Monthly Archives: October 2012

Oct 21 2012
7 Comments
Sunday read

Sunday read: Ode to Terroir and Tasting Notes

This Sunday, I want to turn our attention to tasting notes. The value of tasting notes and scoring points is always somewhat in dispute, so it merits our attention.

I stumbled about this blog post by Frank Haddad. He starts his post with a strong statement “I hate tasting notes.” He then goes on to explain why. (Always good to explain why you hate something!) And that is where I realized I agree with him. Haddad strongly dislikes tasting notes that are clinical, that don’t give us context about the wine. Whether it is typical for its varietal or region, whether a star on its own or with food, whether the drinker liked it or not…his point is: put emotion into tasting notes, let the reader know how you felt. Were you surprised? Was it pleasurable?

Now, I have spent considerable time writing tasting notes, perfecting them to suit my needs but also to get others to be able to read and hopefully understand them. I am trying to convey emotions, but maybe I will try to do more so…

Just a thoughtful reminder to show ourselves in our notes…

Have a great Sunday!

In the Glass: Ode to Terroir and Tasting Notes

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Oct 19 2012
20 Comments
Germany, Something about wine...

Christmas came early yesterday!!

Stephan Reinhardt, The Finest Wines of Germany

(This is an announcement. You can find the review of the book here.)

This is what I received in the mail yesterday. I cannot tell you how excited I am. It is the first book on German wine written in English in quite a while. I first stumbled across it in the summer, when I saw a facebook friend liking the page “The Finest Wines of Germany”. I was puzzled, because I definitely recognized the motive on the cover: It is my hometown Nackenheim’s church steeple, with vineyards in front of it. I actually grew up with this sight!! I know what these church bells sounds like. I have played with the red soil under the vines. How awesome is that??!! I actually know the exact spot it was taken from, because returning from a hike in the vineyards, this is what I see…

Imagine my disappointment when I realized that this cover is only on the UK version of the book, while the American version has a rather generic wine harvest on it. Plus, the American cover in general really looks worse (the black does not really help it), while the white on the UK version looks way more sophisticated (call me biased, whatever).

See what I mean?

The American cover

But when I checked prices at www.amazon.com and www.amazon.co.uk (the links will take you straight to the book’s detail page), I also realized that the book was cheaper in the UK than in the US. That sealed the deal for me. I asked friends in London whether I could have the book shipped to them, which they agreed to, and then they shipped it on to me…and here I am, feeling like a boy at Christmas eve (in Germany, we get our presents on Christmas eve, not in the morning on Christmas day). I will write a proper review shortly, but I just had to share this with you. If you love German wines, consider this investment…Europeans: You can get it for £10 at Amazon.co.uk right now, which is half off!

Btw, this is the church in full…I have many more featuring it, but this was the first I was able to find:

My home town’s church

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Oct 17 2012
15 Comments
2011, Food and Wine Pairings, Hungary

Trader Joe’s 2011 Floriana Grüner Veltliner

2011 Floriana Grüner Veltliner

Just a short tasting note today.

I picked up this grüner veltliner a couple of weeks back at Trader Joe’s where it retailed for $5.99. Grüner Veltliner is a white grape that is mostly grown in Austria, kind of the dry sibling of riesling, and maybe even vinho verde (notice the word “green” in both wines). I cannot recall ever having had a grüner veltliner before, so I figured I should give it a try. This particular 2011 Floriana Grüner Veltliner was made in Hungary. Given Hungary’s and Austria’s common history (they once formed the Austro-Hungarian Empire), I gathered that Hungarians should be capable of making decent wines out of this grape. The wines are generally perceived as food friendly.

I made schnitzel last weekend. My friend Tracy and her husband had prepared an amazing and detailed instruction manual for me, because Nina loves schnitzel and I wanted to be able to recreate them here. In my case the schnitzel was a thin, crusted and then fried pork steak. I had read before that grüner veltliner can be a good companion to this traditional Austrian dish (the true classic is Schnitzel Vienna, but that is made with veal).

2011 Floriana Grüner Veltliner poured into the glass in a very light color. On the nose, there were prominent apple and citrus aromas. On the palate, it is dry, with apple and citrus persisting, but eventually herbal aromas coming in, which made it a really nice partner for the schnitzel, which is traditionally served with some lemon to squeeze over it and a salad as a side. The wine was light and refreshing. It did resemble the Trader Joe’s vinho verde in its freshness (but without the fizz). The herbal aromas did give it a different feel, though. Definitely worth trying if you are looking for a refreshing dry white.

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