morriss, an energetic and very charming young women from Rhode Island, who just graduated with a MBA from INSEEC in Bordeaux.

As part of her studies, she interned at Weingut Georg Albrecht Schneider in Nierstein. Weingut Georg Albrecht Schneider is well known in the German wine scene in the US, as it exports about half of its production. I was lucky to be invited by Lindsay Morriss and Albrecht Schneider to the winery in Nierstein in Rheinhessen, with its famous Roter Hang vineyards.

Rheinhessen

Rheinhessen is an area that used to be known for winemakers often focusing on quantity and not quality. Rheinhessen is the largest viticultural region in Germany. Every fourth bottle of German wine comes from Rheinhessen. The high-yielder Mueller-Thurgau accounts for about 1/5 of the vineyards. Unlike in other German wine regions, where monoculture of the vine is the norm, here the many rolling hills are host to a wide variety of crops grown alongside the grape. Rheinhessen also has the rather dubious honor of being considered the birthplace of Liebfraumilch. At the same time, Rheinhessen is among Germany’s most interesting wine regions. A lot is happening there. This is not because of the terroir, but because of the people. There is an increasing group of mostly young and ambitious winemakers who want to produce and indeed do produce outstanding wine and not wines in large quantities. Lindsay fully agrees: “I have been living here now for almost two months and I am never, ever bored with the wide diversity of wines that come from this region. Every time I turn around, I am confronted with yet another grape crossing or a new take on an old favorite --most of which sadly will never reach the U.S.”

Rheinterrasse, Nierstein and the Red Slope (Roter Hang)

One region of Rheinhessen, the Rheinterrasse, had always been in a somewhat different league, the stretch of vineyards which runs from Bodenheim, south of Mainz, in the north to Mettenheim in the south, often referred to as the Rheinterrasse. The vineyards of the Rheinterrasse have a favored mesoclimate in comparison with others in the region. The Rheinterrasse accounts for one-third of the region's Riesling wines. The wines from the Rheinterrasse were at some point even more expensive than Bordeaux wines.

The Roter Hang (Red Slope) is at the center of the Rheinterrasse. This steep slope extends for some five kilometers (three miles) with a total of 180 ha (445 acres) around Nierstein on the left bank of the Rhine.

The Roter Hang has a very special terroir, resulting from the drop of the Rheinhessen plateau before human life started. As a consequence of these movements the Roter Hang has a mineral-rich soil, a mixture of iron and clayish slate, which is at least 250 million years old (Permian Period). Further, the slope faces south to southeast, which helps in terms of the solar radiation. The red slate retains warmth, and additional warmth comes from the sunlight reflected from the surface of the Rhine.

Weingut Georg Albrecht Schneider

Lindsay interned at Weingut Georg Albrecht Schneider. The wine estate, owned by Albrecht and Ulrike Schneider, is located in Nierstein in Rheinhessen. The vineyard area totals 15 hectares. More than two thirds of the area is planted with Riesling; other grape varieties include Müller-Thurgau and Silvaner. “We own many very good vineyards and have planted them with Riesling” Albrecht Schneider says. In addition, grape juice, perlé wine, bottle-fermented sparkling wines and grappa-style spirits are also produced. In terms of the Gault and Millau ranking, Weingut Georg Albrecht Schneider is in the 2 stars category.

Picture: Weingut Georg Albrecht Schneider

Weingut Georg Albrecht Schneider has been exporting for over 30 years, currently about half of its output. Of the export, 70% goes to the US and the remainder to Japan. “Our big markets in the US are are Massachusetts, California and New York” says Albrecht Schneider. I met Ulrike Schneider recently in Washington DC, where she presented her wines. See here.

Lindsay Morriss

Lindsay Morriss just graduated with an MBA focused on the wine industry from INSEEC in Bordeaux. Her Thesis is “Raising the Profile of German Wines in the US”. As part of her studies, she interned for 9 ½ weeks in Rheinhessen.

In her thesis, Lindsay argues that Germany should place more emphasis on promoting other grape varieties outside of Riesling when marketing its wines in the U.S. Lindsay says:“I especially believe there is great opportunity for red German wines such as Spätburgunder, Lemberger, Dornfelder, and others. Germany is the third largest producer of Pinot Noirs in the world and where do you find German Pinot Noir in the US?”

And she feels that “Germany really needs to start promoting its white Pinots (Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris). I’ve tasted plenty of both now, which are very common in Rheinhessen. A good Pinot Blanc or Weissburgunder is refreshing with lots of Mediterranean fruit―no, not tropical―I mean Mediterranean, e.g. mandarin, persimmon, mirabelle (yellow plum), etc. As for Pinot Gris or Grauburgunder, these wines tend to be a bit more earthy—I have found the best expressions to be those harvested at Spätlese level and fermented dry.”

Picture: Lindsay Morriss at the Riesling Lounge at Lomo in Mainz, presenting the wines of Weingut Georg Albrecht Schneider, with Uschi Müller (nee Schneider)

Lindsay also feels that, on the question of oak, “since red wine for the most part is only a fairly recent phenomenon in Germany, most winemakers are just beginning to experiment with barrel-aging. Overall, I found most of the red wines to be too delicate to withstand barrique-aging and generally found the extra oak contact to overpower the wine.”

If you want to study Lindsay’s research in more depth, please contact her via her website Lindsay du Vin



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1st International Riesling Symposium, Rheingau, Germany

1st International Riesling Symposium, Rheingau, Germany

Pictures: Wilhelm Weil opening the 1st International Riesling Symposium at Schloss Rheinhartshausen in the Rheingau in Germany

The 1st International Riesling Symposium

“In the midst of today’s Riesling renaissance, it is important that the leading Riesling regions of all continents work together and exchange thoughts,” said Hessen’s former Prime Minister Roland Koch in his opening remarks and set the stage for the 1st International Riesling Symposium that took place at Schloss Rheinhartshausen in the Rheingau in Germany on November 11 and 12, 2010. It was attended by top winemakers, representatives from the trade and restaurant sector, and journalists. The conference was organized by the VDP Rheingau. The VDP is Germany’s elite winemakers association; it has about 200 members.

Eight very interesting lectures, four outstanding wine tastings - one in the morning and one in the afternoon of each day - and a walking wine dinner provided for two fascinating and highly entertaining days around Riesling. The symposium was attended by about 150 people, including such luminaries as Jancis Robinson from the UK, Willi Bruendlmayer from Austria, Helmut Doennhoff from the Nahe, Ernst Loosen from the Mosel and Colette Faller from Domaine Weinbach in Alsace. Top winemaker Wilhelm Weil and wine journalist Ingo Swoboda orchestrated the two days event.

Worldwide, there are about 34000 hectares planted with Riesling. Germany – with 22400 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. Nevertheless, Australia was a bit underrepresented at the 1st International Riesling Symposium. 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 less than 1 percent of total wine production in the world - but a very special niche wine.

Lectures

David Schildknecht, one of the most influential American wine writers, opened the discussion by asking if the Riesling's recent success has not been a pyrrhic victory. Due to rapidly expanding production in the New World, the Riesling niche risks to get over-crowded: "The surface devoted to Riesling in Washington State has nearly tripled in the course of the past decade, and that in California - coming off of a quarter century-long decline - nearly doubled."

He also was not sure whether the German push for the dry style is the way to go. David Schildknecht said: “German growers’ dry wines have declared total victory on their home turf ... at the same time, a tidy volume of residually sweet Riesling remains - varying by region – that, perversely, is in demand almost solely abroad, but there increasingly ardently - in the US, the work of importers Terry Theise and Rudi Wiest have contributed to this success.” Wilhelm Weil confirmed that “while 30 years ago, residually sweet wines accounted for about 80 percent of Germany’s total wine output, this share has dropped to only 10 to 20 percent today.”

David Schildknecht also criticized German wine growers for pushing the alcohol content too high. He said: "Impossible to overlook are the numbers of Grosse Gewaechse that reach 14%, a level of alcohol with which they - to say nothing of the consumer - have difficulty dealing". David argued for a lower level of alcohol content and more remaining sweetness in the wine: "German Rieslings with 10 to 20 grams of residual sugar reflect not just the natural course of fermentation, but also long-standing tradition".

Another highlight was the brilliant presentation of Prof. Hans R. Schulz from the Geisenheim Wine College (right next door to where the symposium took place) under the heading “Riesling – Past, Present and Future”. Prof. R.Schulz provided us with a scientific view of climate, vineyard site and viticultural management issues, using data from the world’s main Riesling producing regions - Geisenheim in the Rheingau, Washington State in the US, the Okanagan Valley in Canada, Blenheim in New Zealand, Colmar in France, Vienna in Austria and Adelaide Hills in Australia. The main message for the Rheingau winemakers was that there are indeed challenges ahead, but these challenges are manageable. “The mitigation potential for Riesling to maintain its distinctiveness even in a changing climate is large for the Rheingau winemakers” Prof. Schulz concluded. However, he did not say much about how things look for winemakers in other regions.

Jim Trezise, Chairman of the International Riesling Foundation (IRF),confirmed in his presentation that “Riesling is now the fastest growing varietal in American sales.” But he added that “although an increasing number of consumers like Riesling, overall, consumers continue to be confused by the variations in sweetness. This is why the IRF has introduced a Riesling Taste Profile for the back label that gives the consumer an idea of each individual wine’s flavour. Now used on some 15 million bottles of its member’s wines, including by Germany’s Schloss Johannesberg in the Rheingau, the IRF hopes that it will make buying a bottle of Riesling less difficult for the normal consumer.

Ulrich Sauter, a well-known German wine and gourmet journalist, shared with us the research he has done in terms of replacing - or supplementing – the one-dimensional wine ratings, such as the Parker points, with a multi-dimensional approach, based on cluster analysis. Interestingly, his research suggests that the factor "terroir" is a less decisive factor for how the wine ultimately presents itself in the glass than the ripeness of the grape at the point of harvest and the vinification approach of the winemaker.

3-star Michelin Chef from Restaurant Vendome in Germany provided some insights on how to combine Riesling with food. Georg Mauer, a wine retailer in Berlin, offered his thoughts on the Riesling renaissance from the trade perspective. Daniel Decker – under the heading: a brief history of the vineyard classification for the Prussian Rhine Province, including the former Duchy of Nassau - took us back to the 1800s and early 1900s, when the first attempts were made to systematically classify vineyards. Interestingly, these attempts were made with a view of taxing the revenues of the wine makers appropriately. When he does not write about wine, Daniel Deckers is a political journalist at the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. He just published a book about the history of the VDP. Finally, H.B. Ullrich reported about the annual Rheingau Gourmet and Wein Festival.

Wine Tastings

There were 4 impressive wine tastings, showing Riesling from 4 different perspectives. They also clearly demonstrated the versatility of this very special grape. We tasted wines that were bone dry, noble sweet, slightly sweet, young and aged.

Josef Schuller, Weinakademie Oesterreich, past Chairman Institute of Masters of Wine, London, led a tasting on dry Rieslings. This tasting included 21 dry Rieslings, of which 3 were from the new world, 3 from Alsace, 6 from Austria, 2 from other German regions than the Rheingau and the remaining wines from the Rheingau. It was a “blind tasting” and we then tried to identify the new world, the Alsatian, the Austrian and the non-Rheingau wines. Interestingly, 2 of the 3 new world wines were identified rather swiftly as were 2 of the Alsatian wines. For the other wines, it turned out to be more challenging.

Stephane Gass, Sommelier at the 3 Michelin star restaurant Schwarzwaldstube “Traube Tonbach”, ably led through a tasting of 21 Rieslings with a touch of residual sweetness. The focus of this tasting was on what kind of food pairing might fit with Riesling with a little bit of residual sugar.

Jancis Robinson, Financial Times, led a fascinating tasting of 21 aged Rieslings. We started out with a 1970 Heiligenstein Riesling Schloss Gobelsburg, a very delicate bone-dry wine. A highlight was the 1959 Steinberger Riesling Spaetlese, Hessische Staatsweingueter Kloster Eberbach.

Caro Maurer, MW, Der Feinschmecker, guided us through 21 noble sweet wines. There were many impressive wines, including the 2004 Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg, Selection de Grains Nobles, Domaine Weinbach, but it was Weingut Hermann Doennhoff’s 2008 Oberhaeuser Bruecke, Riesling Eiswein, which got a round of extra applause.

I will report about the tastings separately in more detail on Schiller Wine. Here are already a few pictures.





Pictures (from top to bottom): Aged Riesling Tasting Seminar with Ingo Swoboda, John Dade Thieriot (Dee Vine Wines in San Francisco), Jancis Robinson and Wilhelm Weil on the Stage, and Armin Diel, Nik Weis, Ernst Loosen and Egon Mueller commenting.

Walking Wine Dinner

A Walking Wine Dinner with 5 renown Chefs from the region - Frank Buchholz,Jens Fischer, Kazuya Fukuhira, Mario Reuter and Harald Ruessel - and the wines of the participating wine producers concluded the first day of the seminar. I was happy to find Armin Diel’s Poet’s Leap from Washington State, a wine that is popular in the US, but difficult to find in Germany. Armin told me that you can buy it in Germany at Schlossgut Diel.


Pictures: Frank Buchholz, Restaurant Buchholz, Mainz and his dish "Duo of Red Salmon with Basil Sour Cream and Buffalo Mozzarella"

The Context

The 1st International Riesling Symposium followed the 3d Riesling Rendezvous hosted jointly by Dr. Loosen and Château Ste. Michelle in Seattle in Washington State with over 350 wine professionals attending from all corners of the world earlier this year. The next Riesling Symposium is planned to take place in Melbourne, followed by the fourth Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle and the 2nd International Riesling Symposium in the Rheingau in 2012.

Interestingly, I believe, I was the only wine blogger participating in the event. My participation had been arranged by Ernst Loosen, the German winemaker who is highly popular in the US, and, as a far as I can see, the most important Ambassador for German wine, and in particular for Riesling, in the world. Thank you Ernie for inviting me.

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Best of German Dry White Wines and Winemakers - The Falstaff 2010 Ranking

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Boekenhoutskloof – Producer of Sensational Premium Wines as well as Good Value Table Wines in Franschhoek

Pictures: Christian G.E.Schiller with winemaker Jean Smit at Boekenhoutskloof

From an initial 6000 bottles in 1996, now Boekenhoutskloof’s output is running at 3 million bottles, of which 95% is its second label Porcupine Ridge and the new Wolftrap, and 5% the premium category wines Boekenhoutskloof and The Chocolate Block. Founded in 1776, Boekenhoutskloof is one of the oldest farms in the Franschhoek Valley and has seen a phenomenal development since 1996. It now enjoys a reputation as one of the leading wine estates in South Africa. I had the pleasure of spending a couple of hours there with winemaker Jean Smit in September 2010.

Boekenhoutskloof

The Boekenhoutskloof farm was founded by Hugenot settlers, bringing with them Mediterranean grape varieties and French know how. In 1993, the farm was purchased and restored by a partnership of wine enthusiasts, revamping the ancient cellar, installing state-of-the-art equipment and implementing a new vineyard planting scheme. Boekenhoutskloof derives its name from the Boekenhout tree, of which there are still several along the stream banks of the property.

There are approximately 20 hectares of vines at Boekenhoutskloof - 25% of which are planted to white varieties:Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Viognier; and 75% of which consist of reds: Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. All vineyards employ extended double perold trellises. The soil types are not homogenous, ranging from deep, rich alluvial soils along the river’s edge to iron ridge clay on hillsides with areas of decomposed granite.

Boekenhoutskloof is farming organically and also well advanced in its plans to embrace bio-dynamic wine making.

Marc Kent

Boekenhotskloof’s public face is Marc Kent, who was in Europe when I visited Boekenhootskloof. Marc Kent joined Boekenhoutskloof in 1994 and has become the seventh partner. He pays frequent visits to France where he indulges in the French traditions of winemaking, which are clearly the inspiration behind the style and philosophy of his own winemaking.

Boekenhoutskloof shot to prominence with its first Syrah (1997). It was Kent’s first job out of wine school. His hands-off approach captivated an audience looking for wines not focused around fruit or oak. Many say that it put South African Syrah on the map. Winemaking was not Kent’s his first career choice: he was on course to be a pilot with the South African airforce when the changing political landscape derailed this option.

Jean Smit

Marc Kent is heading a team of winemakers that now includes Jean Smit, responsible for Boekenhoutskloof’s high-end wines. Jean Smit had assisted at Boekenhoutskloof before, but then had left for Elgin to become Iona’s first permanent winemaker. It is unlikely that Iona’s owner Andrew Gunn was delighted when he learnt that Jean had been lured back to Franschhoek by Marc Kent.




Pictures: Christian G.E.Schiller, Jean Smit and Aikas

Jean likes to get his hands dirty and believes that good wine can only be made from good fruit. The whole time I was together Jean, we were accompanied by his dog Aikas, wherever we went. He graduated from the University of Stellenbosch but initially wanted to become a medical doctor. “I never thought I would be so fortunate to become a winemaker at my favourite property.” What would he want to be if born into history as any famous person? “Che Guevara on his Norton 500 discovering South America and writing his motorcycle diaries – he lived his dream!” And, if money was not a constraint, “I would like to live on a island off the coast of central Africa, help developing the community and dig into their culture during the day, and sit on the beach at night with my wife and Weimaraner and drink Romanee-Conte and eat buckets of crayfish and abalone” Jean said in a recent interview.

The Wine Portfolio

Boekenhoutskloof produces four wine brands: Boekenhoutskloof, The Chocolate Block, Porcupine Ridge and Wolftrap.

Boekenhoutskloof

I tasted with Jean Smit the 2008 Boekenhoutskloof, the flagship range: Semillon, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, The Journeyman, Noble Late Harvest.

The majority of grapes for the Boekenhoutskloof range are outsourced as the home vineyards are too young or not yet bearing. The Cabernet Sauvignon comes from a single riverside property in Franschhoek. This is also the source of the Sémillon. The Shiraz is sourced from a vineyard in Wellington.

Boekenhoutskloof Semillon: 1000 case were made of the 2008 vintage. The wine is fermented in new French oak, where it stays for 13 months. After alcoholic fermentation the barrels are taken to the cold room and kept at 5–8 degrees C for a year. This inhibits the malolactic fermentation. No sulfur; no battonage.

Oxidative, old world style. Green apple, pear and citrys notes on the nose. The oak is really well integrated. The palate has some lemony and herby character.

Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon: 500 cases were made of the 2008 vintage. Aged in new oak for 27 months: first, itt spends 18 months in the barrel on its gross lees, is racked and fined with egg white and then returns to the barrel for a further 9 months. It is then fined and bottled. Jean does not do any acidification, which is unusual by South African standards.

Attack of dark fruits and spices on the nose. The palate is well structured, full and spicy with tight, tannic dark fruits.

Boekenhoutskloof Syrah: Boekenhoutskloof’s flagship wine. 1000 cases were made of the 2008 vintage. The first vintage, 1997, was exceptional, but the vineyard had to be given up as apartment buildings were constructed on it. The fruit now comes from a single vineyard in Wellington.

Wild fermented in small open concrete vats and aged in used French barriques for 27 months. Bottled without acidification or filtration. The oxidative and artisanal approach in the cellar leads to a wine which is not driven by primary fermentation esters and oak flavors but rather more developing secondary and tertiary flavors.

The wine is called Syrah and not Shiraz. Both are the same grape, but producers use each term to indicate a style difference. Most South African producers want to be affiliated with Australian-style wines, so they use Shiraz on their labels. Interestingly, Boekenhoutskloof uses Syrah, which indicates that they were going for a more French style wine.

Rich dark berry, black plum, pepper and coffee and mocha on the nose. The palate is rich with plenty of complexity and hints of blackberry, dried cherry, prune, and cranberry.

“The thing with Syrah is that you need to leave it to do its own thing, let the wild child free, and at the end of the day it will amaze you with its complexity”, Jean Smit says.

Boekenhoutskloof Noble Late Harvest. Just two barrels of this wine was made. Wonderful rich, apricotty nose is intense and rich, and also shows citrus and caramel notes. Sweet, viscous, honeyed and rich on the palate with good acid.

The Chocolate Block

“The Chocolate Block is not at all a terroir wine, but a multi-regional blend", says Jean. The 2008 Chocolate Block is blend of Syrah (69%); Grenache (12%); Cabernet Sauvignon (10%); Cinsault (7%) and Viognier (2%).

The Syrah fruit comes from Malmesbury with its unique growing conditions and dryland farmed vineyards to ensure it deep-rooted vines and therefore optimal concentration of color, flavor and tannin structure. The Grenanche is sourced from Citrusdal with its very sandy soils and perfect terroir for ripening this grape varietal. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Viognier come from the organically farmed vineyards of Boekenhoutskloof and the Cinsault is from old bush vines on decomposed granite soils in Wellington. All five varieties have appeared in varying quantities from vintage to vintage.

All barrels used are French with the amount of new oak sometimes as high as 50% but typically around 30%, the different components spending more or less the same time in barrel, usually 16 months.

The Chocolate Block has grown from 15 barrels of the maiden 2002 vintage to 765 of the current-release 2008. The Chocolate Block was put together for the first time after Wellington winery Diemersfontein, which I visited later, had come up with its crowd-pleasing and now widely copied chocolate Pinotage. However, the Boekenhoutskloof wine has never been quite as overtly flavored.

Whereas the defining character of the other wines in the top-end Boekenhoutskloof range is one of finesse, the same cannot really be said of The Chocolate Block. The amount of chocolate-like character that the wine displays from year to year might be debatable, but on the whole it tends to be generous and expressive.

Porcupine Ridge

Below The Chocolate Block sits the Porcupine Ridge tier of wines, and here we are in altogether different territory, with volumes exceeding 2 million bottles a year. Half of this is Sauvignon Blanc.

Boekenhootskloof is currently sponsoring a PhD student, who is researching the feeding behaviour and movements of the porcupine. In general, there has been an active conservation interest on the farm. A rare Erica, Erica lerouxiae, has been identified on the property and is completely endemic to Boekenhoutskloof.

The Wolftrap

The Wolftrap is the latest edition to the stable of Boekenhoutskloof. This used to be a sort of bin-end; now it is a more focused blend of four varieties: Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Viognier, typically made in volumes of between 35 000 to 40 000 cases. In addition, there is now The Wolftrap Rose.

There is a 250-year old wolf trap on Boekenhoutskloof and the name is a tribute to the pioneers who in the early days of the Cape erected a wolf trap, mistakenly believing that wolves inhabited the area. To date, no wolf either real or mystical has been seen in the valley.

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Willi Klinger Leads Wine Tasting of Austria’s Undiscovered Stars in Vienna at EWBC 2010

Pictures: Willi Klinger leads Wine Tasting of Austria’s Undiscovered Stars in Vienna at EWBC 2010

The 2010 European Wine Bloggers Conference (EWBC) took place in Vienna at Schloss Schoenbrunn earlier this year. A main sponsor of the EWBC was the Austrian Marketing Board which used the event to showcase wine producer Austria to the 200 wine bloggers from around the world. This was done, inter alia, in an impressive way by a tasting of Austria’s Undiscoved Stars, led by the Austria Marketing Board’s boss Willi Klinger.

Wines from Austria

Austria has about 50.000 hectares of vineyard, equivalent to about half of Germany’s total vineyard area and one fifth of France’s vineyard area. Almost all of it in the east of the country. “In the west we ski, in the east we make wine”, says Willing Klinger, head of Austrian Marketing Board. About 70 % of the production is white wine and 30% red wine. About 75 percent of Austria’s production is consumed in Austria and 25 percent is exported.

Austrian wine culture is ancient; people have been producing wine in Austria for 4000 years. But everything changed in 1985, when Austria was rocked by the “antifreeze wine scandal”. Some vintners were caught illicitly sweetening their products with glycol. As a result, the market for Austrian wine, especially the semi-sweet styles then in favor, evaporated overnight. Yet the scandal initiated a revolution that has propelled Austrian wines on to the world stage. It led to a broad rethink, with an emphasis on higher-quality production and innovation that soon became noticed. Young winemakers, drawn by the new emphasis on quality over quantity, brought cutting-edge techniques and farsightedness to vineyards and cellars, revolutionizing both.

The Tasting: Austrian Undiscovered Stars

Willi Klinger knows his stuff, his English is beautiful and he is fun to listen to. “The Austrians are very good in terms of marketing” he said, “we were able to make the World believe that van Beethoven as an Austrian and Hitler a German”. Willi is also a very good jazz singer, but the EWBC participants could unfortunately not benefit from this asset of Willi.

Picture: Austria and its Wine Regions

The other special thing about this tasting was that the EWBC participants were to identify their favorite and that favorite would then be put on the web site of Naked Wines, a UK wine importer, for sale in the UK. All the wines we tasted came from winemakers that are not yet present in the UK market. As a minimum, 1000 bottles needed to be available for sale in the UK.

The notes below are my observations merged with Willi Klinger’s comments. We tasted the undiscovered stars in 3 flights plus a noble-sweet wine.

First Flight

Herbert Zillinger, Ebenthaler Lagen, Grüner Veltliner, 2009, Weinviertel DAC: Typical Gruener Veltliner Weinviertel DAC, fresh and crisp, some green flavors and notes of grapefruit on the nose, good acidiy.

Martin & Anna Arndorfer, Reserve Strasser Weinberge, Grüner Veltliner, 2009, Kamptal DAC: A Gruener Veltliner with a bit more alcohol than the first one from a young shooting star, creamier, complexer, more powerful than the first one, more aging potential, no wood.

Walter Buchegger, Gebling, Riesling, 2009, Kremstal DAC: Riesling accounts only for 5% of Austria’s wine production, some of the greatest Rieslings are from the Danuber valley, harvested 2 weeks later than the Gruener Veltliner, peaches and mango on the nose, good acidity, lingering finish.

Winner: My favorite was the Martin & Anna Arndorfer, Reserve Strasser Weinberge, Grüner Veltliner, 2009, Kamptal DAC, but the crowd’s favorite was: Walter Buchegger, Gebling, Riesling, 2009, Kremstal DAC

Second Flight

Birgit Braunstein & Martin Pasler, vom Leithaberg, Chardonnay, 2009 Leithaberg DAC: Very talented winemakesr, working towards biodynamic principles, non-traditional grape variety Leithaberg is the most Burgundian wine region in Austria when comes to white wines, some wood, well composed, nice structure.

Mayer am Pfarrplatz & Rotes Haus, Wiener Gemischter Satz Nussberg, 2009: Field blend from the Nussberg, where in 1683 the Turks were decisively beaten by the Austrians, supported by their European allies, fresh and crisp, easy on the tounge, dry.

Walter Skoff, Obegg, Sauvignon Blanc, 2008 Südsteiermark: Suedsteiermark is the Tuscany of Austria, attack of peaches and mango on the nose, good acidity, noticeable residual sweetness on the palate.

Winner: My favorite of the second flight was Mayer am Pfarrplatz & Rotes Haus, Wiener Gemischter Satz Nussberg, 2009 and this was also the crowd’s favorite.

Third Flight

Artner, Rubin Carnuntum, Zweigelt, 2009 Carnutum: Red wine production in Austria took off in the 1980s, 11 months in new and old wood, not too much oak, blue and dark berries combined with vanilla on the nose, fruit driven, a hint of bitterness on the palate.

Bauer-Pöltl, Reserve, Blaufränkisch, 2008, Mittelburgenland DAC: Bio-dynamic producer, Burgenland is stronghold for Blaufraenkisch, which is called Lemberger in Germany, fine nose, concentrated, racy acidity, lots of tannins, spicy, tobacco, bitter chocolate.

Schneider, Reserve, St. Laurent, 2008 Thermenregion: St. Lauent is an Austrian version of Pinot Noir, very dark in the glass, red berries on the nose, good tannins, nice touch of wood, good structure.

Zull, Pinot Noir, 2008 Niederösterreich: Very transparent in the glass, notes of wet stone and red berries on the nose, austere and lean on the palate, a fragile wine.

Winner: My favorite was the Artner, Rubin Carnuntum, Zweigelt, 2009 Carnuntum, but he overall winner of third flight was Schneider, Reserve, St. Laurent, 2008 Thermenregion.

Last Wine: Ausbruch

Moser Hans, Ausbruch Aus den Rieden, Cuvée, 2007 (noble-sweet) Burgenland: Austria produces noble-sweet wines in all regions, if conditions permit, a cuvee of Chardonnay, Weissburgunder and Sauvignon Blanc, not too sweet, but I would have liked some more acids.

Overall Winner as Selected by Wine Bloggers of the EWBC 2010

The participants’ favorite was: Mayer am Pfarrplatz & Rotes Haus, Wiener Gemischter Satz Nussberg, 2009. In just a matter of hours after being selected in the tasting, the wine became available on the web site of Naked Wines.

And here is how Naked Wines advertised the wine: “The wines is a blend of 13 grape varieties, dominated by Gruner Veltliner. The vines are grown on a hill with the most incredible views overlooking Vienna. Perfect with sushi, Thai green curry or as a Sunday lunchtime kick-starter.” 6 bottles cost BP 58.80.

Schiller Wine - Related Postings

Austria's 13 Top Zweigelt Wines - The 2009/2010 Falstaff Selection

Austria's 17 Best Zweigelt Wines - The 2010 Wein.pur List

German Wine makers in the World: A. Schlumberger, Austria

Wine ratings: Austria's best red wines - 2010

Wine ratings: Austria - Falstaff Top Red Wines 2009/2010

Welcome to America: Franz and Christine Netzl Estate, Carnuntum, Austria

The 2010 European Wine Bloggers Conference (EWBC) in Vienna

Wine Producer Austria - Not Only Gruener Veltliner

German Wine Dinner at World’s Best Restaurant NOMA

Picture: Christian G.E.Schiller with Daniel Wagner, Weingut Wagner-Stempel, whose dry Scheurebe is one of the 10 wines of the NOMA German Wine Dinner in November 2010; his US importer is Therry Theise.

NOMA in Copenhagen is arguably the world’s best restaurant currently, ahead of El Bulli in Spain and The Fat Duck in London. During the month of November, Noma offers a German Wine dinner.

When the annual World's 50 Best Restaurants list was released on April 25, 2010 in London, England, by the Italian water producer S. Pellegrino, NOMA came out on top. It was the 9th edition of the much buzzed-about ranking of the international culinary landscape. For the past 4 years, Ferran Adria’s restaurant El Bulli in Spain had taken the No. 1 spot, but it was downgraded to second best this year. I have written about it here.

NOMA stands for Nordisk Mad (Nordic Food). The restaurant is the brain child of gastronomic innovator Claus Meyer and René Redzepi, one of the worlds most talented young chefs, who is half Danish and half Macedonian. Many commentators said that this promotion marks a shift away from laboratory cuisine toward cooking rooted in regional produce. NOMA boasts that it does not use olive oil, tomatoes or nonseasonal garlic, as all of its produce is from Denmark and the neighboring Nordic countries. In addition, Ferran Adria had announced last December that the Mecca of molecular gastronomy was taking a break and will reopen as a nonprofit foundation -- a think tank of gastronomic creativity for 20 to 25 young chefs - in 2014

This November, there is – for the lovers of German wine - an additional reason to eat there: a German wine menu. The German wine menu features exclusively 12 German wines from Riesling and Spätburgunder as welcome, over Scheurebe to dry and sweet Riesling, Spätburgunder and Auxerrois, ending with a 1976 Riesling Beerenauslese.

The Sommelier and Partner in NOMA, Pontus Elofsson, evidently loves Riesling and German wines. In a recent interview he said that in his view “the acidity and minearality of German Riesling really complement NOMAS food very well. The Nordic food is characterized by fresh, crisp, elegant and intensive aromas. The vegetables, fruits and herbs that grow in Scandinavia have a long cool season to ripen in. German wines have some of the same character as Scandinavian food, with fresh acidity fantastic intencity and elegant body”.

Some of the producers and vineyards Pontus Elofsson has chosen are not so well known. For example, Hendrik Moebitz, is a “Feierabend Winzer” (after work winemaker), with only a couple of hectares of land and a full-time job in the drug industry. He does not appear in any of the German wine guides, but I know his wines - they are outstanding. The other winemaker representing the German red wine revolution is star winemaker Weingut Meyer-Naekel from the Ahr region, who also makes wine in South Africa. The two noble-sweet wines are both aged, with the Beerenauslese from 1976.

The November 2010 Wine Menu at NOMA

Wine for welcome (instead of Champagne): 2009 Riesling Kabinett Trocken, Kronenberg Terrassen, Weingut Peter Mentges, Mosel or 2006 Pinot Noir, Steinberg, Henrik Möbitz, Baden

1. Course: 2008 Weissburgunder, Pillnitzer Königlicher Weinberg, Weingut Kalus Zimmerling, Sachsen

2. Course: 2008 Scheurebe, Wagner-Stempel, Rheinhessen

3. Course: 2008 Riesling, Spätlese, Wolfer Goldgrübe, Weingut Vollenvieder, Mosel; from middle of November this wine will be replaced by: 2007 Riesling, Spätlese Trocken, ”Schieferstein”, Weingut Rita & Rudolf Trossen, Mosel

4. Course: 2000 Riesling, Sekt, Trocken, St. Aldegunder Klosterkammer, Weingut Stein, Mosel (degorgiert 2009)

5. Course: 2008 Spätburgunder ”S”, Meyer Näkel, Ahr

6. Course: 1993 Riesling Auslese, Urziger Würzgarden, Weingut Karl Erbes, Mosel

7. Course: 1976 Riesling, Beerenauslese, Geisenheimer Rothenberg, Weingut Bastian-Gimpel, Rheingau

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Wine Producer Austria - Not Only Gruener Veltliner

Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller with Michael Hoeffken, Assistant Winemaker at Weingut Leo Hillinger

I participated in the 2010 European Wine Bloggers Conference (EWBC) that took place in Vienna earlier this year. The main sponsor of the EWBC was the Austrian Marketing Board that used the event to showcase wine producer Austria to the 200 wine bloggers from around the world.

Austria has about 50.000 hectares of vineyard, equivalent to about half of Germany’s total vineyard area and one fifth of France’s vineyard area. Almost all of it in the east of the country. “In the west we ski, in the east we make wine”, says Willi Klinger, head of Austrian Marketing Board. About 70 % of the production is white wine and 30% red wine. About 75 percent of Austria’s production is consumed in Austria and 25 percent is exported.

The Wine Scandal of 1985

Austrian wine culture is ancient; people have been producing wine in Austria for 4000 years. But everything changed in 1985, when Austria was rocked by the “antifreeze wine scandal”. Some vintners were caught illicitly sweetening their products with glycol. As a result, the market for Austrian wine, especially the semi-sweet styles then in favor, evaporated overnight. Yet the scandal initiated a revolution that has propelled Austrian wines on to the world stage. It led to a broad rethink, with an emphasis on higher-quality production and innovation that soon became noticed. Young winemakers, drawn by the new emphasis on quality over quantity, brought cutting-edge techniques and farsightedness to vineyards and cellars, revolutionizing both.

The Austrian Wine Marketing Board was created in 1986 as a response to the scandal, and Austria's membership of the European Union has prompted further revisions of her wine laws, notably the new DAC system of geographical appellations launched in 2002. The Austrian Wine Marketing Board is now ably led by Willi Klinger. “The Austrians are very good in terms of marketing” he says, “we were able to make the World believe that van Beethoven was an Austrian and Hitler a German”.

Wine Classification

At present there are three systems of wine classification: the traditional system based on the German scheme, a different classification used only in the Wachau, and a new system of regional appellations called DACs that is being introduced now.

Picture: Julia Sevenich, America-born Wine Journalist in Austria

First, Austria’s traditional wine classification system is similar to the one in Germany. It is based on the Klosterneuberger Mostwaage (KMW), which measures the sugar content of the grapes at harvest in a way similar to the Öchsle scale, where 1°KMW is about 5°Oechsle. Accordingly, there is Tafelwein (can come from more than one region), Landwein (a Tafelwein that comes from just one region), Qualitätswein (that can - as Tafelwein and Landwein - be chaptalised to 19°KMW for whites, 20°KMW for reds), Kabinett (no chaptalisation allowed and no addition of sterilized juice allowed - in contrast to Germany), Spätlese ( >19°KMW), Auslese ( >21°KMW), Beerenauslese ( >25°KMW), Ausbruch ( >27°KMW), and Trockenbeerenauslese ( >30°KMW, completely botrytised grapes), Eiswein ( >25°KMW, concentrated by being harvested and pressed when frozen), Strohwein or Schilfwein (>25°KMW, made from grapes dried on straw mats).

Second, the Vinea Wachau Nobilis Districtus of the Wachau region has three categories, all for dry wines, with an increasing level of alcohol in the wine: Steinfeder, Federspiel and Smaragd.

Picture: Christian G.E.Schiller with Ewald Gruber jun., Weingut Ewald Gruber

Finally, the new Districtus Austriae Controllatus (DAC) system tries to group wines typical for their region together. DAC wines always have a clear taste profile. There are now 7 DACs: Weinviertel DAC (Grüner Veltliner), Mittelburgenland DAC (Blaufränkisch), Traisental DAC (Riesling and Grüner Veltliner), Kremstal DAC (Riesling and Grüner Veltliner), Kamptal DAC (Riesling and Grüner Veltliner), Leithaberg DAC (Grüner Veltliner, Weißburgunder, Chardonnay, Neuburger and Blaufränkisch), Eisenberg DAC (Blaufränkisch).

Grape Varieties

Austria is known for making excellent dry white wines, in particular from Grüner Veltliner. But Austria is not only Grüner Veltliner from the Weinviertel, it is a country with a range of different wine regions producing a diversity of wine styles, including some great noble-sweet wines and increasingly serious red wines.

Grüner Veltliner: Austria’s own variety, which is capable of making full flavoured, spicy whites often with a distinctive white flower and cracked pepper edge to them. It is a particularly food-friendly wine. Grüner Veltliner accounts for about 1/3 of Austria’s wine production. Most of it is grown in the northeast of the country, along the Danube to the west of Vienna, in Wachau, Kremstal and Kamptal. In the deeper clay soils in the Weinviertel to the northeast of Vienna, Grüner Veltliner develops more of a spicy, peppery character.

Riesling: Riesling performs very well but accounts only for 3% of Austria’s vineyard area.

Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc): Makes lovely gently aromatic dry white wines in southern regions such as Südsteiermark.

Welschriesling: Austria’s second most planted white grape and not related to the true Riesling. Fresh, simple fruity dry whites are the norm. The Welschriesling is also used in the noble rot dessert wines of the Neusiedlersee.

Picture: Wiener Schnitzel

It is the whites that get most of the attention, but the reds have quietly been improving. Like in Germany, in Austria there has been a revolution going on in terms of red wines in recent years. In both countries, red wine now accounts for about 1/3 of the wine production.

Zweigelt: The most abundant red grape. Bred at Klosterneuburg in the 1920s and now accounting for nearly half of Austria's red wine. Zweigelt makes good wines ranging from simple cherry fruit gluggers to more substantial reds destined for ageing.

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

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: Came from France in the mid-19th century, and seems to have substantial Pinot Noir parentage. Makes soft, slight herby, expressive reds; it’s a bit like Pinot Noir.

Gemischter Satz

A Gemischter Satz wine 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.

Picture: In a Heurigen with WienWein

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. The favorite of the EWBC 2010 participants in a tasting of Austrian wines was a Gemischter Satz wine from Vienna.

Wine Regions

Austria is divided into 4 main wine regions - Niederösterreich (Lower Austria) with 30.000 hectares, Burgenland with 15.000 hectares, Steirerland (Styria) with 4.000 hectares and Wien (Vienna) with 600 hectares, which are split into 16 districts. All of Austria’s wines are grown in the eastern part.

Niederoesterreich (Lower Austria)

Lower Austria, the pre-eminent wine zone, has these regions: Wachau, Kremstal, Kamptal, Traisental, Wagram (formerly Donauland), Weinviertel, Carnuntum and Thermenregion. In the West of Vienna, Wachau (the narrow valley of the Danube around Melk), Kremstal (downstream of the Wachau, centred on the town of Krems) and Kamptal (to the north of Krems lies Langenlois, which is the main town of Kamptal, the valley of the river Kamp) are well known for Grüner Veltliner and Riesling. Most of the country’s leading dry whites come from here. The Weinviertel lies in the northeast corner of Austria, between the Danube and the Czech and Slovak borders. The biggest single wine region in Austria is home to half the Grüner Veltliner in the country. I like very much the red wines from Netzl, Markowitsch and Glatzer in the Carnuntum, which is south-east of Vienna.

Burgenland

Burgenland encompasses four subregions: Neusiedlersee (Lake Neusiedl), Neusiedlersee-Hügelland, and Middle and South Burgenland. Burgenland is famous for its noble-sweet wines from the Neusiedlersee. The shallow Neusiedler See (Lake Neusiedl) is one of the few places on earth where noble rot attacks grapes reliably every year. Increasingly, Austria’ top red wines tend to come from the Burgenland.

Picture: Christian G.E.Schiller with Silvia Prieler, Weingut Prieler, Burgenland

Vienna

Vines have been grown within the city walls of Vienna since the Middle Ages. Field blends known as Gemischter Satz are common here, and most wine is drunk young in the city's wine taverns (Heurigen).

Styria

Steiermark is an amalgam of South, Southeast and West Steiermark. The Suedsteiermark is lovely and many call it the Tuscany of Austria. It is best known for aromatic, savoury white wines from Weissburgunder, Morillon (Chardonnay) and Sauvignon Blanc; when I used to live in Croatia, I would always stop in the Suedsteiermark and have a couple of glasses of wine, before crossing the Slovenian border.

Picture: Christian G.E.Schiller with Gottfried Lamprecht from Herrenhof, Steiermark

Austria’s Top Wine Makers

When visiting Austria, you will find a huge number of top wine makers. And that not only in the top wine regions, but throughout Austria.

The Fallstaff 2010 Wine Guide has singled out the following wine producers and has awarded them 5 stars.

Weingut Bründlmayer, Langenlois, Kramptal
Weingut Gesellmann, Deutschkreutz, Burgenland
Weingut Gernot und Heike Heinrich, Gols, Burgenland
Weingut Franz Hirtzberger, Spitz an d. Donau, Wachau
Weingut Knoll, Unterloiben, Wachau
Weingut Kollwentz, Großhöflein, Neusiedlersee, Burgenland
Weinlaubenhof Kracher, Illmitz, Neusiedlersee, Burgenland
Weingut F.X. Pichler, Oberloiben, Wachau
Weingut Poeckle, Moenchhof, Burgenland
Weingut Prager, Weissenkirchen, Wachau
Weingut Tement, Berghausen, Südsteiermark

In terms of regional distribution of Austria’s top winemakers, 5 of the 11 top winemakers come from the tiny Wachau and Kramptal regions in the north, 5 from the Burgenland and 1 from the Steiermark in the south.

Sparkling Wine in Austria

Sparkling wine in Austria is called Sekt, as in Germany. Austria’s leading Sekt Estate is Schlumberger, which was established in 1842 in Vienna by Robert Schlumberger. 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.

At the same time, like in Germany, there is an increasing number of ambitious winemakers, who have complemented their still wine portfolio with Sekts. Those Sekts are essentially all made in the méthode champenoise with the Welschriesling and Grüner Veltliner grapes giving the wine a golden hue color. Sparkling roses are made from the Blaufränkische grape. Many of the winemakers also producing Sekt are in the Kamptal, like Bründelmayer and Lenz Moser.




Schiller Wine - Related Postings

Austria's 13 Top Zweigelt Wines - The 2009/2010 Falstaff Selection

Austria's 17 Best Zweigelt Wines - The 2010 Wein.pur List

German Wine makers in the World: A. Schlumberger, Austria

Wine ratings: Austria's best red wines - 2010

Wine ratings: Austria - Falstaff Top Red Wines 2009/2010

Welcome to America: Franz and Christine Netzl Estate, Carnuntum, Austria

The 2010 European Wine Bloggers Conference (EWBC) in Vienna