Category Archives: Germany

Sep 17 2012
8 Comments
2010, Food and Wine Pairings, Germany, Mosel

2010 Loosen Bros. Dr. L Riesling

America’s German go to riesling with Korean pancake

Finally, you might say, finally a riesling that you have tried and you can compare my notes with your impressions. I admit that I have not tried many rieslings that are easily available here in the US. I have seen the ubiquitous bottle of this wine at Trader Joe’s but was unwilling to pay the $10.99 they were asking for it. So when, on our latest Costco run, I spotted the Dr. L for $8.99 I decided to give it a try. It seems to be the go to riesling for so many people here, and there was no reason at that price point to not give it a try.

First things first. I am usually not very optimistic when it comes to huge productions of quality winemakers, because all too often I have found them to be wanting. In Germany, I have not had many Dr. Loosen wines, so I also was not very comfortable assessing this and putting it into perspective. Then seeing the $10+ price tag for a very simple wine, I was even more turned off. Add in that I also tend to shy away from things everyone likes, Dr. L was in a bad position to start with. If you call all this over-thinking things, I guess you are completely right. I am glad that the price tag made me overcome all my preconceived objections.

When I decided to make Korean squash pancakes (hobakjeon, 호박전) with mushrooms, I figured this was the night to try the wine. I have had many good experiences with the Korean food and riesling pairing (for example here), so it seemed like a no brainer.

For those not familiar with the wine, just a few quick facts. Ernst (or Ernie) Loosen, the owner of Dr. Loosen Estate, is one of the major producers along the middle Mosel with vineyards in many prime sites (Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Graacher Himmelreich, Ürziger Würzgarten, Erdener Prälat, Erdener Treppchen). He is a charismatic figure and has done loads for promoting German rieslings. The Loosen Bros. Dr. L is his entry wine produced for a global market. The riesling grapes come from all over the place and are blended for this wine. The wine has 8.5% ABV.

Upon opening the screw cap of the beautifully dark green bottle, we poured a light yellow wine. As soon as Nina put her nose into the glass, she sighed “Aaaah, real German riesling, I missed you”. She relished the nose of what she described as summer fruits, peach, pineapple. To me, the nose did not really open up much or impress me. I got the peach and some floral notes later, but not initially (and no, the wine had not been chilled too much). The palate, though, was very nice. Peach, apples and citrus notes dominated it, with some herbal notes in the background. It had a nicely present acidity (probably owing to the vintage, 2010 had loads of acidity; read more here) that played well with the sweetness of the wine. In my view, this acidity was what carried it through and made it interesting. It is definitely a tad on the sweeter side, but the acidity makes it quite refreshing. It went great with the pancake and its soy-sauce based dips.

At nine bucks, this is a good value for a wine. We will be stocking up for sure. I am a little worried about the 2011, because if there is less acidity this could end up just too sweet. We’ll see. I will be drinking the 2010s as long as I can and then make the switch. It was nice to see that none of my worries came true. I whole-heartedly recommend this affordable, everyday German riesling.

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,
Sep 12 2012
12 Comments
1997, 1999, Burgundy, Food and Wine Pairings, France, Germany, Mosel

1997 Karl Erbes Ürziger Würzgarten Auslese* and 1999 Bonnes et Guerre Pommard AOC

Two beauties, meant for each other

Some pairings seem to be made in the heavens: Think steak and malbec, think cheese and sweet riesling, think cooked beef and burgundy wines…the list is endless. But sometimes, we have the chance to reconsider our preconceived ideas, and be surprised, because a whole new horizon opens up as we do.

On one of these days, Nina and I were visiting Stefan Erbes of Karl Erbes. We were trying our way through his newer wines and on to older wines. I mentioned it before, but the cool thing with his winery is that his father has stashed away wines of virtually every vintage. We were trying the 1996 Ürziger Würzgarten Auslese against this 1997 Ürziger Würzgarten Auslese* (they make up to a *** Auslese to distinguish between them according to what Stefan and his father consider the most stellar ones). Both tasted beautifully, unfortunately I cannot find the tasting notes for that visit. Stefan started explaining that he had had the 1997 with a grilled steak the other day and that that was amazing. This is when I intervened and told him to stop pulling my leg. I was incredulous. A steak and a Riesling Auslese? I know Riesling is versatile (think Korean food and riesling), but that versatile? Stefan just laughed, handed me a bottle and challenged me to try it out.

The next day, we did. We threw coals on the grill and seared beef steaks with friends. And, oh man, did it work. The wine nor the steak were ruined by the pairing. Incredibly, the sweetness of the wine gave the steak a new feel and aroma, and the smokiness of the steak gave the wine a certain depth. I was stunned. We stocked up on the wine (because it is amazing, steak or not) and were looking forward to the next BBQ Riesling dinner.

The occasion arose when we made plans with two good friends for dinner. She is falling more and more in love with German Riesling, while he has remained a bit skeptical, but is definitely indulging in the older vintages we’ve brought along. We agreed on steak, a butternut squash with sage risotto and baby potatoes. This was to be followed by a cheese platter, our usual routine.

I knew I wanted to take another bottle of wine, too, and my eyes fell on a bottle of 1999 Bonnes & Guerre Pommard. It was a gift by my French exchange partner and great friend Fred (another match made in the heavens). Pommard is a very well renown village just south of Beaune on the Cote d’Or and my friend knew full well that it is also the sister city of my home village Nackenheim. He had brought two bottles of this wine. I have not been able to find out anything about Bonnes & Guerre, so if any of you know them, please let me know. The first of these bottles I shared with two friends in my last weeks in Germany before heading over to Ann Arbor. It was an utter disappointment: The wine had clearly been dead, whether of cork or another flaw or just bad wine making, I could not determine it. It was just sad. So, I had been worrying about the bottle sitting here in Ann Arbor for a while, and I decided it was time to take it and see…

The Pommard and the decanter

The white was opened and left to breathe for about 30 minutes prior to tasting, the red was decanted and stood for about 45 minutes. We had parts of the Würzgarten with our steaks, and then some of the Pommard as well. That led over to the cheese course, where we also had both wines.

My notes on the 1997 Ürziger Würzgarten Auslese* (the wine had 7.5% ABV): The color was surprisingly light, not as ambered as one would expect an Auslese to be when 15 years old. The nose initially was not very prominent, I could not distinguish any particular aromas. As the wine opened up, there was peach in the nose. On the palate, the wine was very fresh, no significant indications of ageing. The peach aromas came through very nicely, the acidity in the wine balancing the reduced sugar beautifully. I guess I was most endeared by how fresh the wine still tasted. About 2 hours into the evening, the wine opened up further and there were tropical fruits coming in. The wine paired nicely with our steaks, but we were also happy to have preserved some for the cheese, because it definitely shone more on the cheese course, when it opened up and was supported more by the goat cheese we were having. It is a marvelous piece of art that Karl Erbes created…

So light…

I knew this bottle of 1999 Bonnes & Guerre Pommard AOC was not flawed as soon as I uncorked it. The cork looked clean and intact, and when I poured the wine into the decanter, a full blown raspberry attack was going on. I don’t recall ever to have had such a prominent and distinct raspberry aroma in the nose. The wine was incredibly light in color, almost translucent. There was no darkening or browning on the edges when poured into the glass. It was remarkably fresh as well. In the nose, the raspberry aromas persisted, with some jam and tartness mixed in. I also smelled something like dough batter, but that might have been my brain playing tricks on me (I love raspberry tartes). There were also notes of chalk in the nose. On the palate, the wine was condensed, but very fruity. The alcohol of 13% ABV was noticeable, but at no instance was the wine heavy. Later in the evening, when we were having cheese, the wine showed cherry, plum and slight tomato notes. There was also a certain earthiness to it. The wine was such a surprise to me. I had expected it to be flawed or a heavier, darker pinot noir. The light color deceived that it was deep and subtle and strong. The finish was long, and it shone through.

Was this a pairing made in the heavens? I think it was. Trying old wines with friends, from two regions in the world that matter a lot to me, both fruity, both light, both deep. They expressed some great European wine making, and to have them side by side, was an experience I likely will not forget for quite some time…

Playing with filters to show how light it looked…

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,
Sep 07 2012
6 Comments
Germany

Federweisser Time

Yesterday morning, it felt like fall for the first time this year. It made me think of late summer in Germany, and how this time of year is also an interesting time wine wise:

The summer is usually filled with wine festivals in the villages along Mosel and Rhine. They initially began as a chance for wine makers to empty their cellars of the previous vintage and make room for their new harvest. There might still be some truth in this, but by now the festivals really are a highlight of local wines, good company and food. Along the Rhine in Rheinhessen for example, every weekend, another village will have its wine festival, so you can pretty much spend the whole summer drinking wine straight from the vintners. These festivals are coming to a close around this time of year, as the wine makers prepare for their harvest.

However, that is not universally true. The world’s largest wine festival, for example, takes place in Bad Dürkheim (Palatinate) this weekend. It is called “Wurstmarkt” (Sausage Market) and this year’s is – believe it or not – the 596th time they are holding it. You can find more information here. The sheer size makes it different from the village festivals.

Anyway, in many parts, the harvest does not start until October, so it is a time of anticipation, checking the weather in the hope of a golden fall with lots of sunshine (for the grapes to fully ripen) and little rain (so that the grapes do not rot). And when October finally comes around, and the grapes are harvested and transported back to the cellars to be crushed and fermented, all those villages along the wine rivers will have a distinct smell hovering above them, a smell of grapes and yeast, and fermentation…to me, it is bliss.

The highlight of this part of the season, late August until end of September, is “federweisser” (literally “feather white”). It has many different regional names, but this is the most common. This specialty is grape juice that is still fermenting. The color is a milky yellow to light brown (hence the name), it is bubbling, and it is delicious. Once the grapes have been crushed, the juice (or must) will rapidly start fermenting when combined with yeast. The sugar in the grapes will be turned into alcohol by the yeast until there is no sugar left. This happens in a matter of days. Winemakers are allowed to sell federweisser once the alcohol content reaches 4% ABV. Not all winemakers will produce it, and the grapes are not from top notch vineyards, because that would be a waste as you can only drink it for a few days and nothing sophisticated is coming from it…

Federweisser is filled in bottles or plastic containers, but you must not close it off with a cork because of the fermentation. Usually the producer just puts a plastic cap over the bottle head and you need to transport it carefully and not lay the bottle down in the fridge.

Federweisser at its best (Photo credit: http://www.ekneipe.de)

The supermarkets will carry stuff originating from Italy and other places. Fermentation in these federweisse has usually been stopped which makes them boring and tasting slightly off. You want that bubbling still going on from fermentation. That is why it is imperative to buy it from a winemaker. A bottle will cost you between $3 and $6, depending on winery and region, and that is a pretty good price for the winemaker because it brings in money fast (they do not have to wait for the release of their wine next year) and is less work than cellaring and storing the wines.

What does it taste like? I would describe it as a grape based soda. It is sweet, it is refreshing, and very fruity. Despite the low alcohol content, these drinks can get to you fast. I am usually wasted after three or four glasses. Nina lasts a bit longer.

We pair it with “Zwiebelkuchen” (onion pie), a bit like a pizza or a quiche with tons of onions, some cream and bacon bits on it (there are a million recipes for onion pie out there, some with meat, some with cumin…every family has their own recipe). It seems like an odd mixture, but the saltiness of the pie with the sweetness of federweisser is great. It is hard on your digestive system, let me tell you, but it is as much a tradition in German households in wine regions as asparagus season in June all over Germany or Christmas markets in December.

If you ever get the chance to be in Germany around this of year, give federweisser a try. It is a tradition worth experiencing. And it smoothes us over into harvest season. I will make onion pie for friends of ours soon, and I am cursing my fate that does not allow me to have federweisser with it…

Tagged , , , , ,
← Older posts
Newer posts →