Tasting 3 Red Paul Mas Wines from the Languedoc in the South of France

July 11, 2013, 10:30 pm

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Picture: The 3 Paul Mas Wines I tasted

Domaines Paul Mas is one of the main estates in the South of France. The Mas family has been cultivating grapes in Languedoc since 1892. In 2000, Jean-Claude Mas, the current owner and winemaker, took over. Jean-Claude Mas: “While respecting our rural roots and preserving our environment, we highlight our exceptional and diverse terroirs, we craft our wines with creativity, authenticity, and refinement, with the goal of making great wines that will give you a unique moment, rich in emotions: this is real luxury!”

Over the last decade, Jean-Claude Mas has significantly grown and enhanced Domaines Paul Mas with the acquisition of several properties throughout the Languedoc. Today, Domaines Paul Mas is made up of 320 hectares of owned vineyards and 800 ha of contracted vineyards.

The 3 Wines

I tasted 3 wines.

2011 Paul Mas Estate, Malbec, Guardemiel Vineyard 

IGP Pays d’Oc
100% Malbec

A generous, fruit-driven single vineyard wine, deep red in color with intense purple hues. This wine has an excellent structure, velvety texture, and a nice acidity combined with softness and flavors of ripe berries, thyme, rosemary, and juniper berry bushes. Bold and delicious, this is a Malbec which is Frenchly exotic!

2011 Paul Mas Estate, Pinot Noir St. Hilaire Vineyard 

IGP d’Aude
100% Pinot Noir

Elegant aromas of red berries, strawberry, cherry and soft spices with a hint of vanilla. A medium-bodied wine with ripe tannins and acidity, flavors of redcurrant and plum and a long lasting finish of clove and vanilla.

2011 Domaines Paul Mas, Château Paul Mas - Clos de Savignac 

Coteaux du Languedoc AOP
Mourvèdre (50%), Syrah (30%) and Grenache (20%)

A generous, fruit-driven single vineyard wine, garnet red in color with intense purple hues. Infused with complex aromas of violet, cocoa, roasted coffee beans and notes of blackberry. Well structured and opulent with rich tannins. Its strong fruity mouthfeel leads to a complex, full bodied finish.

Nick Goodway, London Evening Standard (19 May 2011)

“I witnessed a revolution this week in the South of France, where the Old World is fighting back against the New World of wine. It's a revolution that is being firmly supported by Majestic Wine, where chief executive Steve Lewis and his team of buyers are convinced that a new breed of vignerons in the Languedoc has successfully taken the fight not only to their better-known northern compatriots in Burgundy and Bordeaux but also to the New World.

In less than 24 hours, I sampled or drank no fewer than 43 different wines (somebody has to do it). These ranged from simple quaffing clean whites to highly complex reds with real legs. They bore no relationship to the wines of Languedoc I remembered from the 1980s and 1990s when Corbière, Pays de l'Hérault and Pays d'Oc were thin, cheap and pretty nasty.

Today, there are men on a mission to restore the wines of the region and put them back where they belong. These are the likes of Gérard Bertrand, a former French international rugby player, and Jean Claude Mas who studied for his MBA at Aston University in Birmingham.

Both are the sons of vignerons, but in the few years they have run their businesses they have taken them from small local winemakers to medal-winning estates with numerous vineyards. They produce many different varieties, and export much of their production. Unlike their forebears, they make most of their wines specifically for the international market.

"My father used to say their were 1001 details to get from the terroir to the bottle," says Bertrand. "Nowadays, there are 1001 details to get from the bottle to the consumer."

Bertrand and Mas have embraced New World technologies such as stainless-steel vats, oak barrels for maturing wines and - crucially for an area where the night-time temperature rarely drops below 18 degrees C - temperature controls during the early fermentation. The latter has been vital in allowing them to produce high-class white wines. At the same time they have gone big on branding and marketing. Bernard, 46, has little problem using himself, the former rugby player, as the brand while Mas, who has an impressive knowledge of the English vernacular, named his domaines after his father Paul.

Mas, who in a decade has gone from making 100,000 cases a year to one million, exports 96% of his production. He says: "Trying to sell our wine to the French is like trying to sell hamburgers to Americans. "

Both are hard businessmen who stay in touch with their bankers on a regular basis as they buy up more vineyards or invest in expensive new equipment. They also keep close to Majestic, which sells proportionately three times as much French wine as anyone else. Their products retail there for between £8 and £25 a bottle.

Majestic's Lewis explains: "Our customers are middle class, generally francophiles, and very savvy. They trust our staff to introduce them to new wines, and in this case they can buy wines which for the equivalent quality from other areas would cost at least 30% more."

Bernard and Mas know it is a two way game. They can get Majestic to list wines the big supermarkets would not touch. But when the euro soared in value, they held back their price rises to Majestic. The relationship is long-term with give and take.

You could even say it's a win(e) win(e) situation.”

schiller-wine: Related Postings

Tasting with Alfred Tesseron the last 10 Vintages of Château Pontet-Canet in Washington DC, USA/France

A Glass of Bordeaux – What Else? – With Wine Journalist Panos Kakaviatos

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Bordeaux Wines and their Classifications: The Basics

In the Wine Capital of the World: the City of Bordeaux, France

Vin Bio de Bordeaux - At Château Beauséjour in AOC Puisseguin-St.Emilion, France

Malbec World Day 2012 - Malbec in Bordeaux, France

Tour de France de Vin: 6 Days, 7 Regions, 3500 km - In 6 Days through 7 Wine Regions of France

The 5 Premiers Grands Crus Chateaux en 1855 of Bordeaux, France

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German Wine Basics: Grosse Lage and Grosslage (and Grosses Gewaechs)

July 13, 2013, 7:30 am

≫ Next: Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Visiting Jim Law and his Linden Vineyards with Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux, USA

≪ Previous: Tasting 3 Red Paul Mas Wines from the Languedoc in the South of France

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Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller and Wilhelm Weil in Kiedrich

Although many people think that there is only one wine classification system in Germany – the classification system of the Law of 1971 – this is not correct. There are four approaches to classifying wine in Germany. True, the classification system of the Law of 1971 with its pyramid of ripeness of the grapes at harvest (Qualitaetswein, Kabinett, Spaetlese, Auslese …) at the center is the standard classification system in Germany and the vast majority of winemakers in Germany use this approach. A large number of winemakers, however, have moved away from the standard, in particular the powerful group of German elite winemakers, the VDP (Verband Deutscher Praedikatswein Produzenten), which has conceived its own classification system. Other winemakers moved to a zero classification system – no classification, an approach very familiar in the New World. Finally, there is a fourth group of winemakers that have designed their own classification system.

Grosse Lage and Grosslage

A critical term in the VDP approach is Grosse Lage. This term looks very similar to Grosslage - a term used in the standard classification approach - yet they have very different, almost opposite meanings.

The Classification of the Law of 1971 and Grosslage

Let us start with Grosslage. The standard classification approach distinguishes between Grosslage and Einzellage vineyards. The vineyard area of a village is composed of a number of Einzellage vineyards (single vineyards). Combined, the Einzellage vineyards form a Grosslage vineyard (collective vineyard). For example for the village of Kiedrich in the Rheingau, there are 5 Einzellage vineyards: Sandgrub, Wasseros, Klosterberg, Turmberg, Graefenberg. The five of them combined form the Heiligenstock, which is the Grosslage of Kiedrich. Thus, you can find on the label, for instance, Kiedricher Graefenberg and Kiedricher Heiligenstock. The former indicates that the wine is from the single vineyard Graefenberg, while the latter indicates that the wine is from the village of Kiedrich, most likely from several different single vineyards.

Picture: 1976 Riesling Spaetlese Trocken, Meddersheimer Paradiesgarten, Winzergenossenschaft Meddersheim. - There are 5 wine producers, including the large co-operative, where I bought a case of this wine many years ago. The Paradiesgarten is a “Grosslage” combining different single vineyards.

See:
Approaches to Classifying German Wine: The Standard Approach (the Law of 1971), the VDP Approach and the Zero Classification Approach
VDP.Grosses Gewaechs, Erstes Gewaechs, Spaetlese/Auslese Trocken, … Labeling Dry Ultra-Premium Wines in Germany

The VDP Classification and Grosse Lage

In sharp contrast with the standard classification system, the VDP classification system is based on the terroir principle. The pyramid of ripeness of the grapes at harvest (which dominates the standard German wine classification of 1971) has moved to the backburner in the VDP system. Instead, following Bourgogne, the terroir principle has taken center stage. And here, the VDP has moved from a 3 tiers quality ladder to a 4 tiers quality ladder in its recent modifications, effective with the 2012 harvest. The VDP has added an additional layer to its classification system, which consists now of the following 4 layers. (In brackets, the equivalent quality classes in the classification system of the Bourgogne):

• VDP.Grosse Lage (Grand Cru in Burgundy)
• VDP.Erste Lage (Premier Cru in Burgundy)
• VDP.Ortswein (Village level in Burgundy)
• VDP.Gutswein (Bourgogne régional in Burgundy)

Note that for some legal reasons, the VDP has started to use the terms Grosse Lage, Erste Lage, Ortswein and Gutswein with the pre-fix VDP.

Grosse Lage is the top quality category, the grand cru category, in the VDP classification.

Thus, a Grosse Lage is a top single vineyard in the VDP framework. A Grosslage is a collective vineyard, under which all the single vineyards of a village are subsumed. A wine from a Grosslage was made with grapes that did not make it into the Einzellage. A Grosslage wine is, as far as the vineyard is concerned, a very basic wine, a Grosse Lage is a crème de la crème wine.

See:
Stepping up: From 3 … to 4 Quality Levels - The New Classification of the VDP, Germany
The VDP - the Powerful Group of German Elite Winemakers - Refines its Classification System, Germany  

Cutback on Use of Vineyard Names in the VDP Classification

Let us move on to the use of vineyard names by the VDP. Interestingly, the VDP has cut back drastically on the use of vineyard names, following Bourgogne.

First, the collective vineyards are no at all used in the VDP framework.

Second, among the single vineyards, only the best – the Grosse Lage and  the Erste Lage vineyards – are used and make it to the label. All wines from other single vineyards will go into the wine with just the winery and the village on it (3. Level) or just the winery (4. Level) on the label. Thus if you see a vineyard on the label of a VDP producer, you can be assured that it comes from a top vineyard, either a from a Grosse Lage or from a Erste Lage.

Third, as a consequence, in the VDP framework you see only very few vineyard names on the label, like in the Bourgogne. If you see one, you can be assured that you have premium or ultra-premium wine in front of you.

Example: Weingut Weil in Kiedrich

In the case of Weingut Weil for example, you only find wines from

Weingut Weil, Kiedrich, Graefenberg (Grosse Lage)
Weingut Weil, Kiedrich, Turmberg (Erste Lage)
Weingut Weil, Kiedricher (Ortswein)
Weingut Weil, Rheingau (Gutswein)

Pictures: The 4 Quality Levels - Weingut Weil

All other vineyard names have been dropped. Graefenberg is the best vineyard, a grand cru vineyard, a Grosses Lage. Turmberg is also a very good vineyard, a premier cru vineyard, an Erste Lage. Wines from any other vineyard would only be marketed under the winery name plus the village name (Ortswein) or under the winery name plus the region (Gutswein).

See:
Visiting Wilhelm Weil at his Weingut Robert Weil in Kiedrich, Germany
Tasting with Wilhelm Weil the 2010 Weingut Weil Wines in Kiedrich, Germany

Grosses Gewaechs

You might also run into the term Grosses Gewaechs. A Grosses Gewaechs is an ultra-premium wine from a Grosse Lage vineyard. Of course, you may also have sweet-style wines from a Grosse Lage and they will carry a predicate according to the sweetness level of the wine, such as Spaetlese or Auslese.

schiller-wine - Related Postings

Stepping up: From 3 … to 4 Quality Levels - The New Classification of the VDP, Germany

VDP.Grosses Gewaechs, Erstes Gewaechs, Spaetlese/Auslese Trocken, … Labeling Dry Ultra-Premium Wines in Germany

German Wine Basics: Sugar in the Grape - Alcohol and Sweetness in the Wine

German Spaetlese Wines Can Come in Different Versions. I Have Counted Five.

When Americans Drink German Wine - What They Choose

Approaches to Classifying German Wine: The Standard Approach (the Law of 1971), the VDP Approach and the Zero Classification Approach

Video: How to Pronounce German Wine - Simon Woods' Enhanced Version

Germany's VDP Wine Estates Celebrate 100th Anniversary in Berlin

The VDP - the Powerful Group of German Elite Winemakers - Refines its Classification System, Germany

The Karthäuserhof in the Mosel Valley: An Eventful History – From Grenoble in France to New York City in the US

Visiting Weingut Josef Leitz in Ruedesheim – Johannes Leitz is Germany’s Winemaker of the Year, Gault Millau WeinGuide 2011

German Wine Basics: Sugar in the Grape - Alcohol and Sweetness in the Wine

JJ Pruem Goes Supermarket: Meeting Katharina Pruem and Tasting the Incredible JJ Pruem Wines at Wegmans

1st International Riesling Symposium, Rheingau, Germany

The Wines of Franz Kuenstler from Hochheim, Rheingau, Germany

Ombiasy Wine Tours: Wine and Culture Tour to Germany Coming up in August 2013

Riesling, Pinot Noir and Indian Cuisine: A tête-à-tête Dinner with Winemaker Ernst Loosen, Weingut Dr. Loosen, at Rasika in Washington DC, USA

Ernst Loosen and Dr. L. Riesling - His Hugely Popular Entry-level Wine Sold Throughout the World

Visiting Wilhelm Weil at his Weingut Robert Weil in Kiedrich, Germany

Tasting with Wilhelm Weil the 2010 Weingut Weil Wines in Kiedrich, Germany

Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Visiting Jim Law and his Linden Vineyards with Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux, USA

June 17, 2013, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: Crab Cakes: Jeff Black from Black Salt and Chris Clime from PassionFish win the 8th Annual Crab Cake Competition in Washington DC, USA

≪ Previous: German Wine Basics: Grosse Lage and Grosslage (and Grosses Gewaechs)

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Picture: Anne Cuvelier from the Cuvelier family that owns Chateau Leoville-Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux. Jim Law from Linden Vineyards and Christian G.E. Schiller

Anne Cuvelier from the Cuvelier family (that owns, inter alia, Chateau Leoville-Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux) was in town (Washington DC) for the Heart’s Delight Event. On the side, Annette Schiller from wine tours by ombiasy organized a winemaker dinner with her at Eola on P Street in Dupont Circle in Washington DC. Anne also wanted to visit Virginia wineries. We visited 3 of the leading wineries in Virginia, all three of them intertwined with Bordeaux: Boxwood, Linden, RdV.

For more on the visits with Anne Cuvleier, see:
Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Visiting Rutger de Vink and his RdV Vineyards with Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux
Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Visiting Jim Law and his Linden Vineyards with Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux, USA
Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Tasting Through Recent Vintages at Boxwood Winery in Virginia: With Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville - Poyferre in Bordeaux, Annette Schiller from Wine Tours by Ombiasy and Boxwood Winery General Manager Rachel Martin, USA (forthcoming)
Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Touring Virginia with Anne Cuvelier, Chateau Leoville-Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux (forthcoming)

See here for the Leoville Poyferre Dinner at Eola:
Château Léoville-Poyferré Winemaker Dinner with Anne Cuvelier at Eola in Washington DC, USA

For upcoming ombiasy wine tours by Annette Schiller, see:
Ombiasy Wine Tours: Wine and Culture Tour to Germany Coming up in August 2013
Ombiasy Wine Tours: Bordeaux Trip Coming up in September 2013

This posting focuses on Linden. We visited Linden Vineyards in the early afternoon. We were guided by Jonathan Weber, who is Linden’s cellar master. Later, Shari Avenius, Linden’s General Manager and Owner/Winegrower of Avenius Vineyard and Jim Law joined us.

Pictures: Anne Cuvelier from the Cuvelier, Shari Avenius, Linden’s General Manager and Owner/Winegrower of Avenius Vineyard, Annette Schiller from wine tours by ombiasy, Linden's Cellarmaster Jonathan Weber and Christian G.E. Schiller at Linden

For more on Linden, see here:
TasteCamp 2012 in Virginia, USA – A Tour d’Horizont
Jim Law and Linden Vineyards in Virginia– A Profile, USA

Linden Vineyards

Jim Law, with family help, purchased what was then an abandoned hardscrabble farm in 1983. The first 6 acres were cleared and prepared for planting. The 1985 planting included Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Vidal and Seyval. The first vintage was 1987 and the first release and opening of the winery was in 1988.

Pictures: Linden Vineyards

“In 2002 we built our dream crush/press facility that we believe will put us in the position to make great wines. New sorting tables and the gentler handling of grapes have already yielded wines with more purity and finesse” said Jim.

Pictures: Anne Cuvelier from Leoville Poyferre, Shari Avenius, Linden’s General Manager and Owner/Winegrower of Avenius Vineyard, Annette Schiller from wine tours by ombiasy, Linden's Cellarmaster Jonathan Weber and Christian G.E. Schiller at Linden

Three vineyards supply all the grapes used to make Linden wines: Hardscrabble, the estate vineyard, 21 acres surrounding the winery; Boisseau, 4 acres, 7 miles west of Linden, and Avenius, 5 acres, less than one mile north of Linden Vineyards.

Jim Law

An Ohio native, Jim is the owner/winemaker of Linden Vineyards and winegrower of Hardscrabble. He studied in Europe. 2 years teaching of agriculture as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zaire led to the desire to grow grapes.

Pictures:Annette Schiller, Christian G.E. Schiller and Didier Cuvelier at Château Léoville-Poyferré in St. Julien. For more see: Lunch with Didier Cuvelier at Château Léoville-Poyferré in Saint-Julien, Bordeaux

Jim’s first vineyard job was in Indiana where he traded work for a place to live. He then got a real job in Ohio at Chalet Debonne where he learned the nuts and bolts of grape growing and cellar work. In 1981 Jim was hired to start a winery in the Shenandoah Valley where he fell in love with the area and viticultural possibilities. In the mid 1980s, while establishing Linden Vineyards, he consulted for other wineries and taught winegrowing at local community colleges.

Shari Avenius

Shari is Linden’s Director and Owner/Winegrower of Avenius Vineyard. A New York native, she went to college in Virginia. Since 1989 Shari’s background in laboratories and management has made Linden a well-oiled machine. Along with all her responsibilities at Linden, Shari planted her own eponymous vineyard in 1996.

Linden Wines

Jim Law: “I am always mindful that a wine’s first job is to complement a meal. Because of this I prefer wines that have good acidity and structure, with moderate alcohol. My inspiration comes from Europe. The vineyards are my focus. Soil, site and micro-climate are more important than grape variety. We are winegrowers and our best wines carry the vineyard designation on the label.

Pictures: In the Cellar

Many of our wines are unfined or unfiltered. We work hard in the vineyard to get as much concentration from the grape as possible. We are non-interventionists in the cellar. The result is wine with more flavor and texture. This can be at the expense of sediment or haze in the bottle. This is a risk that we feel is worth the benefit.”

Vineyard Practices

“Our vineyard practices are French inspired. For many years I traveled to California to learn techniques and philosophies in the vineyard. Eventually it became apparent that I needed to look east rather than west. In the non-Mediterranean viticultural areas of France, growers experience situations similar to ours here in the mountains of Virginia: diverse soils, erratic weather and a small scale. They have learned to micro-manage each site according to its needs. They have learned how to change vineyard practices as the growing season unfolds: hot, wet, dry, cold.”

Pictures: Jim Law in the Hardscrabble Vineyard during a Visit in May 2012

We got a tour of the Hardscrabble Vineyard by Jonathan Weber.

Pictures: Touring Hardscrabble Vineyard

Tasting Linden Wines

We started with some barrel tasting in the cave. Then we moved on and had 4 wines in the tasting room.

Avenius Chardonnay 2011

The Avenius site is known for its rocky soils and thus produces leaner wines with mineral characteristics.

Floral notes combined with lemon and a hint of vanilla on the nose, reminds me of a Chablis, fresh, lemon and mineral notes on the palate, good finish

Avenius Chardonnay 2010

I picked up citrus and tree fruit notes on the nose, very fresh (no malolactic), mineral aromas and good acidity on the palate, with an lively finish

Pictures: Tasting - Shari Avenius, Anne Cuvelier, Jim Law and Christian G.E. Schiller (and Jonothan Weber and Annette Schiller)

Hardscrabble Red 2010

Hardscrabble Vineyard is on top of the Blue Ridge at 1,200 to 1,400 feet with an eastern to southern slope. moderately shallow, well drained rocky, mineral soils give depth, structure and length. Vines planted from 1985 to 2006. Older vines planted at a density of 600 to 800 vines per acre. Younger vineyards at 1,500 to 2,500 vines per acre.

83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot  and 3% Petit Verdot.

Red fruits and cedar notes on the nose, prominent tannins with flavors of cherries, raspberries and hints of black pepper on the palate, good finish.

Hardscrabble Red 2009

64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot and 7% Cabernet Franc.

Jim Law: The 2009 vintage included for the first time our new steep slope plantings. We hand sort before destemming and then again afterwards to remove pink berries and stem pieces. 15% bleed. An average of 5 days cold soak. Fermentation begins naturally (no added yeast) in small one-ton fermenters. Punched down and pumped over averaging two times per day. Extensive post fermentation macerations make for a total cuvaison of 28 to 30 days. Malo in barrels. The wine was aged in new (50%) and slightly used French oak barrels for 21 months. Bottled July of 2011. Nose: Blueberry jam, pâtisserie, vanilla lift and smoky underbrush. Palate: Dried cherries, savory, very linear, energetic, and fresh with assertive, long tannins.

Leaving

Pictures: Leaving

schiller-wine: Related Posting

Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Visiting Rutger de Vink and his RdV Vineyards with Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux

Northern Virginia Magazine October 2012: Wine Recs from Local Winos

Visiting Jennifer Breaux Blosser and Breaux Vineyards in Virginia, USA

Virginia Wines Shine in San Francisco - 2012 San Francisco International Wine Competition, USA

Judging Virginia Wines in Suffolk, Virginia - Virginia Wine Lover Magazine Wine Classic 2012

Northern Virginia Magazine October 2012: Wine Recs from Local Winos

As Close as You Can Get to (French) Champagne at the US East Coast – Claude Thibaut and His Virginia Thibaut Janisson Sparklers at screwtop Wine Bar

Jim Law and Linden Vineyards in Virginia – A Profile, USA

Boxwood Winery in Virginia: Lunch with Wine Makers Rachel Martin and Adam McTaggert in the Chai between the Tanks – TasteCamp 2012 East Kick-Off, USA

Book Review: "Beyond Jefferson's Vines - The Evolution of Quality Wine in Virginia" by Richard Leahy, USA

TasteCamp 2012 in Virginia, USA – A Tour d’Horizont

Virginia versus the World– A Blind Taste-Off, USA

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Ombiasy Wine Tours: Wine and Culture Tour to Germany Coming up in August 2013

Ombiasy Wine Tours: Bordeaux Trip Coming up in September 2013

Bordeaux Wines and their Classifications: The Basics

Château Léoville-Poyferré, Chateau Le Crock, Didier Cuvelier in Bordeaux and the Cuvelier Los Andes Wines in Argentina

Lunch with Didier Cuvelier at Château Léoville-Poyferré in Saint-Julien, Bordeaux
Tasting with Alfred Tesseron the last 10 Vintages of Château Pontet-Canet in Washington DC, USA/France

Tasting the Wines of Chateau Lafon-Rochet, Saint-Estèphe, 4ème Cru Classé en 1855, with Owner Basil Tesseron at the French Embassy in Washington DC, USA/France

Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB) on North America Tour in Washington DC - Schiller’s Favorites

Owner Jean-Bernard Grenié and Wine Journalist Panos Kakaviatos Presented the Wines of Chateau Angélus and Chateau Daugay at Black Salt Restaurant in Washington DC, USA

Crab Cakes: Jeff Black from Black Salt and Chris Clime from PassionFish win the 8th Annual Crab Cake Competition in Washington DC, USA

June 18, 2013, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: The World's 50 Best Restaurants (2013) and the World's 10 Best Cities to Eat Well (2009)

≪ Previous: Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Visiting Jim Law and his Linden Vineyards with Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux, USA

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Pictures: Christian G.E. Schiller and Jeff Black, and all the Chefs

A crab cake is a delicious American dish that looks like a Hamburger but is composed of crab meat and various other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, milk, mayonnaise, eggs, yellow onions, and seasonings. Crab cakes are traditionally associated with the area surrounding the Chesapeake Bay, in particular the State of Maryland.

The American Institute of Wine and Food (AIWF) National Capital Area Chapter and The Source by Wolfgang Puck hosted the 8th Annual Crab Cake Competition in Washington DC, USA on June 9, 2013. The contest put eight of the area’s top chefs against one another in a crab cake showdown.

Picture: 8th Annual Crab Cake Competition in Washington DC

A jury composed of local chefs and food critics selected a winner, based on special plates prepared for the jury. Judges (from left right): Cathey Borrow (Washington Post), Chef Marjorie Meeks Bradley (Ripple) David Hagedorn (Washington Post) Betsy Apple (Washington Post) Eun Yang (Morning news anchor for NBC4/WRC-TV)

Pictures: The Judges

Guests had the chance to sample each chef’s unique take on crab cakes and vote for their favorites, as well as cruise oyster, beer and wine stations.

Pictures: Tasting

Chef Scott Drewno (Source by Wolfgang Puck) and Ris Lacoste (Ris) refereed.

Pictures: Chef Scott Drewno (Source by Wolfgang Puck) and Ris Lacoste (Ris)

The star-studded line-up of contestants was comprised of 8 chefs: Kyle Bailey (Birch and Barley), Jeff Black (Black Salt), Chris Clime (PassionFish), John Critchley (Bourbon Steak), Spike Gjerde (Woodberry Kitchen), Matt Hagan (Mussel Bar and Grille), Russell Smith (Wolfgang Puck Catering) and David Stein (Tony and Joe’s Seafood).

The Winner – Judges’ Choice: Jeff Black, Black Salt

Over the years, the Houston native Jeff Black and his wife Barbara Black, both chefs, have created a little empire comprising half a dozen establishments in D.C. and the surrounding suburbs: Addie’s, BlackSalt Restaurant and Fish Market, Black Market Bistro, Black’s Bar & Kitchen, Pearl Dive, and Black Jack—with more on the way.

Jeff Black met his future wife Barbara in New York at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.. In 1991, Jeff followed Barbara to D.C., where she had family, and got his first job working with Kinkead’s chef Bob Kinkead at now-shuttered 21 Federal. He went on to work for revered chefs Roberto Donna and Jean-Louis Palladin at Pesce before opening his first restaurant, Addie’s, in Rockville in 1995.

See also:
Owner Jean-Bernard Grenié and Wine Journalist Panos Kakaviatos Presented the Wines of Chateau Angélus and Chateau Daugay at Black Salt Restaurant in Washington DC, USA

The Winner - Popular Choice: Chris Clime, PassionFish

PassionFish is a seafood restaurant located in the Reston Town Center, 40 minutes from downtown Washington, DC. It is a sister restaurant of the popular DC Coast, TenPenh, Ceiba, and Acadiana restaurants in Washington DC. Chris Clime is the Executive Chef at PassionFish, He is a native of Virginia.

Other Participants

Matt Hagan (Mussel Bar and Grille)

Chef-restaurateur Robert Wiedmaier pays homage to his Belgian roots at Mussel Bar and Grille in Bethesda

See also:
Tablas Creek Wines from Paso Robles and Belgian Food at Brasserie Beck with Tablas Greek GM Jason Haas and Chef Robert Wiedmaier in Washington DC, USA

John Critchley (Bourbon Steak)

A Michael Mina restaurant, this chic and contemporary steakhouse restaurant is located just off the lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Kyle Bailey (Birch and Barley)

Birch and Barley is a Washington DC restaurant dedicated to an unparalleled collection of 555 artisanal beers.

David Stein (Tony and Joe’s Seafood)

Seafood Place at the Georgetown Waterfront. Tony Cibel, patriarch of the Oceanside Management Family of restaurants, which includes The Dancing Crab, Tony and Joe’s Seafood Place, Nick’s Riverside Grille, Kaufmanns Tavern, Cabanas and The Rockfish, is a native Washingtonian.

Assistants of Russell Smith (Wolfgang Puck Catering)

Part of the Wolfgang Puck empire in the US.

Spike Gjerde (Woodberry Kitchen)

Huffington Post: “Nestled in a long-closed mill in Baltimore's Hampden neighborhood Woodberry Kitchen is a bastion of local and organic cooking. Since opening in fall 2007, the place has won acclaim for dishes by chef and owner Spike Gjerde”. The Washington Post's Tom Sietsema enthusiastically endorsed it, writing "One part Fannie Farmer, one part Alice Waters, Woodberry Kitchen is all heart. Go, Baltimore!" In Washingtonian magazine's list of the 100 best restaurants in the region for 2012, Woodberry Kitchen is the only Baltimore spot profiled.

See also:
Chef Spike Gjerde's Farm-to-Table Food of Woodberry Kitchen and Sarah O’Herron's and Ed Boyce's Premium Organic Wines of Black Ankle Vineyards, Maryland, USA

4 Oyster Producers

Chesapeak Gold Oysters
Hooper Island, Maryland

Hollywood Oyster Company
Hollywood, Maryland

The Choptank Oyster Company
Cambridge, Maryland

Barren Island Oysters
Hoopers Island, Maryland

Maryland Blue Crabs

Last year in May, wine guru and Maryland resident Robert J. Parker tweeted: “Maryland’s greatest culinary delicacy – blue channel soft-shelled crabs are starting to arrive … lightly floured and sautéed in butter.” Maryland – with the large Chesapeake Bay – is indeed blessed with Blue Crabs which came in different forms, when you eat them at a Crab Shack. Unfortunately, Maryland’s delicious seafood was on the backburner during the conference.

The blue crab is a crustacean found in the waters of the western Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Coast of Central America and the Gulf of Mexico. Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs undergo a seasonal migration; after mating, the female crab travels to the southern portion of the Chesapeake, fertilizing her eggs with sperm stored up from the last mating months or almost a year later. In November or December, the female crab releases her eggs. The crabs hatch in a larval form and float in the mouth of the bay for four to five weeks, then the juvenile crabs make their way back up into the bay.

Four Ways to Eat Chesapeake Blue Crabs

Hard Shell Blue Crabs

Blue crabs are most often eaten in the hard shell. Steaming them in large pots with water, vinegar and seasoning is the norm on the East coast. You need the whole experience: the smell of steamed crabs in the air, a pile of large steamed blue crabs covered with Old Bay Seasoning, ready to be cracked with wooden mallets, accompanied by corn on the cob, plus a roll of paper towels and a metal bucket for tossing the empty shells.

Picture: Hard Shell Blue Crabs

Soft Shell Crabs

The Chesapeake Bay is famous for its soft-shell blue crabs. As crabs grow larger, their shells cannot expand, so they molt the exteriors and have a soft covering for a matter of days when they are vulnerable and considered usable. Crabs caught just after molting are prepared as soft shell crabs: first cutting out the gills, face, and guts; the crab is then battered in flour, egg, and seasoning, then fried in oil until crispy. The entire crab is consumed, legs and all.


Pictures: Christian G.E. Schiller eating Soft Shell Crabs

Crab Cake

Crab cakes is another delicacy. Crab Cakes are basically Hamburgers made out of crab meat. We ate it recently as a starter with tomatoes and avocado on the side.

Picture: Maryland Crab Cake

See more:
Wine and Crab Cakes: Amy Brandwein from Casa Nonna and Chris Clime from PassionFish win the 6th Annual Crab Cake Competition in Washington DC, USA 

Maryland Crab Soup

Usually I start my crab dinner with a Maryland Crab Soup. This is a kind of an Italian Minestrone with crab meat.

Pictures: Annette Schiller, wine tours by ombiasy, eating Maryland Crab Soup

See more:
Maryland Crabs and Wine
Schiller's World of Seafood

schiller-wine: Related Postings

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Maryland Crabs and Wine

A Plateau des Fruits de Mer and a Pessac-Leognan Wine in Bordeaux City, France

Oysters and Wine

West Coast Oysters and Wine with Jon Rowley in Seattle, USA

Maryland Crabs and Wine, USA

Wine and Crab Cakes: Amy Brandwein from Casa Nonna and Chris Clime from PassionFish win the 6th Annual Crab Cake Competition in Washington DC, USA

In the Glass: A Rust en Vrede 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon With South African Oysters in Stellenbosch

A Plateau des Fruits de Mer and a Pessac-Leognan Wine in Bordeaux City, France

Schiller's World of Seafood

Oysters - and Wine - at Zuni Café in San Francisco, USA

Tasting Virginia Chesapeake Bay Oysters with Oyster Producer Travis Craxton at the Rappahannock River, USA

Rappahannock Oyster Bar at Union Station– Virginia Oysters in Washington DC, USA

Owner Jean-Bernard Grenié and Wine Journalist Panos Kakaviatos Presented the Wines of Chateau Angélus and Chateau Daugay at Black Salt Restaurant in Washington DC, USA

Tablas Creek Wines from Paso Robles and Belgian Food at Brasserie Beck with Tablas Greek GM Jason Haas and Chef Robert Wiedmaier in Washington DC, USA 

The World's 50 Best Restaurants (2013) and the World's 10 Best Cities to Eat Well (2009)

July 16, 2013, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Touring Virginia with Anne Cuvelier, Chateau Leoville-Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux

≪ Previous: Crab Cakes: Jeff Black from Black Salt and Chris Clime from PassionFish win the 8th Annual Crab Cake Competition in Washington DC, USA

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Picture: Chef Joachim Wissler of Vendôme, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany #10 on the 2013 List of the World's Best Restaurants

The World's 50 Best Restaurants (2013)

The new World's 50 Best Restaurants list was released a few weeks ago.

The Top Spots

Taking the top spot overall is El Celler De Can Roca, a restaurant in Girona, Spain. It has been on the list for 8 years but this is the first year that the restaurant has won the #1 ranking. El Celler de Can Roca has long been hailed for its combination of Catalan dishes and cutting edge techniques. The restaurant is helmed by three brothers: the oldest on, Joan Roca, mans the kitchen; Josep is sommelier; and the youngest one, Jordi is the pastry chef.

Positions #2 to #5 were taken by: Chef Rene Redzepi's Noma, in Copenhagen, Massimo Bottura's comparatively low-key Osteria Francescana in Modena, northern Italy, Mugaritz in San Sebastián, Spain and Eleven Madison Park (with Swiss-born chef Daniel Humm) in New York City.

The Best Restaurant award has been dominated by El Bulli and Noma in the past years. In 2002 and 2006–2009, El Bulli was the world's best restaurant, winning more times than any other restaurant. In 2010 to 2012, Noma was #1

Best Restaurants by Country

• United States (6)
• France (6)
• Spain (5)
• Italy (4)
• United Kingdom (3)
• Germany (2)
• Australia (2)
• Peru (2)
• Hong Kong (2)
• Germany (2)
• Denmark (2)
• Brazil (2)
• Japan (2)
• Mexico (2)

The United States has 6 restaurants on the list—tied with France. But this is a poor showing for the US, compared to last year, when 3 US restaurants landed in the top 10. Eleven Madison Park is now the top-ranked restaurant in the United States, snagging the #5 spot. Per Se of New York got bumped to #11 and Alinea’s of Chicago is now at #15. Other U.S. restaurants on the list are Le Bernardin (#19) of New York (Chef Eric Ripert specializes in fish), Daniel (#29) of New York (the flagship restaurant of French Chef Daniel Boulud) and The French Laundry (#47) in Yountville, Ca. (Thomas Keller's French Laundry in Yountville is the only California restaurant on the list). Noticeably absent on this year's list is Momofuku Ssam, which was #37 last year.

France’s restaurants also lost ground except for L’Aperge, which was flat at #16 (and has become the #1 French restaurant), and Septime, which was newly added at #49. Other French restaurants on the list are: Le Chateaubriand #18 (Paris, France), L'Astrance #23 (Paris, France), L'Atelier Saint-Germain de Joël Robuchon #24 (Paris, France) and Mirazur #28 (Menton, France), the only French restaurant not in Paris.

Spain’s 5 restaurants were mostly unchanged, other than El Celler de Can Roca, which climbed one spot to #1, and Quique Dacosta, which moved up 14 spots to #26.

Italy’s two best restaurants (Osteria Francescana #3; Le Calandre Rubano #27) shrugged off a grim economy to edge up in the rankings, and it added two entrants to the list.

In the UK, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal and The Ledbury were flat, and Blumenthal’s erstwhile #1 The Fat Duck dropped 20 places to #33.

Germany has 2 restautants on the list: Vendôme #10 (Bergisch Gladbach, Germany) moved up 13 slots while Aqua #30 (Wolfsburg, Germany) fell 8 slots.

Japan has 2 restaurants on the list (Narawisa #20; Nihonryori RyuGin #22), and both moved up 7 slots.

Emerging markets countries made big leaps up the rankings and adding new restaurants to the list: Mexico (Pujol #17, up 19; Biko #31, up 7); Thailand (Nahm #32, up 18); Peru (Astrid y Gaston #14, up 21; Central #50, new) and China (Mr & Mrs Bund #43, new).

The group of countries without any top restaurant include Russia India, Turkey and Canada.

The Top 50 (2013)

1) El Celler de Can Roca (Girona, Spain)
2) Noma (Copenhagen, Denmark)
3) Osteria Francescana (Modena, Italy)
4) Mugaritz (Errenteria, Spain)
5) Eleven Madison Park (New York)
6) D.O.M. (São Paulo, Brazil)
7) Dinner by Heston Blumenthal (London, England)
8) Arzak (San Sebastián, Spain)
9) Steirereck (Vienna, Austria)
10) Vendôme (Bergisch Gladbach, Germany)
11) Per Se (New York)
12) Frantzén/Lindeberg (Stockholm, Sweden)
13) The Ledbury (London, England)
14) Astrid y Gastón (Lima, Perú)
15) Alinea (Chicago, Illinois)
16) L'Arpege (Paris, France)
17) Pujol (Mexico City, Mexico)
18) Le Chateaubriand (Paris, France)
19) Le Bernardin (New York)
20) Narisawa (Tokyo, Japan)
21) Attica (Melbourne, Australia)
22) Nihonryori RyuGin (Tokyo, Japan)
23) L'Astrance (Paris, France)
24) L'Atelier Saint-Germain de Joël Robuchon (Paris, France)
25) Hof van Cleve (Kruishoutem, Belgium)
26) Quique Dacosta (Denia, Spain)
27) Le Calandre (Rubano, Italy)
28) Mirazur (Menton, France)
29) Daniel (New York)
30) Aqua (Wolfsburg, Germany)
31) Biko (Mexico City, Mexico)
32) Nahm (Bangkok, Thailand)
33) The Fat Duck (Bray, England)
34) Fäviken Magasinet (Järpen, Sweden)
35) Oud Sluis (Sluis, Netherlands)
36) Amber (Hong Kong, China)
37) Vila Joya (Albufeira, Portugal)
38) Restaurant Andre (Singapore)
39) 8 1/2 Otto E Mezzo Bombana (Hong Kong, China)
40) Combal.Zero (Rivoli, Italy)
41) Piazza Duomo (Alba, Italy)
42) Schloss Schauenstein (Fürstenau, Switzerland)
43) Mr & Mrs Bund (Shanghai, China)
44) Asador Etxebarri (Atxondo-Bizkaia, Spain)
45) Geranium (Copenhagen, Denmark)
46) Maní (São Paulo, Brazil)
47) The French Laundry (Yountville, California)
48) Quay (Sydney, Australia)
49) Septime (Paris, France)
50) Central (Lima, Peru)

The list was drawn from the votes of more than 900 leading figures in the industry - including food critics, chefs, restaurateurs and highly regarded "gastronomes". The World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards is sponsored by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna., were presented at the Guildhall in central London.

The World's 10 Best Cities to Eat Well (2009)

The World's Best Cities to Eat Well list of 2009 list was established by Forbes, using the 2009 Anholt-GfK Roper City Brands Index, which surveyed 10,000 people from 20 countries. Here is the ranking:

1) Paris
2) Rome
3) Tokyo
4) Mexico City
5) Barcelona
6) Madrid
7) Hong Kong
8) Beijing
9) Milan
10) Shangai

Notable absentees include Singapore, New York City, London and San Francisco.

For more, see:
World's Best Cities To Eat Well

schiller-wine: Related Postings

Dinner with Wine Maker Gerhard Wohlmuth sen., his Wines and the Food of Steierland’s Chef Ruth Stelzer, Austria

Maryland Crabs and Wine

Schiller's World of Seafood

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Foie Gras Around the World

Dinner in McLean, Virginia - What We Ate and Drank

Sea, Sand, Soul and Sakafo, and Whales and Wine – At Princesse Bora Lodge on Ile Sainte Marie in the Indian Ocean

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Billy Wagner Invited to the 10th Bottle Party at Wein Bar Rutz in Berlin

Lunch and Beaujolais at Weinsinn in Frankfurt am Main, Germany

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The 2010 World's Best Restaurants

In the glass: Hugel et Fils wines at the cuisine des emotions de Jean Luc Brendel at Riquewihr in Alsace

A Plateau des Fruits de Mer and a Pessac-Leognan Wine in Bordeaux City, France

Oysters - and Wine - at Zuni Café in San Francisco, USA

Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Touring Virginia with Anne Cuvelier, Chateau Leoville-Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux

July 17, 2013, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: The Liv-ex 2013 Médoc Classification

≪ Previous: The World's 50 Best Restaurants (2013) and the World's 10 Best Cities to Eat Well (2009)

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Picture: Anne Cuvelier of Chateau Leoville Poyferre and Rutger de Vink at RdV in Virginia, USA

Anne Cuvelier from the Cuvelier family (that owns, inter alia, Chateau Leoville-Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux) was in town (Washington DC) for the Heart’s Delight Event. On the side, Annette Schiller from wine tours by ombiasy organized a winemaker dinner with her at Eola on P Street in Dupont Circle in Washington DC. Anne also wanted to visit Virginia wineries. We visited 3 of the leading wineries in Virginia, all three of them intertwined with Bordeaux: Boxwood, Linden, RdV.

For more on the visits with Anne Cuvelier, see:
Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Visiting Rutger de Vink and his RdV Vineyards with Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux
Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Visiting Jim Law and his Linden Vineyards with Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux, USA
Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Tasting Through Recent Vintages at Boxwood Winery in Virginia: With Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville - Poyferre, Annette Schiller from Wine Tours by Ombiasy and Boxwood Winery General Manager Rachel Martin, USA
Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Touring Virginia with Anne Cuvelier, Chateau Leoville-Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux

See here for the Leoville Poyferre Dinner at Eola:
Château Léoville-Poyferré Winemaker Dinner with Anne Cuvelier at Eola in Washington DC, USA

For upcoming ombiasy wine tours by Annette Schiller, see:
Ombiasy Wine Tours: Wine and Culture Tour to Germany Coming up in August 2013
Ombiasy Wine Tours: Bordeaux Trip Coming up in September 2013

Pictures:Annette Schiller, Christian G.E. Schiller and Didier Cuvelier at Château Léoville-Poyferré in St. Julien. For more see:
Lunch with Didier Cuvelier at Château Léoville-Poyferré in Saint-Julien, Bordeaux

Boxwood

We started our tour with Boxwood. Rachel Martin, Executive Vice President of the winery and the owners’ daughter, gave us a tour of the winery, including tasting various vintages. Anne Cuvelier and Rachel Martin know each.

Pictures: Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville - Poyferre in Bordeaux, Christian G.E. Schiller and Boxwood Winery General Manager Rachel Martin in the Barrel Cave at Boxwood Winery in Virginia

From the barrel cave, Rachel led us to the tank room, where the 2011 vintage, already blended, was resting.

Pictures: Tasting in the Tank Room

Rachel Martin, Executive Vice President of the winery and the owners’ daughter, oversees the vineyard, winery, and national and international sales. No stranger to the wine business, Rachel studied Viticulture and Enology at Napa Valley College and Sensory Evaluation at the University of Bordeaux (School of Enology). That’s were Anne Cuvelier met Rachel Martin.

Pictures: Tasting in the Tasting Room

The Boxwood Winery is located in Middleburg in the midst of picturesque Loudoun County in Virginia in the US. It is owned by John Kent Cooke, a former owner and president of the NFL Washington Redskins. Boxwood aims at: to make premium red wines with Bordeaux grape varieties and a distinct Virginia expression. Boxwood produces 5,000 cases per year.

The Wines we Tasted

For the wines, we had, see:
Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Tasting Through Recent Vintages at Boxwood Winery in Virginia: With Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville - Poyferre, Annette Schiller from Wine Tours by Ombiasy and Boxwood Winery General Manager Rachel Martin, USA 

For more, see here:
Boxwood Winery in Virginia: Lunch with Wine Makers Rachel Martin and Adam McTaggert in the Chai between the Tanks – TasteCamp 2012 East Kick-Off, USA

Linden Vineyards

The next day, we visited Linden Vineyards in the early afternoon. We were guided by Jonathan Weber, who is Linden’s cellar master. Later, Shari and Jim Law joined us.

Picture: Anne Cuvelier from the Cuvelier family that owns Chateau Leoville-Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux. Jim Law from Linden Vineyards and Christian G.E. Schiller

Linden Vineyards is a 5,000 case winery and vineyard situated on the Virginia Blue Ridge, 65 miles west of Washington, D.C.. Linden Vineyards owner and winemaker Jim Law is something of god in the wine world of Virginia.

Pictures: Anne Cuvelier from the Cuvelier, Shari Avenius, Linden’s General Manager and Owner/Winegrower of Avenius Vineyard, Annette Schiller from wine tours by ombiasy, Linden's Cellarmaster Jonathan Weber and Christian G.E. Schiller at Linden

Jim Law, with family help, purchased what was then an abandoned hardscrabble farm in 1983. The first 6 acres were cleared and prepared for planting. The 1985 planting included Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Vidal and Seyval. The first vintage was 1987 and the first release and opening of the winery was in 1988.

Pictures: Linden Vineyards

Three vineyards supply all the grapes used to make Linden wines: Hardscrabble, the estate vineyard, 21 acres surrounding the winery; Boisseau, 4 acres, 7 miles west of Linden, and Avenius, 5 acres, less than one mile north of Linden Vineyards.

Pictures: In the Cellar

An Ohio native, Jim is the Owner/Winemaker of Linden Vineyards and Winegrower of Hardscrabble. He studied in Europe. 2 years teaching of agriculture as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zaire led to the desire to grow grapes.

Pictures: Jim Law in the Hardscrabble Vineyard during a Visit in May 2012

Shari is Linden’s Director and Owner/Winegrower of Avenius Vineyard. A New York native, she went to college in Virginia. Since 1989 Shari’s background in laboratories and management has made Linden a well-oiled machine. Along with all her responsibilities at Linden, Shari planted her own eponymous vineyard in 1996. good acidity on the palate, with an lively finish

Pictures: Tasting - Shari Avenius, Anne Cuvelier, Jim Law and Christian G.E. Schiller (and Jonothan Weber and Annette Schiller)

Jonathan Weber is Linden’s Cellar Master. 16 acres (6 hectares). 95% sold on the premises.

The Wines we Tasted

For the wines, we had, see:
Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Visiting Jim Law and his Linden Vineyards with Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux, USA

For more on Linden Vineyards, see:
TasteCamp 2012 in Virginia, USA – A Tour d’Horizont
Jim Law and Linden Vineyards in Virginia– A Profile, USA

RdV

The final stop in the late afternoon was RdV. We were received by Rutger de Vink, owner of RdV. After a glass of Champagne, Rutger gave us a tour of the winery, before having dinner with him and his partner. We focused on the 2009 wines, but also had earlier vintages.

Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller, Annette Schiller from ombiasy wine tours, Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville Poyferre in Bordeaux and Rutger de Vink from RdV in Virginia

RDV is a new, small winery about an hour west of Washington DC, founded, owned and run by Rutger de Vink. RDV produces some 1,800 cases of ultra-premium wines: the Cabernet Sauvignon driven Lost Mountain (US$ 88) and the Merlot driven Rendezvous (US$ 75). Jim Law of Linden Vineyards, who many consider as the father of the Virginia wine boom, has described his close friend Rutger de Vink as “the next generation of Virginia wine.”

Picture: In the Cellar

“When I got into the business over 30 years ago, Napa was still growing and making Gamay and Riesling. Oregon was focusing on Muller-Thurgau, and nobody had heard of New Zealand wine. They all re-shuffled and refocused once a few leaders showed the way. It takes an epiphany wine, like the Stag’s Leap 1973 cabernet for Napa, the Cloudy Bay sauvignon blanc for New Zealand or Sassicaia for Tuscany -- all these are iconic wines for their regions. I believe RdV will do the same for Virginia” Jim Law says.

Picture: Leaving RdV at 9 pm with Rutger; he had to go to a late night presentation of his wines in Washington DC

The Wines we Tasted

The focus was on the 2009 wines, but we also drank earlier vintages. For the wines we had, see:

Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Visiting Rutger de Vink and his RdV Vineyards with Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux

schiller-wine: Related Posting

Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Visiting Rutger de Vink and his RdV Vineyards with Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux

Northern Virginia Magazine October 2012: Wine Recs from Local Winos

Visiting Jennifer Breaux Blosser and Breaux Vineyards in Virginia, USA

Virginia Wines Shine in San Francisco - 2012 San Francisco International Wine Competition, USA

Judging Virginia Wines in Suffolk, Virginia - Virginia Wine Lover Magazine Wine Classic 2012

Northern Virginia Magazine October 2012: Wine Recs from Local Winos

As Close as You Can Get to (French) Champagne at the US East Coast – Claude Thibaut and His Virginia Thibaut Janisson Sparklers at screwtop Wine Bar

Jim Law and Linden Vineyards in Virginia – A Profile, USA

Boxwood Winery in Virginia: Lunch with Wine Makers Rachel Martin and Adam McTaggert in the Chai between the Tanks – TasteCamp 2012 East Kick-Off, USA

Book Review: "Beyond Jefferson's Vines - The Evolution of Quality Wine in Virginia" by Richard Leahy, USA

TasteCamp 2012 in Virginia, USA – A Tour d’Horizont

Virginia versus the World– A Blind Taste-Off, USA

Château Léoville-Poyferré Winemaker Dinner with Anne Cuvelier at Eola in Washington DC, USA

Ombiasy Wine Tours: Wine and Culture Tour to Germany Coming up in August 2013

Ombiasy Wine Tours: Bordeaux Trip Coming up in September 2013

Bordeaux Wines and their Classifications: The Basics

Château Léoville-Poyferré, Chateau Le Crock, Didier Cuvelier in Bordeaux and the Cuvelier Los Andes Wines in Argentina

Lunch with Didier Cuvelier at Château Léoville-Poyferré in Saint-Julien, Bordeaux
Tasting with Alfred Tesseron the last 10 Vintages of Château Pontet-Canet in Washington DC, USA/France

Tasting the Wines of Chateau Lafon-Rochet, Saint-Estèphe, 4ème Cru Classé en 1855, with Owner Basil Tesseron at the French Embassy in Washington DC, USA/France

Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB) on North America Tour in Washington DC - Schiller’s Favorites

Owner Jean-Bernard Grenié and Wine Journalist Panos Kakaviatos Presented the Wines of Chateau Angélus and Chateau Daugay at Black Salt Restaurant in Washington DC, USA

The Liv-ex 2013 Médoc Classification

July 18, 2013, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: The World of Riesling in Seattle - Fourth Riesling Rendezvous in Washington State, USA

≪ Previous: Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Touring Virginia with Anne Cuvelier, Chateau Leoville-Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux

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Picture: In the Vineyard with Henri Lurton, Chateau Brane-Cantenac. Fore more see: An Afternoon with Owner Henri Lurton at Château Brane-Cantenac, a Deuxieme Grand Cru Classe en 1855, in Margaux, France

There are a number of classifications of the wines made in the Bordeaux region. Some apply to the whole area, others to just parts of it. The best known is without any doubt the 1855 Médoc Classification. The least known is probably the Liv-ex Bordeaux Classification, which arguably is the most important one. This is a classification of Left Bank red Bordeaux wine based on current prices, compiled by the London International Vintners Exchange (Liv-ex), with a view of updating the 1855 classification. The first one was established in 2009; it was updated in 2011 and again this year.

Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller with Anthony Barton, Chateau Leoville-Barton, in Washington DC. For more see: Fête du Bordeaux of Calvert and Woodley in Washington DC, 2012, USA

Liv-ex is an internet-based trading platform for top-quality wines; it was founded in 1999 by James Miles and Justin Gibbs, who used to be stock brokers. The trading platform is only accessible for professional wine trading houses and wine funds against an annual membership fee.

Medoc Classification of 1855

The 1855 classification was made at the request of Emperor Napoleon III for the Exposition Universelle de Paris. The Brokers returned their classification just two weeks after the original request was made. The Medoc classification of 1855 covers (with one exception) red wines of Médoc.

It ranked the wines into five categories, strictly according to price.

The famous 5 first growths are:

• Château Lafite-Rothschild in Pauillac
• Château Margaux in Margaux
• Château Latour in Pauillac
• Château Haut-Brion in Péssac-Leognan
• Château Mouton Rothschild in Pauillac, promoted from second to first growth in 1973.

And there are:

14 Deuxièmes (2nd) Crus
14 Troisièmes (3rd) Crus
10 Quatrièmes (4rd) Crus
18 Cinquièmes (5th) Crus.

See also: 
Bordeaux Wines and their Classifications: The Basics

Liv-ex Classification

Four years ago, Liv-ex decided to recreate the 1855 classification, ranking major Left Bank wines in terms of their price. In 2011, the classification was updated to reflect the market, and now that the market has shifted again Liv-ex once again recreated the classification to reflect current trading conditions.

Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller with Ed Sands, Calvert and Woodley, in Washington DC. For more see: Calvert and Woodley’s Ed Sands 2012 Wine Retailer of the Year in the USA

To qualify for the Liv-ex Bordeaux Classification, wines had to be from the Left Bank (including Pessac-Leognan) and be produced in quantities of more than 2,000 cases. Only the first wine of each estate was considered. Liv-ex then calculated the average case price for every qualifying wine for the past five vintages, 2007-2011. Prices are in GBP (1GBP = 1.56 US$)

As the brokers did in 1855 Liv-ex split up the wines according to price bands, which for 2013 are as follows:

•    1st Growths: £2,600 a case and above
•    2nd Growths: £700 to £2,599
•    3rd Growths: £450 to £699
•    4th Growths: £320 to £449
•    5th Growths: £250 to £319

Liv-ex Classification of 2013

Latour has taken the place of the top Left Bank wine this year: a position it held in 2009 but surrendered to Lafite in 2011. Chateau Margaux (£4,777), Mouton Rothschild (£4,465) and Haut Brion (£4.370) retain their third, fourth and fifth places.

Pictures: Didier Cuvelier, Chateau Leoville Poyferre, Explaining, with Christian G.E. Schiller and Annette Schiller, ombiasy wine tours. In 2013, two wine tours by ombiasy are coming up:  to Germany (in August) and to Bordeaux (in September): (1) Germany Wine and Culture Tour August 2013 and (2) Bordeaux Wine Tour September 2013

Mission Haut Brion remains a First Growth, while Leoville Poyferre and Smith Haut Lafitte have climbed from Third Growth status to Second Growth. Duhart Milon and Beychevelle – wines that have a strong following in China – have dropped from Second to Third Growth status.

Chateau Palmer (average price £1,787) remains a top Second Growth, so does Pontet Canet, a Fifth Growth in 1855, with an average case price of £987.

Second Wines

Interestingly, Liv-ex has also put the second wines, none of which existed in 1855, through the same system.

13 would be included in the new classification. For the first time, Petit Lion de Las Cases, introduced by Leoville Las Cases in 2007, features in the list - as a Fourth Growth.

Carruades de Lafite has dropped from First Growth to Second Growth, and Petit Mouton and Pavillon Rouge have switched places: in 2011 Pavillon had a higher average price. Reserve de la Comtesse, the second wine of Pichon Comtesse, has fallen to the bottom of the list – in 2011 it was the 9th most expensive of the second wines, now it is the 13th.

Right Bank Wines

The 1855 Classification did not include any wines from the Right Bank. In an extended 2013 Classification, Ausone, Cheval Blanc, Lafleur, Le Pin and Petrus are all First Growths. Angelus, Clos Fourtet, Conseillante, Eglise Clinet, Evangile, Figeac, Fleur Petrus, Pavie, Troplong Mondot and Vieux Chateau Certan are Second Growths.

Pictures: Jean-Bernard Grenié, Co-owner of Angelus, Ivanhoe Johnston, Negociant, Annette Schiller and Christian G.E. Schiller at Addy Bassin’s MacArthur Beverages. For more see: Owner Jean-Bernard Grenié and Wine Journalist Panos Kakaviatos Presented the Wines of Chateau Angélus and Chateau Daugay at Black Salt Restaurant in Washington DC, USA 

The Liv-ex 2013 Bordeaux Classification
http://www.blog.liv-ex.com/2013/03/the-liv-ex-2013-bordeaux-classification.html

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The World of Riesling in Seattle - Fourth Riesling Rendezvous in Washington State, USA

July 20, 2013, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: Schiller’s Favorite Restaurants, Brasseries, Bistros, Cafes and Wine Bars in Paris, France

≪ Previous: The Liv-ex 2013 Médoc Classification

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Picture: Ernst Loosen, Weingut Dr. Loosen, and Chateau Ste. Michelle CEO Ted Baseler at the Farewell Reception of the 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, Washington State, USA

The world of Riesling returned to Seattle in Washington State. The attraction was the 4th Riesling Rendezvous, a gathering of Riesling producers and enthusiasts from around the world.

Riesling Rendezvous is sponsored by Chateau Ste. Michelle, the Washington State giant wine producer and Weingut Dr. Loosen, one of Germany’s top Riesling producers from the Mosel Valley. The famous Eroica Riesling from Washington State is a joint venture of Ste. Michelle and Dr. Loosen.

Pictures:Chateau Ste. Michelle CEO Ted Baseler, Ernst Loosen, Weingut Dr. Loosen and Falstaff Co-publisher Ursula Haslauer; Loosen Bros. CEO Kirk Wille and Riesling Guru Stuart Pigott

Riesling Rendezvous is the largest international gathering of Riesling producers and enthusiasts in the world. It features three days of tasting, discussing and learning about Riesling.

This posting is part of a series of a dozen or so postings on the 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle. I have posted sofar:
Coming Up in July: 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, Washington State, USA 
The German Winemakers at the Forthcoming 4. Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, Washington State, USA 

Riesling Rendezvous Grand Tasting

The 4th Riesling Rendezvous kicked off Sunday, July 14, with the Grand Tasting on Chateau Ste. Michelle’s winery grounds in Woodinville, about 15 miles from downtown Seattle. Almost 70 Riesling producers from seven countries - United States, Germany, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Slovakia and Austria - presented their wines. From within the United States, wineries from seven states participated: Washington State, Oregon, Idaho, California, New York, New Jersey and Michigan.

 

Pictures: Grand Tasting on Chateau Ste. Michelle’s Winery Grounds in Woodinville, with: Wine Blogger Mike Veseth (The Wine Economist) and Wife; Winemaker Charles Smith, Charles Smith Wines; Clemens Busch, Weingut Clemens Busch, Christian Schiller and Hermann Wiemer, Founder and former Owner of Hermann J.Wiemer Vineyard in New York State

Riesling-friendly food was provided by popular Seattle food trucks Marination Mobile, Snout and Co and Barking Frog Mobile Kitchen, as well as appetizers by Chateau Ste Michelle culinary Director John Sarich. Guests also enjoyed live music by The Josh Rawlings Trio. About 700 consumers, media, trade and producers attended.

First Day of Riesling Rendezvous Featured Dry Rieslings

The Monday and Tuesday program events were held at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center located on Seattle's beautiful waterfront.

Picture: Bell Harbor International Conference Center located on Seattle's Beautiful Waterfront

About 300 attendees were at Monday and Tuesday's program events.

On Monday, July 15, the morning started with opening remarks from Ernst Loosen, Ste. Michelle CEO Ted Baseler and global Riesling authority Stuart Pigott.

Pictures: Opening Remarks from Ste. Michelle CEO Ted Baseler, Ernst Loosen, and Global Riesling Authority Stuart Pigott

After that, 300 Riesling enthusiasts participated in a fascinating blind tasting of global dry Rieslings (20 wines). The tasting was moderated by US wine-author John Haeger.

Pictures: International Tasting Dry Rieslings

Lunch featured Northwest wines.

Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller Lunching with Pacific Rim GM and Head Winemaker Nicolas Quille

After lunch, three breakout sessions took place in parallel:

“Riesling’s Outer Limits” with Stuart Pigott.
“Proving that Terroir Matters” with Dr. Ulrich Fischer.
“Winemakers Roundtable: To Blend or not to Blend” led by Bob Bertheau of Chateau Ste. Michelle and Ernst Loosen.

Picture: “Riesling’s Outer Limits” with Stuart Pigott

The afternoon concluded with special walk-around tastings:

Pairing Riesling with Smoked Salmon with German food writer Ursula Heinzelmann
Riesling and Cheese Tasting presented by Oregon’s Rogue Creamery
Riesling Taste Test: How Dry/Sweet is it? Where would you place it on the IRF scale? Presented by the International Riesling Foundation
Riesling Friendly Appetizers
Wines from Idaho, New York State and Germany.

Pictures: Walk-around Tasting with Wilhelm Weil Talking (above) and Ursula Heinzelmann Serving Salmon  (below)

Second Day of Riesling Rendezvous Featured Sweeter Wines

On Tuesday, July 16, the day began with another fascinating blind tasting of 20 Rieslings, this time off-dry and sweet Rieslings from around the world, moderated by London-based wine journalist Tim Atkin, a Master of Wine.

Pictures: International Tasting Beyond Dry Riesling

The International Riesling Foundation then made a presentation called “Riesling Research and Revelations.”

Lunch featured Australian Rieslings, sponsored by Icons of Australia.

Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller, Steffen Christmann, Weingut A. Christmann, Helmuth Doennhoff, Weingut Doennhoff,  and his Spouse

After a lunch, there were three breakout sessions:

“Grosses Gewaches – the New VDP Classification” with Steffen Christmann and Wilhelm Weil.
“The Electric Riesling Acid Test” with Emily Wines, M.S.
“Marketing Riesling: Preaching Beyond the Choir” with Leslie Sbrocco.

Picture: Steffen Christmann, Weingut A. Christmann, Stuart Pigott and Wilhelm Weil, Weingut Robert Weil

The event concluded with a farewell reception at Chihuly Garden and Glass at the Seattle Center. The Chihuly Garden and Glass is a breathtaking gallery space showcasing the spectacular art of Northwest glass master Dale Chihuly. It was a dramatic and entertaining way to bid farewell to new and old friends as we concluded our Riesling celebration.

Picture: Chihuly Garden and Glass at the Seattle Center

Picture: Oliver Haag, Weingut Fritz Haag, Helmut Doennhoff, Weingut Doennhoff, Clemens Busch, Weingut Clemens Busch, Steffen Christmann, Weingut A. Christmann, Ernst Loosen, Weingut Dr. Loosen, and Wilhelm Weil, Weingut Robert Weil

Picture: Winemaker Bob Bertheau of Chateau Ste. Michelle and Ernst Loosen, with Dr. Ulrich Fischer

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Schiller’s Favorite Restaurants, Brasseries, Bistros, Cafes and Wine Bars in Paris, France

July 21, 2013, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: Terry Theise: 2012 Vintage Wines - Highlights and Superlatives, Germany

≪ Previous: The World of Riesling in Seattle - Fourth Riesling Rendezvous in Washington State, USA

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Picture: Paris - Metro and RER

According to a Forbes survey, Paris is the best city in the world in terms of eating well, ahead of Rome and Tokyo. I have lived in Paris between 2005 and 2008, for 3 years, on the right bank in the 8th arrondissement. Naturally, my list of favorites reflects that to a certain extent, although the Paris Metro takes you very efficiently anywhere in Paris with the Paris beltway.

Restaurants, Brasseries, Bistros, Cafes and Wine Bars

Restaurants in Paris are open only for lunch and/or dinner. You go there to eat, often in a rather formal setting. For dinner, the restaurants in Paris typically open at 8pm. The best restaurants are those with 1 to 3 Michelin stars.

Bistros in Paris are scaled down versions of restaurants, also open only for lunch and/or dinner. They tend to be less formal. Some bistros are Michelin-starred.

Brasseries open very early in the day and serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. You can also have just a beer or a café. My “down the road” brasserie Paris Europe would open at 6:30am and I often would have a croissant and an espresso there before going to work.

Wine Bars primarily serve wine by the glass, but most of them also have elements of a bistro or a brasserie. Accordingly, I have listed Willi’s Winebar – a popular hang-out for Americans and other expatriates in Paris – as a bistro.

Cafés serve as places where people sit to have a café, by themselves or with others, eat something or have glass of wine. Most cafés serve lunch and light dinners in the evening. They generally do not have pastries except during mornings, where a croissant or pain au chocolat can be purchased with breakfast coffee.

Restaurants

Le Grand Vefour

M Palais Royal, 1st
Historic place with outstanding food. The oldest continually operating restaurant in Paris. Tucked like a jewel box in the Palais Royal’s quietest corner.

Le Meurice

228 rue de Rivoli, 1st
Starting Sept 1, 2013, Alan Ducasse and his team will cook at Le Meurice, for 7 months at least.

Taillevent

M Charles de Gaulle - Étoile, 8th
Famed for what is probably the most sumptuous wine cellar in Paris.

Alain Ducasse at Plaza Athenee

M Alma-Marceau, 8th
Starting October 1, the restaurant will be closed for renovations for 7 months.

Le Chateaubriand

M Parmentier, 11th
Bistronomics cuisine that made it to the Top 50 restaurants in the world list of Pellegrino in the Oberkampf area. “Le Chateaubriand operates at the rock 'n' roll end of French cuisine, not only in terms of what it leaves out — pomp and ceremony, expensive frippery, soft furnishings — but also thanks to self-taught chef Inaki Aizpitarte's laconic persona, and a certain Gallic shoulder-shrugging nonchalance. Dinner is unique.”

See:
The 2010 World's Best Restaurants

Closerie des Lilas

M Port-Royal, 14th
Legend. The romance of days when men like Henry James and Ernest Hemingway gathered here is still very much alive at this popular café-restaurant. Nice outdoor dining.

Bistros

Willi’s Wine Bar

Metro Pyramides, 1st
Owned and run by the Brit Mark Williamson, well known in the American community.

See:
Wine bar: Paris --- Le Petit Monceau, Willi's wine bar and Lavinia

Chez Omar

M Arts et Metier, 3rd
My favorite couscous place in Paris. No reservations. Prepare to prop the bar (and be rather more intimate with your neighbors when you sit at your table).

Ma Bourgogne

Metro Bastille, 4th
Setting under the arcades of the picture perfect place des Vosges.

Au Bourguignon du Marais

52, rue Francois-Miron, 4th
Excellent place to sample the best of Burgundy by the glass over regional classics.

Le Temps des Cerises

M Place d’Italie, 4th
Relaxed rue de la Butte au Cailles bistro, where diners sit elbow-to-elbow on long wooden tables.

Les Racines

8 Passage des Panoramas,  6th
The Passage des Panoramas (off boulevard Montmartre) is a beautiful belle époque shopping arcade. Tucked away inside is Les Racines, owned and run by Sommelier Pierre Jancou, who is evangelical about vins naturels.

Il Vino

13 boulevard de La Tour-Maubourg, 7th
Enrico Bernardo, youngest-ever winner of the World's Best Sommelier award, runs this restaurant where, for once, food plays second fiddle to wine. You are presented with nothing more than a wine list. Each of 15 wines by the glass is matched with a surprise dish, or the chef can build a meal around the bottle of your choice. Strong Italian influence.

Café du Commerce

M Emile-Zola, 15th
One of the most attractive budget restaurants of Paris, with 3 floors.

Bistro des Dames

M Place-de-Clichy, 18 rue des Dames
Excellent bistro, tucked away in a side street near Place de Clichy. Not in any guide.

L’Entracte

M Anvers, 18th
Tucked away in a side street near Sacre Coeur.

Brasseries

Le Vaudeville

M Bourse, 2nd
My favorite place for a pot (a drink) after work.

Le Beuf sur le Toit

M St-Philippe du Roule, 8th

Paris Europe

51 Rue de Rome, 8th
My “down the road” brasserie, just next to my apartment building: Cette belle brasserie traditionnelle propose plats du jour, desserts frais faits maison et accoudé à son imposant comptoir on y déguste volontiers ses sandwiches et salades qu'accompagnent avec bonheur d'honnêtes vins de pays. Le Café PARIS EUROPE vous reçoit du Lundi au Samedi de 6h30 à 22h30 et vous offre son service continu dès 11h.

Chez Chartier

M Grands Boulevards, 9th
One of the remaining 19th century workers’ canteen in Paris that has kept not only its mirrored interior, but also its low budget menu. The bill is calculated on the paper that is covering the table. Was classified as Monument historique in 1989.

Julien

M Strasbourg-St-Denis, 10th
Created in 1902. Love to sit in the beautifully slinky art nouveau décor.

Le Train Bleu

Gare de Lyon, 12th
One of the most romantic restaurants in Paris, but has become a favorite of Japanese tourists. I only go for drinks there at the bar while waiting for my train.

La Coupole

M Vavin, 14th
An institution. Huge. My absolute favorite. No reservations – you wait at the bar.

Le Wepler

M Place de Clichy, 14th
One of my favorite neighborhood brasserie, when I used to live in Paris, “c’est correct” as my French friends used to say – not more and not less.

A La Maree

Place des Pêcheurs, Rungis
Jon Rowley recommendation: “A La Maree at Rungis, the wholesale market outside of Paris. Rungis opens at 3:00 am. Oysters and soupe de poisson at 2:00 am at A La Maree, open all night, seemed a must-do and we did.”

Cafés

Au Petit Fer a Cheval

M Hotel-de-Ville, 4th
A Marais institution.

Café de Flore

M St-Germain-des-Prets, 6th
The haunt of the Surrealists in the 1920s and 1930s. Picassos met muse and model Dora Maar here. I sat several times next to Karl Lagerfeld (in the late evening).

Le Deux Magots

M St-Germain-des-Prets, 6th
This is the epitome of the Paris literary haunt, but I prefer Café de Flore.

La Rotonde

M Vavin, 14th
Lenin and Trotsky sipped their café crème here in 1915 and made it famous. Jon Rowley likes it.

Le Chinon

M Abbesses, 18th
My Montmartre favorite.

Wine Bars

Lavinia 

3-5 bd de la Madeleine, 1st
restaurant et bar a vin - Lavinia is one of the biggest wine shops in Paris, with a broad and deep selection of French wines, but also some New World wines. Upstairs there is a restaurant and a bar where you can drop in for a glass or a bottle of wine at the wine bar, until 8 pm. At the wine bar, you can choose any of the more than 5000 bottles they sell at the shop and just pay the shop price.

See:
Wine bar: Paris --- Le Petit Monceau, Willi's wine bar and Lavinia

Bar de L’Entracte

47 rue de Montpensier, 1st
A stone through away from the Grand Vevour, in the corner.

Aux Bons Crus

M Bourse, 7 Rue des Petits Champs, 1st
Opened in 1905, a solid down-to-earth wine bar.

Juveniles

M Palais Royal, 1st
Owned by the legendary Tim Johnston, the wines are very interesting as is the Anglophone clientele.

See:
A Cult Paris Wine Bar - Juveniles

Legrand Filles et Fils

1 Rue de la Banque, 2nd
A wine store, which closes in the evening. But during the day (until 7pm), at the horseshoe bar, at one of the tables, or in the covered galerie, numerous wines are available by the glass. Was just sold to an Asian investor.

La Cremerie

M Odeon, 6th
Tiny place focusing on “natural wines”. Has gained cult status among natural wine drinkers.

See:
The Natural Wines of La Cremerie in Paris

Le Petit Monceau

93 rue de Monceau, 8th
When I lived in Paris my “down the road bar” was Le Petit Monceau, just next to my apartment building in the 8th district. There are hundreds of these wine bars in Paris. This is the place where people from the neighborhood meet after work “pour un pot”. You would stand at the bar, talk about Carla Bruni and other gossips and have a decent French table wine. Typically, only French wines are on the wine list, but not the expensive ones, only the reasonably prices ones. Many of the wines at the Le Petit Monceau are from the South of France. The food is simple, nothing special, but good. I would stand at the bar from 7 pm to 9 pm and then move on to one of the tables and have some food. Le Petit Monceau in the rue de Monceau was run and owned by a guy by the name Richard, my friend , when I was there, but has changed ownership and management since then.

See:
Wine bar: Paris --- Le Petit Monceau, Willi's wine bar and Lavinia

Autur d’un Verre

21 rue de Trévise, 9th
Resembles an ancient bistro, but in reality, this used to be an internet shop that American restaurateur Kevin Black converted into a bar à vins. He is a self-trained chef and passionate fan of natural wines.

Le Verre Volé

67 rue de Lancry, 10th, open every day
An institution for organic wines.

Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris in 2012

All the restaurants listed below serve French cuisine, except otherwise specified. Restaurants in each category are listed by postcodes (i.e. by arrondissements). Stars in brackets denote recently lost stars.

3 Stars

• Le Meurice (19.5/20), 228 rue de Rivoli - 75001 Paris ● Meurice Hotel
• L'Ambroisie (19/20), 9 place des Vosges - 75004 Paris (Traditional)
• L'Arpège (19.5/20), 84 rue de Varenne - 75007 Paris (Inventive)
• Ledoyen (19/20), Carré des Champs-Elysées - 75008 Paris (Classic)
• Epicure (19/20), 112 rue du Fg-Saint-Honoré - 75008 Paris ● Hotel Le Bristol (Classic)
• Pierre Gagnaire (19.5/20), 6 rue Balzac - 75008 Paris
• Alain Ducasse (19.5/20), 25 avenue Montaigne - 75008 Paris ● Hotel Plaza Athénée (Traditional)
• Astrance (19/20), 4 rue Beethoven - 75016 Paris
• Le Pré Catelan (19.5/20), Le Pré Catelan (Bois de Boulogne) - 75016 Paris (Inventive)
• Guy Savoy (19.5/20), 18 rue Troyon - 75017 Paris (Inventive)

2 Stars

• Le Grand Véfour ( ) (19/20), 17 rue de Beaujolais - 75001 Paris (Traditional)
• L'Espadon (19/20), 15 place Vendôme - 75001 Paris ● Ritz Hotel (Traditional)
• Passage 53 , 53 passage des Panoramas - 75002 Paris
• Relais Louis XIII , 8 rue des Grands Augustins - 75006 Paris
• Carré des Feuillants (19/20), 14 rue de Castiglione - 75001 Paris (Inventive)
• Jean-François Piège (19/20), 79 rue Saint-Dominique - 75007 Paris
• L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon - Saint-Germain , 5 rue de Montalembert - 75007 Paris ● Hotel Pont Royal
• L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon - Etoile , 133 avenue des Champs-Élysées - 75008 Paris
• Senderens (Lucas Carton) , 9 place de la Madeleine - 75008 Paris
• Lasserre , 17 avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt - 75008 Paris (Traditional)
• Taillevent ( ) (19/20), 15 rue Lamennais - 75008 Paris
• Le Cinq ( ) (19/20), 31 avenue George V - 75008 Paris ● Four Seasons Hotel (Classic)
• Apicius (19/20), 20 rue d'Artois - 75008 Paris
• Jamin , 32 rue de Longchamp - 75116 Paris
• Michel Rostang (19/20), 20 rue Rennequin - 75017 Paris (Traditional)
• Bigarrade , 106 rue Nollet - 75017 Paris

1 Star

• Gérard Besson , 5 rue du Coq Héron - 75001 Paris
• Goumard , 9 rue Duphot - 75001 Paris (Seafood)
• Le Céladon , 13 rue de la Paix - 75002 Paris
• Benoît , 20 rue St-Martin - 75004 Paris
• La Tour d'Argent , 15 quai de la Tournelle - 75005 Paris (Traditional)
• Paris , 45 boulevard Raspail - 75006 Paris
• Jacques Cagna , 14 rue des Grands-Augustins - 75006 Paris
• Hélène Darroze ( ), 4 rue d'Assas - 75006 Paris
• Caffé Minotti , 33 rue de Verneuil - 75007 Paris (Italian)
• Gaya Rive Gauche par Pierre Gagnaire , 44 rue du Bac - 75007 Paris
• Le Divellec , 107 rue de l'Université - 75007 Paris (Seafood)
• Le Chamarré , 13 boulevard La-Tour-Maubourg - 75007 Paris
• Les Ormes , 22 rue du Surcouf - 75007 Paris
• Violon d'Ingres , 135 rue St-Dominique - 75007 Paris
• Vin sur Vin , 20 rue de Monttessuy - 75007 Paris
• Les Ambassadeurs ( ) (17/20), 10 place de la Concorde - 75008 Paris ● Hotel du Crillon (Traditional)
• Le Laurent ( , 41 avenue Gabriel - 75008 Paris
• Relais d'Auteuil ( ) (16/20), 31 rue Murat - 75016 Paris
• La Luna , 69 rue du Rocher- 75008 Paris (Seafood)
• Stella Maris , 4 rue Arsène Houssaye - 75008 Paris
• Le W , 5 rue de Berri - 75008 Paris ● Warwick Hotel
• Table du Lancaster , 7 rue de Berri - 75008 Paris ● Lancaster Hotel
• Le Clovis , 14 rue Beaujon - 75008 Paris ● Sofitel Arc de Triomphe
• Carpaccio , 37 avenue Hoche - 75008 Paris (Italian) ● Royal Monceau Hotel
• Jardin , 37 avenue Hoche - 75008 Paris (Mediterranean) ● Royal Monceau Hotel
• L'Angle du Faubourg , 195 rue du Faubourg St-Honoré - 75008 Paris
• La Marée , 1 rue Daru - 75008 Paris
• Chiberta , 3 rue Arsène-Houssaye - 75008 Paris
• Les Élysées , 25 rue Vernet - 75008 Paris
• Marius et Janette , 4 avenue George V - 75008 Paris
• Copenhague , 142 avenue des Champs-Elysées - 75008 Paris (Scandinavian)
• Chez Jean , 8 rue Saint-Lazare - 75009 Paris
• Au Trou Gascon , 40 rue Taine - 75012 Paris
• Le Duc , 243 boulevard Raspail - 75014 Paris (Seafood)
• Montparnasse '25 , 19 rue du Commandant Mouchotte - 75014 Paris ● Hotel Le Méridien
• Maison Courtine , 157 avenue du Maine - 75014 Paris
• Chen-Soleil d'Est , 15 rue du Théâtre - 75015 Paris (Chinese, Asian)
• Jules Verne , Tour Eiffel - 75016 Paris
• La Table du Baltimore , 1 rue Leo Delibes - 75016 Paris ● Sofitel Baltimore
• Passiflore , 33 rue de Longchamp - 75116 Paris
• Tang , 125 rue de la Tour - 75116 Paris (Chinese & Thai)
• Le Relais du Parc , 59 avenue Raymond Poincaré - 75116 Paris ● Sofitel Le Parc
• Hiramatsu , 52 rue de Longchamp - 75116 Paris (Japanese-style French)
• Le Pergolèse , 40 rue Pergolèse - 75116 Paris
• Les Béatilles , 11 bis rue Villebois-Mareuil - 75017 Paris
• La Braisière , 54 rue Cardinet - 75017 Paris
• Sormani , 4 rue Général Lanrezac - 75017 Paris (Italian)

See here for the 2013 Michelin stared restauants in France.


Schiller’s Favorites

This posting is part of the Schiller’s favorites series. Here is a full list of all Schiller’s favorites postings so far.

Schiller’s Favorite Restaurants, Brasseries, Bistros, Cafes and Wine Bars in Paris, France

Schiller’s Favorite Crab Houses in the Washington DC Region, USA

Schiller’s Favorites at the 2013 Riesling and Co Tasting in New York City, USA

Schiller’s Favorites from the VDP Grosses Gewaechs – Grand Cru – Presentation at Kloster Eberbach, 2012, Germany

Schiller’s Favorite Wine Bars in Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Schiller’s Favorite Wine Bars in New York City, USA

Schiller’s Favorite Wine Bars in Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Schiller’s Favorite Wine Bars and Other Wine Spots in Vienna, Austria 

Schiller’s Favorite Wine Bars in San Francisco, USA

Schiller's Favorite Wine Bars in Bordeaux (City), France

Schiller's Favorite Wine Bars in Budapest, Hungary

Schiller’s 12 Favorite Restaurants of Antananarivo, the Capital of Madagascar

Schiller's Favorite Apple Wine Taverns in Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Schiller’s Favorite Wine Taverns in Mainz, Germany

Schiller's Favorite Wine Bars and Other Places Where You Can Have a Glass of Wine in Healdsburg, California

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Terry Theise: 2012 Vintage Wines - Highlights and Superlatives, Germany

July 22, 2013, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard in Maryland - A Profile, USA

≪ Previous: Schiller’s Favorite Restaurants, Brasseries, Bistros, Cafes and Wine Bars in Paris, France

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Picture: Johannes Selbach, Weingut Selbach Oster, and Riesling Guru Paul Grieco in New York City at the 2013 Riesling and Co Tasting

See:
Schiller’s Favorites at the 2013 Riesling and Co Tasting in New York City, USA

Terry Theise is one of the leading experts of German Wine in the US. Among the vast number of his followers, he has gained something like a cult status. He publishes a thick catalogue once a year with extensive comments. In addition to the compendium of exciting wine reviews, the Terry Theise’s annual catalogue is a very good introduction to German wine, both to the basics and to the current trends and issues.

His wines are imported by Michael Skurnik, an importer and distributor of fine wines based in Syosset, New York. Terry also imports Austrian wine and Champagnes, including excellent grower Champagnes.

If you want to learn more about Terry, the Washington Post carried an excellent article about him some time ago. See here.

2008 James Beard Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional
2005 Food & Wine Magazine Importer of the Year

His wines are imported by Michael Skurnik, an importer and distributor of fine wines based in Syosset, New York. Terry also imports Austrian wine and Champagnes, including excellent grower Champagnes.

For previous years, see:
Terry Theise’s Top German Wines of the 2011 Vintage, Germany, USA
2011: Terry Theise’s Top German Wines of the 2010 Vintage
Terry Theise's Top German Wines of the 2009 Vintage

Terry Theise's Top 2012 Wines

A few comments. First, there are no red wines, although they now account for 1/3 of the German wine output. Terry is clearly focusing on Germany’s white wines. Second, nor have I seen a category for sparkling wines; for sparklers, you have to go to his excellent portfolio of Champagnes, including many grower Champagnes. Third, his list does not include any noble-sweet wines (Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese, Eiswein). Fourth, as mentioned above, this is not a list based on a comprehensive review of German wine, but is limited to Terry Theise’s portfolio of winemakers, which is large and exceptional.

Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller with Stefan Rumpf, Weingut Krueger-Rumpf, at a Winemaker Dinner at Weinstube Krueger-Rumpf in Muenster-Sarmsheim

See also:
Wine Maker Dinner with Stefan Rumpf at Weinstube Kruger-Rumpf in Muenster-Sarmsheim, Germany 
Visiting Georg Rumpf and his VDP Weingut Kruger-Rumpf in the Nahe Region, Germany

Here is Terry Theise in o-tone. I have added a couple of pictures of the winemakers I have met personally, including references to relevant postings on schiller-wine.

Terry Theise: 2012 Vintage in Germany

Perhaps you remember last year I said I was getting weary of minute meteorological explanations for a vintage, finding them otiose. Perhaps you don’t know what “otiose” means. It means futile or ineffectual, but isn’t quite exactly either of those things, having also a quality of irrelevance or uselessness. It’s one of those cool words that threads the linguistic needle. Anyway, I don’t think you want to know each detail of the growing season, so I’ll spare you.

What matters is this: early in the cycle right around or just before flowering, the weather wasn’t ideal and they had either fungus infections (peronospora, or downy mildew) or coulure, a failure of the blossoms to “set.” This was more pronounced as one went north, and most growers in and north of the Rheingau reported a 30% reduction in crop size, whereas the Rheinhessen and Pfalz were closer to normal.


Picture: Winemaker Andreas Barth and Owner Guenther Jauch (Weingut von Othegraven) at Gallery upstairs in Berlin

The summer was cool and damp everywhere. Growers began to think the small crop might be a blessing in disguise. No one expected great results. The weather changed in late August, and remained almost constantly dry and sunny for a remarkably long time, giving producers a chance to pick what they wanted when they wanted (“We actually took weekends off,” was a common refrain) as opposed to needing to bring the crop in before the next storm or cold front.
Leitz wrote me, in his quite special style,

“The late summer was fantastic. Middle of August 40 degrees. Harvest really BEST!!! and stress less- like never before. Dry and sunny and decent degree daytime and nearly freezing at night. Means no shitty fruit flies or wasp assholes who spread the vinegar rot the last 3 vintages. So we picked the most healthy grapes since a long time. And!!!! Funny thing, the sunshine for 5 weeks was not turned into oechsle (they stayed very low) it turned into fruit. I never tasted as fruity juice before.”

Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller with Johannes Leitz at Schloss Johannisberg.

See also:
Visiting Weingut Josef Leitz in Ruedesheim – Johannes Leitz is Germany’s Winemaker of the Year, Gault Millau WeinGuide 2011

This echoes an often-repeated trope for 2012 – the welcome lack of botrytis. In fact there was almost none. This gave growers all the leeway they could desire to wait to pick, and fruit was concentrated by dehydration. An American living and working in the Pfalz named Bill Hooper wrote this to me, speaking only for the Pfalz but in fact generally applicable: “What sets 2012 apart from other recent vintages is that due to a long, cooler season, [the] physiological ripeness has been achieved before a significant drop in acidity.” And 2012 is indeed a high-acid vintage at least for Riesling. (It was permitted to add acidity to other varieties.) Yet we’ve come to see this through the prism of vintages that have generally been lower in acidity than was the case up to and including 2002. We’re spoiled. 2010 was a freak, of course, yet there were few instances where I felt acidity on the palate, high though it may have been on paper.

This is because the wines are amazingly dense and full, materially rich in substance, yet not even slightly fat. German has two perfect words for these things: dicht (meaning a many-layered palpable density) and fülle (meaning not just fullness but a concentrated juiciness that’s almost semi-solid), and so the wines are markedly generous and concentrated for a so-called “high-acid” year. Extracts were such as to prompt an image of liquid geology in many wines.

You’re going to have to call this an outstanding vintage, especially in points north. Yet the Pfalz offered its own share of surprises. The season was 2-3 weeks earlier there, and one heard tales of a rush to pick for fear of rot, anticipated due to a warm front. But then the Pfälzers took it on the chin in the last decade, and can be indulged if they seem skittish and pick hurriedly. But not all of them did. And for each estate whose wines seemed perhaps unfulfilled, there were others who made their best vintages in memory, and at least one who emerged transcendent.

A cold night on 25/26 October gave hope of Eiswein but it wasn’t cold enough. The grapes “looked like sorbet,” several people told me, and what they did pick that morning had a subtle Eiswein tang, and went into the few Auslesen the vintage gave. Afterwards there was a drop in acidity, and the picking continued well into early November. This meant several things. One, because the picking was so late, fermentations were colder and therefore slower, and for growers seeking to make wines with sweetness, they had plenty of leisure to consider the perfect moment to stop those fermentations. Two, and more important for me personally, the wines were about 3-4 weeks later than last year, and my visit was one week earlier, which means I was tasting substantially less developed wine than I’d tasted a year before. (This will also be true for any colleague who tasted much before April 1st.) Some of what I tasted seemed atypically raw, and I’m sure this was the reason.

Some growers’ wines go through a sharp angular stage before fruit emerges and the flavors thread together. I saw it here and there, and allowed for it. But in some instances there was a sourness present, for which I could find no explanation. Please understand, sourness is something you taste as a flavor on the tongue, whereas acidity is a felt sense of something caustic. High-acid wines can be smooth, and low-acid wines can be sour; think of the bitter finish of most Gewurztraminers, for example; a very low-acid variety.

Most growers will have had among their best vintages of the last decade in 2012. But what is it like?

It’s loaded. It’s seldom tensile, but neither is it spherical. The wines are crammed with saltiness. “Mint” was a common descriptor. 2011 tasted facile next to it, and 2011 is not a facile vintage. But `12 is of another order.

Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller and Armin and Caroline Diel at Schlossgut Diel: Visiting Armin and Caroline Diel and their Schlossgut Diel in Burg Layen in Germany

It’s hard to compare to earlier years. One could say it’s like `09 but less yellow-fruit, more mineral, and richer. It’s nothing like `10, not as spiky. It’s like a much riper sibling of `08. It’s not flowery the way `07 was, and it’s much cleaner than `06. It’s a little like `05 without the botrytis but with similar concentration; indeed it was Selbach’s best vintage since `05, to which it nearly compares.

It’s a fabulous vintage for Muscat, and a perplexing vintage for Scheurebe, but Scheu is often tardy and I was a lot earlier than usual. Some were clean but varietally mute, while others (Minges!) were full-throttle kama-sutra kink.

HIGHLIGHTS AND SUPERLATIVES

THE WINERY OF THE VINTAGE IS:

Bearing in mind that Mr. Dönnhoff’s number has been retired, as it were – well what is it? I struggle between an estate who have clearly and dramatically ascended, and one who has again shown a markedly powerful performance such as they have often done over the last 10-15 years. But attention must be paid, we have a new Belle-of-the-ball, and ladies and gents, leave your shoes at the door for you enter a holy place – the winery of the vintage is VON WINNING, who have attained a stunning crescendo that fully realizes the lofty ambitions they began with.

OTHER MARKED SUCCESSES:

It won’t surprise you to learn that Leitz continues to perform at a stellar level. My number-1 runner-up to Von Winning has got to be Selbach-Oster, who have their best vintage since 2005 and who again conveyed a virtuosity over a very large range of wines, making it look easier than I know it to be. Von Othegraven is strongly expressive and aristocratic, wines of both dignity and deliciousness. Carl Loewen shows again that he’s the sleeper in this portfolio. Both Adam and Willi Schaefer were superb. It’s a lot of names, but it’s a shit-ton of good wine!

THE WINE OF THE VINTAGE IS:

Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Kabinett.

This disqualifies it from being Kabinett of the vintage, but wow, I don’t remember a more amazing Kabinett from this estate.

RUNNERS-UP INCLUDE:

(a couple of Auslesen that were amazing plus a fiercely spectacular and equally fiercely expensive dry wine…)

von Winning Kirchenstück Riesling Grosses Gewächs
Loewen Ritsch Auslese
Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese #10
Strub Niersteiner Oelberg Riesling Feinherb

THE AUSLESE OF THE VINTAGE IS:
(other than those already cited above)

Selbach-Oster “Schmitt”

THE SCHEUREBE OF THE VINTAGE IS:

Minges Gleisweiler Scheurebe Trocken

THE KABINETTS OF THE VINTAGE ARE:
(excluding those already cited elsewhere)

von Othegraven Kanzemer Altenberg Riesling Kabinett
von Othegraven Wawerner Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett
Merkelbach Uerziger Würzgarten Riesling Kabinett #18
Schmitt-Wagner Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett
Weingart Bopparder Hamm Engelstein Riesling Kabinett Feinherb

Picture: Helmut Doennhoff in Seattle at the Farewell Reception of the 4th Riesling Rendezvous

See:
The World of Riesling in Seattle - Fourth Riesling Rendezvous in Washington State, USA
The German Winemakers at the Forthcoming 4. Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, Washington State, USA

THE BIGGEST SURPRISES OF THE VINTAGE ARE:

In fact, and amazing as it seems, I was most (pleasantly) surprised by tasting the Regionals at Selbach. They are wonderful and full of integrity; in fact they show as much if not more commitment to quality then the estate wines do, because one assumes regional wines will be mundane and “commercial,” and you’d be happy if they were merely clean and drinkable. But in fact they’re good. They’ll never be lionized, or get high scores, or attract the enthusings of wine aesthetes, and no one will give as much as a pat on the back to Johannes Selbach for troubling to make his “humble” wines this good.

I call this honor.

THE GREATEST DRY WINES ARE:

The entire range at von Winning, with the Kirchenstück GG reaching the absolute apex, and the Paradiesgarten Riesling Spätlese Trocken offering the most ri-freaking-diculous value.
Leitz Hinterhaus is again a masterpiece.
Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Spätlese Trocken.
von Othegraven 2011 Altenberg Riesling Alte Reben GG.
Adam Goldtröpfchen Riesling GG
Spreitzer Wisselbrunnen Riesling GG
Strub Niersteiner Rosenberg Riesling Trocken

THE ABSOLUTE TOP VALUE:

Schneider Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese, offering the elite stature of this supernal Grand Cru at a still-attractive price. Fella’s on the way up, so don’t expect this to last….

THE MOST DROOLINGLY STUPID_TOTAL_FUN WINE:

Gysler Scheurebe Halbtrocken LITER

schiller-wine - Related Postings

Terry Theise’s Top German Wines of the 2011 Vintage, Germany, USA

Terry Theise's Top German Wines of the 2009 Vintage

2011: Terry Theise’s Top German Wines of the 2010 Vintage

German Spaetlese Wines Can Come in Different Versions. I Have Counted Five.

Phil Bernstein’s Third Annual German Riesling Tasting with the German Wine Society, Washington DC Chapter - Rieslings With a Touch of Sweetness

When Americans Drink German Wine - What They Choose

Impressions from the Riesling and Co World Tour 2010 in New York

German Wine Basics: Sugar in the Grape - Alcohol and Sweetness in the Wine

The Wines of the Roter Hang (Red Slope) in Nierstein, Rheinhessen, Germany

Visiting Armin and Caroline Diel and their Schlossgut Diel in Burg Layen in Germany

Visiting Weingut Josef Leitz in Ruedesheim – Johannes Leitz is Germany’s Winemaker of the Year, Gault Millau WeinGuide 2011

Visiting Georg Rumpf and his VDP Weingut Kruger-Rumpf in the Nahe Region, Germany

Wine Maker Dinner with Stefan Rumpf at Weinstube Kruger-Rumpf in Muenster-Sarmsheim, Germany

The German Winemakers at the Forthcoming 4. Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, Washington State, USA

Schiller’s Favorites at the 2013 Riesling and Co Tasting in New York City, USA

The World of Riesling in Seattle - Fourth Riesling Rendezvous in Washington State, USA

Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard in Maryland - A Profile, USA

July 23, 2013, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: BerlinKabinettCup 2013 - Kabinett 2012, Germany

≪ Previous: Terry Theise: 2012 Vintage Wines - Highlights and Superlatives, Germany

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Picture: Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller and Michael McGarry, Co-owner of Sugar Loaf Mountain Vineyard, with the Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard 2010 EVOE in Baltimore

Blue crabs are iconic in Maryland. Few food and wine aficiniados, however, would point to premium wines, when talking about Maryland; instead, Maryland has the reputation of being a mediocre wine producer. But Maryland winemakers are very successfully changing that. Increasingly, winemakers in Maryland are moving away from fruit wines and non-European grape varieties that have long plagued the East Coast to produce wines that can compete with the best wines in the world.

Pictures: Mike Wangbickler, President of Drink Local Wine, Michael McGarry, Co-owner of Sugar Loaf Mountain Vineyard, Manolo Gomez, Winemaker at Sugar Loaf Mountain Vineyard and Annette Schiller, wine tours by ombiasy, in Baltimore

As Drew Baker of the brand-new Old Westminster Winery explained to Frank Morgan, a popular wine blogger, “Maryland has great potential and I believe that the quality bar is rising quickly. Soon, poorly made wines will be the exception in an otherwise great region.” Old Westminster Winery, led by the three siblings Drew, Lisa, and Ashli, who manage the vineyard, winemaking, and marketing, respectively, has not yet released any wine, but is already generating a buzz. Other promising newcomers include Black Ankle, Slack, Sugar Loaf Mountain and Port of Leonardtown. Add to that the Maryland classics Boordy, Basignani and Elk Run, which are in the process of changing gears.

See more:
At the Fifth Annual Drink Local Wine Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Grand Tasting of Maryland Wines and Twitter Taste-off - Drink Local Wine Conference 2013 in Maryland, USA
Touring Wine Country Maryland, USA
Maryland Crabs and Wine

This is one posting in a series of 3 profiles of Maryland wineries:
Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard in Maryland - A Profile, USA
Boordy Vineyards in Maryland - A Profile, USA
Black Ankle Vineyards in Maryland - A Profile, USA

Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard

Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard is only a 45 minute drive from Washington, DC. The 92-acre farm abuts the scenic Sugarloaf Mountain conservation and recreation area. The winery is easily identifiable by its signature red barn, silo and windmill, built in the early 1900s.

Pictures: Sugar Loaf Mountain Vineyard

Purchased by Dan and Polly O'Donoghue in 1962, the farm has been a working farm and family retreat ever since. Today, it is owned and operated by their four children – the McGarry, McKenna and two O’Donoghue families. The transformation from a traditional farm to a vineyard broke ground in 2002. A wine making team was formed, and soon vines were planted and being nurtured. By 2005, the winery was complete and Sugar Loaf Mountain was making its first vintage.

Pictures: Michael McGarry, Co-owner of Sugar Loaf Mountain Vineyard

In 2011, Benoit Pineau took over the wine-making responsibilities. He hails from France and has been educated in oenology and viticulture in Bordeaux and Toulouse. As of January, 2013 Manolo Gomez has become the official winemaker, with Benoit Pineau the consultant winemaker.

Pictures: Christian G.E. Schiller with Co-owner Michael McKenna,  Benoit Pineau and Manolo Gomez in Maryland

Sugar Loaf Mountain Vineyard specializes in Bordeaux style wines. They grow Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot; and three white varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Viognier.

The Wines 

I recently visited Sugarloaf Mountain with Aaron Nix-Gomez (Hogshead), whi took and published tasting notes, and a number of other food and wine writers and tasted the following wines.

Picture: Sugar Loaf Mountain Wines

2011 Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard, Pinot Grigio, $19

100% Pinot Grigio. Aged for 6 months in stainless steel.  Alcohol 13.0%.

Hogshead: There was a very subtle nose. In the mouth the flavors showed restraint but also had some ripe white and yellow fruit. There was good acidity, a softer finish, and perhaps a note of lees.

2011 Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard, Circe, $24

Blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 10% Petit Verdot, and 7% Merlot. Aged for 5 months in 20% new French oak.  Alcohol 12.5%.

Hogshead: The nose bore very young fruit. In the mouth there were grapey red fruit flavors which tickled the tip of the tongue. It became very tart with red berries and grape tannins.

2011 Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard, Comus $26

Blend of 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Malbec. Aged for 12 months in 25% French oak. Alcohol 13.0%

Hogshead: There were flavors of bright red fruit, structure, acidity, and a little bit of black fruit in the finish. A little young and should benefit from short-term aging.

2010 Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard, Evoe! $39

Blend of 51% Cabernet Franc, 22% Petit Verdot, 16% Merlot, and 11% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged for 24 months in 25% new French oak. Alcohol 14.5%.

Hogshead: The nose was nice with black berries. In the mouth there was focused, moderately ripe fruit with some grip. There was enjoyable texture on the tongue. My favorite.

schiller-wine: Related Postings

At the Fifth Annual Drink Local Wine Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Grand Tasting of Maryland Wines and Twitter Taste-off - Drink Local Wine Conference 2013 in Maryland, USA

Touring Wine Country Maryland, USA

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Maryland Crabs and Wine

Schiller's World of Seafood

Chef Spike Gjerde's Farm-to-Table Food of Woodberry Kitchen and Sarah O’Herron's and Ed Boyce's Premium Organic Wines of Black Ankle Vineyards, Maryland, USA

Boordy Vineyards in Maryland - A Profile, USA

Black Ankle Vineyards in Maryland - A Profile, USA

BerlinKabinettCup 2013 - Kabinett 2012, Germany

July 24, 2013, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: Weinurlaub/Urlaubsweine – Wine Vacation/Vacation Wines

≪ Previous: Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard in Maryland - A Profile, USA

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Pictures: The 3 Winners and the Brandenburger Tor in Berlin

The BerlinKabinettCup 2013 took place in June 1013 in Berlin, Germany, orchestrated by Martin Zwick. 30 wines were included and ranked in the tasting. They were blind-tasted by a group of sommeliers, wine writers and wine retailers, including Alice Beckmann/Wein&Glas, Paul Truszkowski/Wine in Black, José Segura/Vinaturel, Christian S./Suff, Felix Bodmann "Schnutentunker", Manfred Klimek/WELT and Stephan Reinhardt/VINUM. All of the wines were German Riesling Kabinett 2012 wines. Mosel expert Felix Eschenauer/medienagenten put together the tasting.

Riesling

Worldwide, there are about 34.000 hectares planted with Riesling. Germany – with 22.400 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. 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 only less than 1 percent of total wine production in the world - but a very special niche wine.

Martin Zwick and his Berlin Cups

Martin Zwick was initially known for organizing the BerlinRieslingCup every year. While the BerlinKabinettCup reviews and rates Rieslings at the Kabinett level, the BerlinRieslingCup is about Germany’s their dry grand cru (Grosses Gewaechs) Rieslings. It typically takes place in the second half of September, following the release of the Grosses Gewaechs wines of the previous year.

This year, Martin Zwick also organized for the second time a BerlinGutsrieslingCup, tasting and ranking entry-level wines of VDP producers.

See also:
Germany’s Ultra Premium Dry Riesling Wines – The Berlin Riesling Cup 2012
Germany’s Top Wines – The Berlin Riesling Cup 2011 Ranking

BerlinGutsrieslingCup 2013– Rating Entry-level Rieslings from Germany
Berlin Gutsriesling Cup 2012, Germany

Picture: Martin Zwick and Christian G.E. Schiller in Wiesbaden


What is a Kabinett?

What is a Kabinett? That depends. In the framework of the standard classification of German wine (the Law of 1971), Kabinett has a very different meaning than in the framework of the new classification adopted by the VDP.

In the standard classification, a Kabinett is defined by the sugar content of the grapes at harvest. It is a wine made from grapes harvested with a sugar content of 67 to 87 degrees Oechsle that was not chaptalized. Such a wine can be fully fermented and become dry. These are the Kabinett Trocken wines.

Alternatively, the winemaker could stop the fermentation so that natural sugar remains in the finished wine (and perhaps add a bit of sterilized juice – Suessreserve) to produce a wine that is fruity-sweet. That could be indicated on the label as Kabinett Feinherb, or Kabinett Halbtrocken.

In sum: In the framework of the standard classification of German wine, a Kabinett could be a dry or a fruity-sweet wine, with the terms Trocken, Feinherb and Halbtrocken indicating the sweetness level in the wine.

The VDP producers have introduced a new classification, very much based on the Burgundian approach. In the their classification, Kabinett no longer stands for a certain ripeness of the grapes at harvest, but stands for a certain sweetness level of the wine in the bottle. If a winemaker harvests grapes at the Kabinett level (in terms of sugar content at harvest), but wants to make a dry wine out of it, the winemaker has to market the wine as Qualitaetswein (QbA).

Only wines that have a certain sweetness in the finished wine can be sold as Kabinett. Kabinett Trocken does not exist for VDP producers. All the wines sold as Kabinett are in a certain Kabinett sweetness range.

For the VDP winemakers, Kabinett is an indication of a certain sweetness profile. And Auslese is sweet than Spaetlese and Spaetlese sweeter than Kabinett. The terms “Halbtrocken” and “Feinherb” have become redundant in the VDP classification system.

The wines in this contest were all wines where the fermentation was interrupted to generate a wine “that dances” as Stephen Rheinhardt has put it in the Sueddeutschen Zeitung: A low alcohol wine with some remaining sweetness – Feinherb and Halbtrocken Kabinetts, no Trocken Kabinetts.

The Contest

Martin Zwick: “On Saturday June 15 I organized and hosted the "BerlinKabinettCup". I presented blind 33 Riesling Kabinett feinherb/fruity of the upcoming vinage 2012 to a group of journalists for example Stephan Reinhardt/VINUM, sommeliers, wine-dealers and Riesling-lovers. I made this tasting in order to get an impression of the vintage 2012, but also to promote Kabinett. I love Kabinett because of its lightness of being, drinking pleasure, 8% and food-versatility. Here in Germany the people are too focused on dry Rieslings and I wanted to create an awareness for Kabinett with its little sweetness in the German wine-world. We tasted such wonderful Rieslings. Soo much quality for little money. And the vintage offers stunning qualities due the lovely fruit-acidity-play, balance, grip and drinking pleasure of the vintage. I see 2012 clearly above 2011, as 2011 lacked a bit of acid.”

Ranking

1. von Hövel "Oberemmeler Hütte"
2. Egon Müller "Scharzhofberger"

Picture: Egon Mueller in Hattenheim

3. Schloss Lieser "Juffer + Zilliken "Bockstein" + Van Volxem "Rotschiefer"
4. Willi Schaefer "Domprobst"
5. Schäfer-Fröhlich "Felseneck" feinherb
6. A.J. Adam "Hofberg"
7. Urbanshof "Bockstein"
8. Markus Molitor "Himmelreich" feinherb Fassprobe
9. Weingart "Hamm Ohlenberg" feinherb
10. Julian Haart "Schubertslay"
11. Maximin Grünhaus "Abtsberg"
12. Willi Schaefer "Himmelreich"
13. Diel "Goldloch"

Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller with Armin and Caroline Diel at Schlossgut Diel in Germany

See also:
Visiting Armin and Caroline Diel and their Schlossgut Diel in Burg Layen in Germany

14. Othegraven "Altenberg"
15. KaJo Christoffel "Erdener Treppchen"
16. Maximin Grünhaus "Herrenberg"
17. Markus Molitor "Badstube" feinherb Fassprobe
18. Martin Müllen "Würzgarten"
19. Weil

Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller and Wilhelm Weil, Weingut Robert Weil, in Kiedrich

See also:
Visiting Wilhelm Weil at his Weingut Robert Weil in Kiedrich, Germany
Tasting with Wilhelm Weil the 2010 Weingut Weil Wines in Kiedrich, Germany

20. Keller "Pettenthal"
21. Geltz-Zilliken "Rausch
22. Günther Steinmetz " Brauneberger" feinherb
23. Keller "Hipping"
24. Geltz-Zilliken "Saarburger"
25. Martin Müllen "Hühnerberg" feinherb
26. Knebel "Röttgen"
27. Günther Steinmetz "Juffer" feinherb
28. Emrich-Schönleber "Monzinger" feinherb
29. Schloss Johannisberg "Rotlack" feinherb
30. Leitz Kirchenpfad "feinherb"

schiller-wine - Related Postings

Stepping up: From 3 … to 4 Quality Levels - The New Classification of the VDP, Germany

Germany’s Ultra Premium Dry Riesling Wines – The Berlin Riesling Cup 2012

Germany’s Top Wines – The Berlin Riesling Cup 2011 Ranking

BerlinGutsrieslingCup 2013– Rating Entry-level Rieslings from Germany

Berlin Gutsriesling Cup 2012, Germany

The Wine Maker Couple H.O. Spanier and Carolin Spanier-Gillot, with Roland Gillot, Lead Wine Tasting of Kuehling-Gillot and Battenfeld-Spanier Wines at Weingut Kuehling-Gillot, Germany

Visiting Weingut Josef Leitz in Ruedesheim – Johannes Leitz is Germany’s Winemaker of the Year, Gault Millau WeinGuide 2011

1.International Riesling Symposium

When Americans Drink German Wine - What They Choose

Visiting Wilhelm Weil at his Weingut Robert Weil in Kiedrich, Germany

Tasting with Wilhelm Weil the 2010 Weingut Weil Wines in Kiedrich, Germany

Visiting Armin and Caroline Diel and their Schlossgut Diel in Burg Layen in Germany

Phil Bernstein’s Third Annual German Riesling Tasting with the German Wine Society, Washington DC Chapter - Rieslings With a Touch of Sweetness

Visiting Georg Rumpf and his VDP Weingut Kruger-Rumpf in the Nahe Region, Germany

German Wine Basics: Sugar in the Grape - Alcohol and Sweetness in the Wine

Weinurlaub/Urlaubsweine – Wine Vacation/Vacation Wines

July 25, 2013, 3:30 pm

≫ Next: The Wines for Annette Schiller’s 60th Birthday Celebrations

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Picture: Annette Schiller, Ombiasy Wine Tours, and Bernhard Pawis, Weingut Pawis, Saale Unstrut, Germany

My wife Annette Schiller used to run and own an event management company, which specialized in organizing conferences with the World Bank. Many of these conferences had attendance of 500 plus people and a budget with a 6-digit US$ number. Now, she has scaled back to a one-person-shop and has started to organize wine tours and winemaker dinners.

Weinrallye # 65: Weinurlaub/Urlaubsweine - Wine Vacation/Vacation Wines

This posting is being published as part of the Weinrallye, a monthly blog event in Germany. Participating wine bloggers - mainly in Germany - are all releasing postings today under the heading Weinurlaub/Urlaubsweine - Wine Vacation/Vacation Wines. Weinrallye is the brainchild of Thomas Lippert, a winemaker and wine blogger based in Heidelberg, Germany. This month's wine rally is organized by Victoria Hendgen from Weinreich - Blog (www.blog.wein-reich.info).

Picture: Weinrallye

This posting centers around wine vacation. It briefly outlines the 2 wine tours to Germany and Bordeaux in August and September this year, which Annette Schiller (Ombiasy Wine Tours) is offering.

Ombiasy Wine Events

Recent wine maker dinners include one at Eola (Washington DC) with Anne Cuvelier and the wines of Chateau Leoville Poyferre and at Open Kitchen (Northern Virginia) with Jean Trimbach and the wines of Domaine Trimbach.

See:
Château Léoville-Poyferré Winemaker Dinner with Anne Cuvelier at Eola in Washington DC, USA
Back in the Washington DC Area: Jean Trimbach Presented Maison Trimbach Wines at a Winemaker Dinner at Open Kitchen, USA

Ombiasy Wine Tours

The Ombiasy Wine Tours started in 2012 with a trip to Bordeaux. This was a German speaking tour with the Weinfreundeskreis Hochheim (Rheingau).

For this year, 2 wine tours are planned, both English speaking, one to Germany and one to Bordeaux.

Ombiasy Wine Tours: Wine and Culture Tour to Germany Coming up in August 2013

Led by Annette Schiller and Christian Schiller, a Wine and Culture Trip to Germany is coming up, August 22 - 30, 2013, organized by Ombiasy Wine Tours.

For 9 days, we will explore seven out of the thirteen wine regions and several cultural highlights in Germany: the Saale-Unstrut wine region in the former GDR, Weimar, cradle of German intellectual thinking, the Wartburg where Martin Luther spend his years hiding from the Roman Catholic Church, the Rheingau with its pristine vineyards and quaint medieval villages, the Basilica in Kiedrich where still today Gregorian chants are sung, the romantic Rhine river and its castle-ribboned banks, world-renowned wineries in the Mosel valley with its dizzying steep vineyards, the beautiful, peaceful Nahe valley, the biggest wine barrel in the world, the upcoming young ambitious winemakers in Rheinhessen, the one thousand year old city of Mainz, one of the nine wine capitals of the world.

We will visit 14 wineries, taste fabulous wines, share wine pairing meals with the proprietors of top wine producing estates and will have fantastic meals at great restaurants and historical places.

Pictures: Annette Schiller, Clemens Busch, Christian G.E. Schiller and Helmut Doennhoff

Germany with its roughly 250,000 acres under vine belongs today to one of the smaller wine producing countries in the world. However viticulture in Germany has a long tradition going back to Roman times 2,000 years ago. In the 15th century the area under vine was four times larger than it is today. Wars, subsequently loss of territory, diseases, overproduction, and competition from beer brewing resulted in land turned over to other agricultural use.

In the 19th century, technological progress fostered improvement of quality and the prestige of German wines, in particular from the Mosel, Rheingau, and Pfalz region resulted in prices above those for first growth Bordeaux wines. Today, all thirteen wine regions in Germany produce outstanding wines, with Rieslings and Pinot Noirs in the top league.

The price for this 9 day / 8 night trip is $ 2989 / per person, double occupancy. Single occupancy supplement is $ 430. Tour starts and ends in the city of Frankfurt am Main.

Ombiasy Wine Tours: Bordeaux Trip Coming up in September 2013

Led by Annette Schiller and Christian Schiller, a Bordeaux Trip is coming up: September 9 to 19, 2013, organized by Ombiasy Wine Tours.

This trip focuses on the two most well-known regions within the Bordeaux winegrowing area, where the highest number of world-class wines achieving skyrocketing prices are produced: Médoc with its appellations Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac, Saint-Julien, Margaux on the Left Bank and Saint-Emilion on the Right Bank with a side trip to the tiny Pomerol appellation. We will also visit the area where the Sauterne wines are produced and one château in the Pessac-Leognan appellation.

We will tour, taste the wines, and meet the owners of some of the famous Châteaux ranked in the 1855 Médoc Classification. The Médoc classification of 1855 covers (with one exception) red wines of Médoc. The 1855 classification was made at the request of Emperor Napoleon III for the Exposition Universelle de Paris. It ranked the wines into five categories, mainly according to price, and this classification has never been touched, except for the promotion of Mouton Rothschild. The famous 5 first growths are: Lafite-Rothschild in Pauillac, Margaux in Margaux, Latour in Pauillac, Haut-Brion in Péssac-Leognan, and Mouton Rothschild in Pauillac, promoted from second to first growth in 1973. There are: 14 Deuxièmes (2nd) Crus, 14 Troisièmes (3rd) Crus, 10 Quatrièmes (4rd) Crus, and 18 Cinquièmes (5th) Crus.

Pictures: Annette Schiller with Owner Henri Lurton at Château Brane-Cantenac in Margaux

On the Right Bank we also will visit, taste the wines, and meet the owners of some of the Premiers Grands Crus Classés Châteaux of Saint-Emilion. Since 1954 an official French decree regulates the classification in Saint-Emilion. Two appellations, Saint-Emilion and Saint-Emilion Grand Cru share a single geographical region. The Saint-Emilion Grand Cru classification is revisited every ten years, with the latest reevaluation conducted in 2012. We witnessed wine history during last year’s Bordeaux trip when our group visited Saint-Emilion on the day the results were released. Saint-Emilion Grand Cru is again divided into two classifications: Grands Crus Classés (currently 63 Châteaux) and Premiers Grands Crus Classés (currently 15 Châteaux in the B category, and 4 in the A category: (Angélus, Ausonne, Cheval Blanc, and Pavie) for the top estates.

All lunches and dinners included in the itinerary will be gourmet meals in great restaurants. Special treats are lunches and dinners with wine pairings, where we will be joined by the Château owner. Our farewell dinner will be in a one Michelin star restaurant. Accommodation will be in 3-star, 4-star, and 5 star hotels with a breakfast buffet each morning waiting for you to kick off a great day of winery tours and tastings. Travel will be by luxury air-conditioned motor coach, starting and ending in the city of Bordeaux. This tour is designed for English speakers. Where English is not spoken, translation is assured throughout the entire trip.

The group will not exceed a total of 18 participants. Only a small group gets access to the top châteaux. Wine journalist Christian Schiller and Annette Schiller, professional event manager, both wine connoisseurs, experienced wine region travelers, and former residents of France will lead the group. We will make sure that the participants of this journey will experience a true feeling of genuine French culture.

The price for this 11 day / 10 night trip is $ 3965 per person, double occupancy. Single occupancy supplement is $ 535. Tour starts and ends in the city of Bordeaux.

We are sure, this trip will be as fantastic as the previous one. Join us on this trip to get a genuine feel for what Bordeaux has to offer.

Ombiasy Wine Tours Germany Trip 2013 – Related Postings

German Wine
German Wine Basics: Sugar in the Grape - Alcohol and Sweetness in the Wine
German Spaetlese Wines Can Come in Different Versions. I Have Counted Five.
When Americans Drink German Wine - What They Choose
Approaches to Classifying German Wine: The Standard Approach (the Law of 1971), the VDP Approach and the Zero Classification Approach
Video: How to Pronounce German Wine - Simon Woods' Enhanced Version

VDP
Germany's VDP Wine Estates Celebrate 100th Anniversary in Berlin
The VDP - the Powerful Group of German Elite Winemakers - Refines its Classification System, Germany

Weingut Pawis (VDP)
Weingut Pawis in Saale Unstrut, Germany

Rotkaeppchen-Mumm Sekt Kellerei
Visiting Rotkaeppchen-Mumm - the Second Largest Producer of Sparkling Wine in the World - in Freyburg (Saale-Unstrut), Germany

Thueringer Weingut in Bad Sulza
Visiting Winemaker Andreas Clauss and his Thueringer Weingut in Bad Sulza, Saale Unstrut, Germany

Weingut Balthasar Ress (VDP)
Hanging out with Rheingau Winemakers: Dirk Wuertz, Desiree Eser, Alexander Jakob Jung, Hansi Bausch and Christian Ress in Hattenheim, Rheingau, Germany

Weingut Robert Weil (VDP)
German Riesling and International Grape Varieties – Top Wine Makers Wilhelm Weil and Markus Schneider at Kai Buhrfeindt’s Grand Cru in Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Visiting Wilhelm Weil at his Weingut Robert Weil in Kiedrich, Germany
Tasting with Wilhelm Weil the 2010 Weingut Weil Wines in Kiedrich, Germany

Weingut Clemens Busch (VDP)
With Wine Maker Clemens Busch in Puenderich at his Winery in the Mosel Valley, Germany

Weingut Dr. Loosen (VDP)
The Doctor Made a House Call - A Tasting with Ernst Loosen, Weingut Dr. Loosen, at MacArthur Beverages in Washington DC, USA

Weingut Kruger-Rumpf (VDP)
Visiting Georg Rumpf and his VDP Weingut Kruger-Rumpf in the Nahe Region, Germany

Winzerhof Thoerle
The Wines of Up and Coming Winzerhof Thoerle, Rheinhessen
Surprising the World with their Pinot Noir: Johannes and Christoph Thoerle, Winzerhof Thoerle, Rheinhessen, Germany

Weingut Schaetzel
A New Fixture in the Reemerging Red Slope of Nierstein - Visiting Kai Schaetzel and his Weingut Schaetzel in Nierstein, Rheinhessen, Germany
Celebrating Riesling and my Birthday at Weingut Schaetzel in Nierstein, Rheinhessen, Germany

Ombiasy Wine Tours Bordeaux Trip 2013 – Related Postings

Here are a number of postings on schiller-wine on various events of last year’s Ombiasy Wine Tours Bordeaux trip as well as other postings that might be of interest for this year’s Ombiasy Wine Tours Bordeaux trip. Unlike this year’s trip, the 2012 trip started and ended in Hochheim, Germany and thus also included (in the beginning and in the end) events in the Champagne, Loire Valley, Cognac, Bourgogne and Alsace.

Bordeaux Trip September 2012, France

Bordeaux Wines and their Classifications: The Basics
The 5 Premiers Grands Crus Chateaux en 1855 of Bordeaux, France
What is a Bordeaux Cru Bourgeois? France
Saint Emilion Wines and their Classification, Bordeaux, France
The Saint Emilion 2012–2022 Classification, Bordeaux

In the Wine Capital of the World: the City of Bordeaux, France
Schiller's Favorite Wine Bars in Bordeaux (City), France
Plateau des Fruits de Mer and a Pessac-Leognan Wine in Bordeaux City, France

An Afternoon with Owner Henri Lurton at Château Brane-Cantenac, a Deuxieme Grand Cru Classe en 1855, in Margaux, France
An Afternoon with Owner Michel Tesseron at Château Lafon-Rochet, 4ème Cru Classé en 1855, in Saint-Estèphe, Bordeaux
An Afternoon with François Mitjavile at his Tertre Rôtebeouf - A Saint Emilion Cult Wine Producer

Vin Bio de Bordeaux - At Château Beauséjour in AOC Puisseguin-St.Emilion, France
The Wine Empire of the von Neipperg Family in France, Bulgaria and Germany 
Château Léoville-Poyferré, Chateau Le Crock, Didier Cuvelier in Bordeaux and the Cuvelier Los Andes Wines in Argentina
Lunch with Didier Cuvelier at Château Léoville-Poyferré in Saint-Julien, Bordeaux 
Château Pape Clément in Pessac-Léognan and the World Wide Wine Empire of Bernard Magrez, France

Tasting with Alfred Tesseron the last 10 Vintages of Château Pontet-Canet in Washington DC, USA/France
Château Figeac, Saint-Émilion - A Profile, France
Tasting the Wines of Chateau Lafon-Rochet, Saint-Estèphe, 4ème Cru Classé en 1855, with Owner Basil Tesseron at the French Embassy in Washington DC, USA/France
Fête du Bordeaux of Calvert and Woodley in Washington DC, 2012, USA
Château Brane-Cantenac, Deuxieme Grand Cru Classe en 1855, Margaux – A Profile, France
Henri Lurton and his Chateau Brane Cantenac Wines
Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB) on North America Tour in Washington DC - Schiller’s Favorites
Owner Jean-Bernard Grenié and Wine Journalist Panos Kakaviatos Presented the Wines of Chateau Angélus and Chateau Daugay at Black Salt Restaurant in Washington DC, USA
Tasting Château du Cros and other Petites Bordeaux Wines with Winemaker Julien Noel at Calvert and Woodley in Washington DC, USA

The Wines for Annette Schiller’s 60th Birthday Celebrations

July 26, 2013, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: Wine Consumption: Do Germans Drink Sweet or Dry Wine?

≪ Previous: Weinurlaub/Urlaubsweine – Wine Vacation/Vacation Wines

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Picture: Annette Schiller and Michel Tesseron, Château Lafon-Rochet, a 4th Grand Cru en 1855, in the Saint-Estèphe Appellation of the Medoc

My wife Annette turned 60 recently. She celebrated her birthday in 4 stages. I turned 60 a year before her and celebrated my birthday in 2 stages.

Christian Schiller's Birthday Celebrations

Madagascar

The first celebration was in January 2012 in Antananarivo, Madagascar, at the house of my daughter Cornelia Tremann und son-in-law Chris Tremann, with Malagasy friends and others, including the German Ambassador.

Pictures: Impressions from Madagascar

Picture: Traditional Malagasy Music at the Birthday Party

Picture: Annette and Christian Schiller with Poet and Former Defense Minister Général Désiré Ramakavelo and his Wife Michelle Ramakavelo, University of Antananarivo

Picture: Chris Tremann, Cornelia Schiller Tremann, Christian G.E. Schiller, Annette Schiller, PapMad CEO Patrick Rajaonary

See:
Schiller’s 12 Favorite Restaurants of Antananarivo, the Capital of Madagascar
Clos Nomena: Taking the Wine of Madagascar to New Heights
Fine Wine and Fine Oysters in Madagascar: Oysters from Fort Dauphin and Wine from Clos Nomena
Sea, Sand, Soul and Sakafo, and Whales and Wine – At Princesse Bora Lodge on Ile Sainte Marie in the Indian Ocean

Frankfurt am Main

The second celebration was half a year later in Frankfurt am Main at Weingut Schaetzel in Nierstein, Rheinhessen with my German friends and family. In Antananarivo we had French, Malagasy and South African wine, nothing special. In Germany, we were treated to the wines of the up and coming German winemaker Kai Schaetzel at his estate in Nierstein.

Pciture: Wining and Dining at Weingut Schaetzel, Nierstein, at the Occasion of Christian G.E. Schiller's 60th Birthday in June 2012

Pictures: Christian G.E. Schiller with Kai Schaetzel at Weingut Schaetzel in 2011.

See:
Celebrating Riesling and my Birthday at Weingut Schaetzel in Nierstein, Rheinhessen, Germany
A New Fixture in the Reemerging Red Slope of Nierstein - Visiting Kai Schaetzel and his Weingut Schaetzel in Nierstein, Rheinhessen, Germany

Annette Schiller's Birthday Celebrations

Charleston

My wife Annette celebrated her 60th birthday in 4 stages: The first one was a week at the beach on Kiawah Island near Charleston, South Carolina, with children and grandchildren. Charleston has a fantastic wine bar and restaurant scene, but this time we had less time to take advantage of that.

Pictures: Charleston in South Carolina - Beach, City, Magnolia Plantation

See:
Schiller’s Favorite Wine Bars in Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Nepal

On her actual birthday Annette arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal. She spent two weeks with our daughter Katharina, who worked in the south of Nepal on a research project in the area of “Dry Riverbed Farming”. To welcome her mom on her birthday, Katharina had orgnized a bottle of Moet et Chandon (hard to come by in no-wine country Nepal) and even two champagne glasses to salute her mom`s birthday on the roof top of the backpackers hotel she was staying in. For the evening Katharina had made a reservation in the restaurant at the Dwarika´s hotel, a stunningly beautiful, enchanting old Rana palace, where they had a 21 course Nepalese tasting menu composed of only organic ingredients. Annette´s 60th birthday coincided with the 60th anniversary of the first ascent of Mount Everest by Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay and famous mountaineers came to Nepal and a lot of celebrations took place in Kathmandu. Katharina trecked to the Everest base camp and ran into Reinhold Messner.

Picture: Katharina Schiller and Annette Schiller (not visible in the picture) in  Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Rolling Stones

Then followed a Rolling Stones Show in Washington DC, with a 1976 Riesling Meddersheimer Paradiesgarten Spaetlese Trocken at Proof before the show.

Picture: Rolling Stones Show 2013 in Washington DC

It was a very memorable concert. Sold out. Most of the people, including Annette, were standing and dancing throughout the 2 hours plus concert.

Picture: Before the Show

Picture: 1976 Riesling Spaetlese Trocken, Meddersheimer Paradiesgarten, Winzergenossenschaft Meddersheim.

The 1976 Riesling presented itself as a senior citizen that is still going very strong. Dark golden in the glass, intense notes of honeysuckle and vanilla on the nose, still good acidity, did not stay too long in the mouth, but was a very pleasant wine. And the history and memories!

Picture: Christian and Annette at Proof before the Show

See:
Rock ‘n’ Roll and Wine: Rolling Stones Live and Wine at Proof in Washington DC, USA

McLean, Virginia

Final stage: The kids cooked for mom and I selected the wines from our cellar - with grandchildren Lorelei and Johanna. Otto - our third grandchild - arrived on this planet a few weeks later.

The food was exceptional; some of the courses were close to Michelin star level, I felt. The selected wines were all very close to our hearts and all presented memorable events and people in our lives.

Pictures: The Schiller-family (Joelle Schiller and Christian Ottesen were missing, Katharina Schiller took the picture)

NV Roederer Brut Premier

Dinners with Annette have to start with a glass – or two – of Champagne. We started with the Roederer. I should have opened a Taittinger, because this was our “House Champagne” when we lived in Paris as I had access to the Taittinger (the regular brut) at a discount via the Office of the International Monetary Fund and it is Annette´s favorite Champagne. Unfortunatley I did not have a chilled bottle in the cellar.

See:
Schiller’s Favorite Restaurants, Brasseries, Bistros, Cafes and Wine Bars in Paris, France

2009 Hamilton Russell Vineyards South Africa Chardonnay

Annette and I as well as our kids, we all love Africa. We lived three years in Madagascar, one of our daughters got married in Madagascar, and we worked and travelled extensively in Africa. So, I selected as first white wine a wine from the area – a South African Chardonnay from Hamilton Russell, a winery we visited in 2011 and where Annette and I had a fabulous time sipping wines and watching the whales and their newborns passing by Hermanus, a stone´s throw from the Hamilton Russel winery.

The stop at Hamilton Russell Vineyards, the producer of outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines in the Hemel en Aarde (Heaven and Earth) valley, just behind the seaside resort of Hermanus in Walker Bay, was our last stop on a recent South Africa wine trip, but it was one of our best stops.

Picture: The Dry White Wines we had

The Hamilton Russel Vineyards has become a hallmark of fine South African Pinot Noir and Chardonnay over the last few decades. “We want to produce wines as Burgundian as possible here in South Africa – Wines from South African soil with a Burgundian soul” says Anthony Hamilton Russell, the owner of the estate “notwithstanding the rather warm climate in South Africa. But the climate is rather cool here in the Hemel en Arde valley. And we have the right soil for the Pinot Noir and the Chardonnay”.

Hamilton Russell Vineyards produces 20.000 cases of Chardonnay every year. Low yields is one of the guiding principles at Hamilton Russell Vineyards along with organic farming. In 2008, for example, the yields amounted to 35 hectoliters per hectar for the Chardonnay.

Pictures: Christian G.E.Schiller and Anthony Hamilton Russell of Hamilton Russell Vineyards, Producer of Outstanding Chardonnay in the Hemel en Aarde (Heaven and Earth) Valley in South Africa.

See:
Burgundy Wines in South Africa: Hamilton Russell Vineyards

1997 Lorcher Pfaffenwiese, Weingut Troitzsch, Spaetlese Trocken 

These are our (Annette’s and my) favorite German wines: Spaetlese Trocken – harvested late and fully fermented. Weingut Troitzsch, which, as far as I know, does not exist anymore, was known to only produce wines which where bone dry and rather high in terms of acidity. This 1997 was excellent – still fairly young, fresh, crisp and with a lot of backbone. Annette and I very often went to Assmannshausen to visit the Troitzsch winery, from where you had a gorgeous view on the Rhine river below. This 1997 wine we bought on our last visit to the winery, shortly after Mr. Troitzsch sen. had passed.

1995 Chinon, Domaine du Raifault

The first time, Annette and I went to Chinon, was when our good friend Stefan fell in love with Marie Luze from Chinon and got married in a Chateau on the banks of the Loire river. This 1995 we bought many years later on a trip from the South of France to Paris, with all 4 children in tow. Our oldest one, Katharina, was 16 at the time and we all remember vividly the moment, when she got out of our van, telling us us that she was sick of the family vacation and that she would go to the train station and go to Paris where her very best friend from boarding school lived. Despite many attempts by her brother and sisters to convince her to stay with us, she took off and went to Paris. We were shellshocked, recovered a bit later and went to a winery to buy a case of this wine.

Picture: The Red Wines we had

There was a lot of controversy about this wine because of the obvious “pipi de chat” on the nose. Most of my children rejected the wine, Annette and I liked it a lot.

2006 Hightower, Pepper Bridge Vineyard, Walla Walla Valley

We visited the Hightowers in Washington State when we undertook a very interesting winery tour through Washington State and Oregon. Annette fell in love with their wines. Hightower Cellars is a small winery in the Red Mountain area of Washington State, owned and managed by the charming husband and wife team Tim and Kelly Hightower, about 200 miles south-west of Seattle. 

Since its inception, Tim and Kelly have shared all of the responsibilities of Hightower Cellars, which include those as a winemaker, but also accountant, marketer, forklift-operator and janitor. It all started in 1996, when Tim was introduced to a co-worker by the name Kelly. Their infatuation for each other and wine was mutual, and this led to the idea to start their own winery a year later. They began to fulfill their common dream in Woodinville, north of Seattle, by renting a non-descript warehouse space and establishing their winery there, while keeping their day jobs and buying grapes. Months of hands-on cellar rat work and diligent research in their free time paid off with ovations of their inaugural release of a 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon. Case production steadily increased from then on to 1200 cases over the next six years.

In the fall of 2002, the next big step forward happened, when Tim and Kelly moved their home and winery operations from Woodinville to Benton City, after purchasing 15 acres of prime, undeveloped vineyard land.

With the conviction that the finest wines are made from grapes where winemakers have complete authority over its management, Tim and Kelly immediately began plans for retrofitting the existing barn as a working winery and transforming most of the acreage into rows of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with smaller portions of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec, leaving 3 acres for their home and retrofitted winery.

Pictures: Tim and Kelly Hightower with Annette Schiller

Today, Tim and Kelly, in addition to their Red Mountain estate fruit source fruit from the Horse Heaven Hills and Walla Walla Valley appellations. “We will continue to source grapes from the Horse Heaven Hills and Walla Walla Valley appellations” said Kelly. “We believe that diversity in terroir is essential to maintaining the complexity of our wines. It also gives the winery greater flexibility in production choices during adverse weather conditions that could influence low-lying vineyard sites in Washington State”.

See:
Visiting Kelly and Tim Hightower and their Hightower Cellars in Washington State, USA
The Wines of Hightower Cellars in Washington State, US 

2002 Lafon Rochet, Saint-Estephe

Annette and I always loved Bordeaux wines. Even during our student years we managed to scrape some money to travel to Bordeaux and buy some wines.

Château Lafon-Rochet is a 4th Grand Cru en 1855 in the Saint-Estèphe appellation of the Medoc. It is one of the 5 classified properties in the appellation of Saint Estèphe. Its grounds are separated from those of Château Lafite to the north by the width of the road and from Cos d'Estournel by a dirt path.

The tasting with Michel Tesseron at Lafon-Rochet last year during Annette’s Bordeaux Tour was one of the highlights of the tour. No wonder that the forthcoming tour to Bordeaux in September of this year again will include a stop there.

Pictures: Tasting with Michel Tesseron

See:
An Afternoon with Owner Michel Tesseron at Château Lafon-Rochet, 4ème Cru Classé en 1855, in Saint-Estèphe, Bordeaux

1975 Weingut Ernst, Eltviller Taubenberg, Riesling Spaetlese

This was a wine from the cellar of my grandfather. He used to by his wines at Weingut Ernst in Eltville and we inherited his wines after he passed. Some people say, when you drink wines older than 30 years, you drink foremost the history of this wine. And we did. We talked about my grandfather, a gregarious man, the Weingut Ernst that played a decisive role in searching for and tracing family members after my family had become refugees in the wake of WWII. The wine was definately a senior citizen, but in very good health, as Jancis Robinson likes to say. It was a wonderful, aged (sweet) Spaetlese, still very pleasant to drink with a memorable after taste.

Picture: Aged, Sweet-style Spaetlese

schiller-wine: Related Postings
 

Schiller’s 12 Favorite Restaurants of Antananarivo, the Capital of Madagascar

Clos Nomena: Taking the Wine of Madagascar to New Heights

Fine Wine and Fine Oysters in Madagascar: Oysters from Fort Dauphin and Wine from Clos Nomena

Sea, Sand, Soul and Sakafo, and Whales and Wine – At Princesse Bora Lodge on Ile Sainte Marie in the Indian Ocean

Celebrating Riesling and my Birthday at Weingut Schaetzel in Nierstein, Rheinhessen, Germany

A New Fixture in the Reemerging Red Slope of Nierstein - Visiting Kai Schaetzel and his Weingut Schaetzel in Nierstein, Rheinhessen, Germany

Schiller’s Favorite Wine Bars in Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Rock ‘n’ Roll and Wine: Rolling Stones Live and Wine at Proof in Washington DC, USA

Schiller’s Favorite Restaurants, Brasseries, Bistros, Cafes and Wine Bars in Paris, France

Burgundy Wines in South Africa: Hamilton Russell Vineyards

Visiting Kelly and Tim Hightower and their Hightower Cellars in Washington State, USA

The Wines of Hightower Cellars in Washington State, US

An Afternoon with Owner Michel Tesseron at Château Lafon-Rochet, 4ème Cru Classé en 1855, in Saint-Estèphe, Bordeaux

Wine Consumption: Do Germans Drink Sweet or Dry Wine?

July 27, 2013, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: The 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle: Impressions from the Grand Tasting at Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, Washington State, USA

≪ Previous: The Wines for Annette Schiller’s 60th Birthday Celebrations

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Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller and Steffen Christmann, Weingut A. Christmann, in Seattle, USA. Weingut A. Christmann belongs to the group of winemakers that make exclusively dry wines.

See:
The German Winemakers at the Forthcoming 4. Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, Washington State, USA

When you travel outside of Germany and check the wine lists of restaurants and retail stores in terms of German wines, you easily get the impression that Germans are hooked on sweet wine. It is the fruity-sweet Riesling style that is so popular in the world and that many equate with German wine and the German’s preference for wine. But this is faulty. Germany drinks dry. Like the rest of the world. Let us take a look.

The Germans consume about 20 mio hectoliters of wine every year. 14 mio hectoliters of total consumption are imported, red and white wine mainly from Spain, France and Italy. All the imported wines are dry.

Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller and Wilhelm Weil, Weingut Robert Weil, in Kiedrich. Weingut Weil belongs to the group of winemakers that make both dry and fruity-sweet wines, in addition to noble-sweet wines.

See:
Visiting Wilhelm Weil at his Weingut Robert Weil in Kiedrich, Germany
Tasting with Wilhelm Weil the 2010 Weingut Weil Wines in Kiedrich, Germany

The balance is wine made in Germany. The Germans consume about 6 mio hectoliters of German wine, while Germany produces roughly 9 mio hectoliters annually, with 3 mio hectoliters being exported.

1/3 of the German wine production of 9 mio hectoliters is red wine and very little of it is exported. The German red wine is generally dry. Thus, half of the 6 mio hectoliters German wine consumed by the Germans is red wine and it is dry.

 

Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller with Dr. Manfred Pruem, Weingut J.J. Pruem at Schloss Johannisberg. Weingut J.J. Pruem belongs to the small group of winemakers that make no dry wine, all of them, I believe, based in the Mosel Valley.

See:
JJ Pruem Goes Supermarket: Meeting Katharina Pruem and Tasting the Incredible JJ Pruem Wines at Wegmans

This leaves us with 3 mio hectoliters of white wine. My guess is that 2/3 of the 3 mio hectoliters of white German wine consumed in Germany is dry and 1/3 sweet. Thus: 2 mio hectoliters of the total consumption of German white wine is dry and 1 mio hectoliters is sweet.

Conclusion: Only 1 mio hectoliters of the wine consumed in Germany is sweet. That is 5% of total consumption. Not more than 1 out of 20 bottles of wine consumed in Germany is sweet.

So, 95% of the wine consumed in Germany is dry and sweet-style wines are niche wines in Germany. This is pretty much in line with the consumption patterns in the rest of the world. But the delicious low alcohol, fruity-sweet Rieslings that German winemakers are able to produce, are unique in the world and popular everywhere.

This back-of-the-evenvelope calculation is pretty much in line with a statement VDP President Steffen Christmann made at the recent 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Germany: "If you take the German white wines that cost Euro 15 plus retail, 95% of the production is dry."

schiller-wine - Related Postings

Stepping up: From 3 … to 4 Quality Levels - The New Classification of the VDP, Germany

German Spaetlese Wines Can Come in Different Versions. I Have Counted Five.

Phil Bernstein’s Third Annual German Riesling Tasting with the German Wine Society, Washington DC Chapter - Rieslings With a Touch of Sweetness

When Americans Drink German Wine - What They Choose

German Wine Basics: Sugar in the Grape - Alcohol and Sweetness in the Wine

JJ Pruem Goes Supermarket: Meeting Katharina Pruem and Tasting the Incredible JJ Pruem Wines at Wegmans

One of the Fathers of the German Red Wine Revolution: Weingut Huber in Baden

The German Winemakers at the Forthcoming 4. Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, Washington State, USA

Visiting Wilhelm Weil at his Weingut Robert Weil in Kiedrich, Germany

Tasting with Wilhelm Weil the 2010 Weingut Weil Wines in Kiedrich, Germany

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The 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle: Impressions from the Grand Tasting at Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, Washington State, USA

July 28, 2013, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: Summer of Riesling with Annette and Christian Schiller in Washington DC, USA

≪ Previous: Wine Consumption: Do Germans Drink Sweet or Dry Wine?

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Picture: Clemens Busch from Weingut Clemens Busch in Germany, Christian G.E. Schiller and Hermann Wiemer, founder of Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyards in the Finger Lakes Region in New York State. For Weingut Clemens Busch, see: With Wine Maker Clemens Busch in Puenderich at his Winery in the Mosel Valley, Germany. For Hermann J. Wiemer, see: German Winemakers in the World: Hermann J. Wiemer, Finger Lakes, USA

The world of Riesling returned to Seattle in Washington State. The attraction was the 4th Riesling Rendezvous, a gathering of Riesling producers and enthusiasts from around the world. Riesling Rendezvous is sponsored by Chateau Ste. Michelle, the Washington State giant wine producer and Weingut Dr. Loosen, one of Germany’s top Riesling producers from the Mosel Valley. The famous Eroica Riesling from Washington State is a joint venture of Ste. Michelle and Dr. Loosen. Riesling Rendezvous is the largest international gathering of Riesling producers and enthusiasts in the world.

This posting is part of a series of a dozen or so postings on the 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle. I have posted sofar:

The World of Riesling in Seattle - Fourth Riesling Rendezvous in Washington State, USA
Coming Up in July: 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, Washington State, USA 
The German Winemakers at the Forthcoming 4. Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, Washington State, USA  

Pictures: Co-host Ernst Loosen giving last minute instructions. For more on Ernst Loosen, see: Riesling, Pinot Noir and Indian Cuisine: A tête-à-tête Dinner with Winemaker Ernst Loosen, Weingut Dr. Loosen, at Rasika in Washington DC, USA

The 4th Riesling Rendezvous featured 2 ½ days of tasting, discussing and learning about Riesling. It kicked off Sunday, July 14, in the late afternoon with the Grand Tasting on Chateau Ste. Michelle’s winery grounds in Woodinville, about 15 miles from downtown Seattle.

Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller and US wine-author John Haeger, who lead one of the 2 International Riesling Tastings

Picture: Loosen Bros. CEO Kirk Wille and Spouse, see also: Ernie and his Friends - The Loosen Bros. USA Portfolio Tour 2012

Picture: UK-based Wine Journalist Tim Atkin, who lead one of the 2 International Riesling Tastings. See also: The Tim Atkin Pinot Noir Taste-Off of October 2011: Germany Versus the Rest of the World - German Red Wines Show Strong Performance

Picture: Riesling Giant Stuart Pigott, see more: Late Night German Riesling Tasting with Riesling Gurus Paul Grieco and Stuart Pigott in Washington DC on the 2013 Riesling Road Trip, USA

Picture: Wine Blogger Mike Veseth and his Wife. Mike is professor emeritus of International Political Economy at the University of Puget Sound. He is the author of many books.

Picture: Stuart Pigott and Helmut Doennhoff, see also: Top 10 Riesling Producers in the World– Snooth 2012

About 700 consumers, media, and producers attended. Riesling-friendly food was provided by popular Seattle food trucks Marination Mobile, Snout and Co and Barking Frog Mobile Kitchen, as well as appetizers by Chateau Ste Michelle culinary Director John Sarich. Guests also enjoyed live music by The Josh Rawlings Trio.

Pictures: Music and Food at the Grand Tasting

Producers at the Grand Tasting at Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville

Almost 70 Riesling producers from seven countries - United States, Germany, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Slovakia and Austria - presented their wines. From within the United States, wineries from seven states participated: Washington State, Oregon, Idaho, California, New York, New Jersey and Michigan.

Australia

Frankland Estate
Jim Barry Wines
Mitchell Wines
Pikes

Pictures: The Grand Tasting at Chateau Ste. Michelle

Austria

Domäne Wachau
Emmerich Knoll - Weingut Knoll
Loimer
Markus Huber

Pictures: From top to bottom: Fred Loimer, Weingut Loimer, Markus Huber, Weingut Huber, Emmerich Knoll, Weingut Knoll, Heinz Frischgruber, Domäne Wachau, see also: Wine Producer Austria - Not Only Gruener Veltliner

Canada

Cave Spring Cellars
Mission Hill Family Estate
Tantalus Vineyards
Thirty Bench Winemakers

Picture: Canada, Australia, New Zealand

Germany

A. Christmann
Battenfeld Spanier
Clemens Busch
Dönnhoff
Dr. Loosen
Fritz Haag
Geheimer Rat Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan
Leitz
Maximin Grünhaus
Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt
Robert Weil

The German wine estates were all represented by their owner/winemaker/GM, except for Weingut Battenfeld Spanier and Weingut Leitz, which were represented by the importers as H.O.Spanier and Johannes Leitz, who had been scheduled to participate, had to change their plans in the last minute.

Picture: Carl von Schubert, Weingut Maximin Gruenhaus - Schlosskellerei C. von Schubert, see also: Schiller’s Favorites at the 2013 Riesling and Co Tasting in New York City, USA.

Picture: Ernst Loosen, Weingut Dr. Loosen, see also: Riesling, Pinot Noir and Indian Cuisine: A tête-à-tête Dinner with Winemaker Ernst Loosen, Weingut Dr. Loosen, at Rasika in Washington DC, USA

Picture: The German Tent

Picture: Helmut Doennhoff, Weingut Doennhoff, see also: Top 10 Riesling Producers in the World– Snooth 2012

Picture: Steffen Christmann, Weingut A. Christmann and Fred Loimer, Weingut Loimer

Picture: Annegret Reh-Gartner, Weingut Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt, see also: The German Winemakers at the Forthcoming 4. Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, Washington State, USA 

Picture: Helmut Doennhoff and Carl von Schubert

Picture: Oliver Haag, Weingut Fritz Haag, see also: The German Winemakers at the Forthcoming 4. Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, Washington State, USA

Picture: Helmut Doennhoff, Weingut Doennhoff, see also: Top 10 Riesling Producers in the World– Snooth 2012

Picture: Clemens Busch, Weingut Clemens Busch, see also: With Wine Maker Clemens Busch in Puenderich at his Winery in the Mosel Valley, Germany

Picture: Helmut Doennhoff and Wife

Picture: Gunther Haug (right) and Felix Korb (left) , Geheimer Rat von Bassermann Jordan, see also: The German Winemakers at the Forthcoming 4. Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, Washington State, USA 

Pictures: Wilhelm Weil, Weingut Weil, and his Wines, see also: Visiting Wilhelm Weil at his Weingut Robert Weil in Kiedrich, Germany

New Zealand

Framingham Wines Ltd.
Villa Maria Estate

Slovakia

Elesko Winery

United States

California

MadroñaVineyards
Municipal Winemakers
Trefethen Family Vineyards

Picture: Winemaker Zeke Neeley, Trefethen Family Vineyards, and Christian G.E. Schiller in Woodinville

Michigan

Black Star Farms
Chateau Grand Traverse
Shady Lane Cellars
New Jersey
Alba Vineyard

New York

Anthony Road Wine Company
Fox Run Vineyards
Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard
Red Newt Cellars, Inc.
Sheldrake Point Winery

Picture: Dave Breeden, Sheldrake Point Winery, see also: Celebrating the Release of the Finger Lakes 2011 Riesling in Washington DC, USA

Picture: Fred Merwarth (Winemaker, Vineyard Manager and Co-Owner), Hermann J. Wiemer Vienyards, see also: German Winemakers in the World: Hermann J. Wiemer, Finger Lakes, USA

Pictures: Winemaker Johannes Reinhardt, Anthony Road Wine Company and Kemmeter Wines, see also: The Wines and the Food at President Obama’s Inauguration Luncheon, January 21, 2013, USA

Oregon

Bridgeview Vineyards
Brooks
Chehalem
Trisaetum
Tunkalilla Vineyard

Washington

Anew
Charles Smith Wines
Chateau Ste. Michelle
Efeste
Gard Vintners
The Hogue Cellars
Mercer Estates Winery
Pacific Rim
Snoqualmie
Tulip Valley Winery
The Woodhouse Wine

Picture: Charles Smith, Charles Smith Wines

Pictures: Christian G.E. Schiller, Chateau Ste. Michelle Winemaker Bob Bertheau and Chateau Ste. Michelle CEO Ted Baseler, see also: German American Wines: (1) Pacific Rim Riesling (2) Eroica and (3) Woelffer's Schillerwein

Picture: Pacific Rim Head Winemaker Nicolas Quille and Winemaker Steven Sealock, see also: Visiting Winemaker Steven Sealock at Pacific Rim Winemakers in Washington State, USA and see: Oregon Pinot Gris Symposium at Oak Knoll Winery in Hillsboro

schiller-wine: Related Postings

Stepping up: From 3 … to 4 Quality Levels - The New Classification of the VDP, Germany

When Americans Drink German Wine - What They Choose

German Wine Basics: Sugar in the Grape - Alcohol and Sweetness in the Wine

1st International Riesling Symposium, Rheingau, Germany

Ombiasy Wine Tours: Wine and Culture Tour to Germany Coming up in August 2013

Coming Up in July: 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, Washington State, USA

Germany’s 2011 VDP Grosses Gewaechs – Grand Cru - Wines Released. Notes from the Pre-release Tasting in Wiesbaden, Germany, 2012

German Spaetlese Wines Can Come in Different Versions. I Have Counted Five.

Approaches to Classifying German Wine: The Standard Approach (the Law of 1971), the VDP Approach and the Zero Classification Approach

Wine Blogger Christian G.E. Schiller from schiller-wine Featured Guest of #SommChat on Twitter

Visiting Wilhelm Weil at his Weingut Robert Weil in Kiedrich, Germany

Tasting with Wilhelm Weil the 2010 Weingut Weil Wines in Kiedrich, Germany

Wine ratings: Two American/German wines - Eroica and Poet's Leap - on Top 100 Wines from Washington State list for 2009

German American Wines: (1) Pacific Rim Riesling (2) Eroica and (3) Woelffer's Schillerwein

Riesling, Pinot Noir and Indian Cuisine: A tête-à-tête Dinner with Winemaker Ernst Loosen, Weingut Dr. Loosen, at Rasika in Washington DC, USA

With Wine Maker Clemens Busch in Puenderich at his Winery in the Mosel Valley, Germany

The German Winemakers at the Forthcoming 4. Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, Washington State, USA 

German Winemakers in the World: Hermann J. Wiemer, Finger Lakes, USA

Ernie and his Friends - The Loosen Bros. USA Portfolio Tour 2012

The Tim Atkin Pinot Noir Taste-Off of October 2011: Germany Versus the Rest of the World - German Red Wines Show Strong Performance 

Late Night German Riesling Tasting with Riesling Gurus Paul Grieco and Stuart Pigott in Washington DC on the 2013 Riesling Road Trip, USA

Top 10 Riesling Producers in the World– Snooth 2012

Wine Producer Austria - Not Only Gruener Veltliner

Celebrating the Release of the Finger Lakes 2011 Riesling in Washington DC, USA

The Wines and the Food at President Obama’s Inauguration Luncheon, January 21, 2013, USA 

Summer of Riesling with Annette and Christian Schiller in Washington DC, USA

July 29, 2013, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: The 31-Days-of-German-Riesling Concert Cruise Around New York Harbor with the German Wine Queen Julia Bertram and the 3 Wine Amazones Tina Huff, Eva Vollmer and Mirjam Schneider from Mainz, Germany

≪ Previous: The 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle: Impressions from the Grand Tasting at Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, Washington State, USA

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Picture: Annette Schiller, wine tours by ombiasy, and Christian G.E. Schiller hosting a Summer of Riesling Party at their Home in Washington DC (McLean, Virginia)

Annette and I threw a Summer of Riesling Party at our Washington DC area home. Annette Schiller in the invitation: “Christian and I are very passionate about Rieslings. That's what we grew up with. The kick off events of the Summer of Riesling in DC and the fantastic tasting in NY left us with the notion that we could not let the summer pass without organizing an event during the Summer of Riesling 2013 and 31 Days of German Riesling 2013 in the United States.

We would be very pleased if you and your spouse/partner could join us on

Sunday July 21
6 pm to 9 pm
at our home in McLean VA.

Please bring a well iced bottle per person of your favorite Riesling, sweet or dry, from Germany or elsewhere. I will provide light fingerfood.”

90 people showed up, each one with a bottle of Riesling. Thus, we had 90 Rieslings to taste. It was great fun!

Pictures: Annette Schiller at the Summer of Riesling Party with a Bottle of Dr. Loosen Dry Riesling and Ernst Loosen + Christian G.E. Schiller at Rasika in Washington DC. For more on Weingut Dr. Loosen, see: Riesling, Pinot Noir and Indian Cuisine: A tête-à-tête Dinner with Winemaker Ernst Loosen, Weingut Dr. Loosen, at Rasika in Washington DC, USA. A stop at Weingut Dr. Loosen in the Mosel Valley will be one of the highlights of the upcoming wine and culture trip to Germany, lead by Annette Schiller: Ombiasy Wine Tours: Wine and Culture Tour to Germany Coming up in August 2013.

Pictures: 90 Riesling Fanatics at the 2013 Summer of Riesling Party in Washington DC

Pictures: The Food and the Wines at the 2013 Summer of Riesling Party in Washington DC

The Summer of Riesling and the 31 Days of German Riesling

The Summer of Riesling is the brainchild of New York City’s Riesling Guru Paul Grieco, from Hearth Restaurant and the Terroir Winebars. In addition, there is the 31 Days of German Riesling - As part of the Summer of Riesling, during the month of July, participating restaurants and retailers are focusing on German Riesling.

Pictures: The Rieslings from Germany, the USA and Alsace

The Summer of Riesling concept was created in 2008 when Paul Grieco decided that during the summer the ONLY white wine that Terroir customers could get was Riesling. The following years the Summer of Riesling expanded in various ways, initially by enlisting other Manhattan wine bars as part of the celebration and adding a concert where the only alcoholic beverage available was Riesling—no beer, no spirits. In 2011 Paul took the Summer of Riesling national, with support from the International Riesling Foundation (IRF), an organization specifically created to promote Rieslings from around the world.

Pictures: Christian G.E. Schiller with Paul Grieco at the 2013 Riesling and Co Tasting in New York City and Annette Schiller the Night before with Paul Grieco at the Riesling Road Trip Stop in Washington DC. For more on the 2013 Riesling and Co Tasting in New York, see: Schiller’s Favorites at the 2013 Riesling and Co Tasting in New York City, USA. For more on the Riesling Road Trip, see: Late Night German Riesling Tasting with Riesling Gurus Paul Grieco and Stuart Pigott in Washington DC on the 2013 Riesling Road Trip, USA

Paul Grieco: The Summer of Riesling

The Summer of Riesling - in Paul Grieco o-tone:

“What is it? - a love affair with the world's greatest grape expressed in full Technicolor.

Why? - because we must overcome this hackneyed belief that the glorious diversity of Riesling is also a fault...simply put, no grape can do what the Riesling grape can do.

Pictures: Annette Schiller and Christian Schiller with Clemens Busch and Helmut Doennhoff, 2 Outstanding German Riesling Producers. Events at both wineries will be among the highlights of the upcoming wine and culture trip to Germany, lead by Annette Schiller: Ombiasy Wine Tours: Wine and Culture Tour to Germany Coming up in August 2013

Where? - every corner of the globe where wine is available.

When? - from June 21st to September 21st (we ain't kidding when we call it the Summer of Riesling!).

How? - by bringing everyone together and handing them a glass of Riesling and engaging them in conversation, with the thrust of the dialogue centering on:

Balance...of bone-crunching acidity and potential sweetness
Complexity...like a conversation with Jeffrey Sachs
Delicacy...as if Benjamin Millepied was dancing across your tongue
Longevity...suffice it to say, Moses lived a brief life compared to bottles of this wine
Sense of Place...even Bigfoot's footprint cannot encapsulate all the terroir that Riesling contains”

Pictures: Austrian Wine Importer Klaus Wittauer, his Rieslings from Weingut Anton Bauer and Weingut Tegernseehof. Klaus also brought a Welschriesling from Weingut Leo Hillinger, a lovely wine, but it has nothing to do with Riesling. For more on Weingut Anton Bauer, see: Anton Bauer and his Wines and Chef Jacques E. Haeringer and his Food at L'Auberge Chez François in Great Falls, Virginia, with Klaus Wittauer of Kwselection, USA. For more on Weingut Tegernseehof, see: Martin Mittelbach from the "Tegernseehof" and Klaus Wittauer from "KWSelection" Presented Tegernseehof Wines and Stefan Trummer and Chef Austin Fausett from “Trummer’s on Main” in Clifton Austrian Appetizers at the Austrian Embassy in Washington DC, USA

Riesling

Worldwide, there are about 34.000 hectares planted with Riesling. Germany – with 22.400 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. 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 only less than 1 percent of total wine production in the world - but a very special niche wine.

Pictures: The Rieslings from Oregon, Virginia and Washington State

Dry and Sweet Riesling

Many wine drinkers, in particular outside of Europe, when they see a Riesling in the shelves, have the association of a sweet-style wine. This is however misguided. Rieslings as a rule are dry wines. Of course, there are the famous sugar sweet Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese, Eiswein and Schilfwein wines from Austria and Germany, the Sélection de Grains Nobles from France, the icewines from Canada and other Rieslings, made from botrytized, dried or frozen grapes.

Picture: The Rieslings from Australia, New Zealand and Chile

The grapes that go into these wines have such a high sugar content that there is nothing you can do to make dry wines out of these grapes. They inevitably produce nobly sweet wines. But apart from these specialty wine, which account for only a tiny share of total production, Riesling grapes in Germany, Austria, Alsace, the US and Australia have normal sugar content at the time of fermentation and tend to produce dry wines, when fully fermented.

Pictures: One of the Best Producer of fruity sweet, low alsohol wines in Germany: JJ Pruem. The Pruem wines were very popular at the our 2013 Summer of Riesling Party. For more on the wines of Weingut JJ Pruem, see: JJ Pruem Goes Supermarket: Meeting Katharina Pruem and Tasting the Incredible JJ Pruem Wines at Wegmans

However, modern cellar methods allow winemakers in Germany (and elsewhere) to produce wines with a bit of residual sugar with these grapes. These are exceptional wines, essentially made by not letting the fermentation going its full course so that natural sugar remains in the wine. Alternatively, German winemakers are allowed to add sweet-reserve (sterilized grape juice) to increase the sweetness level in the wine, but today, this is mostly done, if at all, for fine tuning the residual sweetness. These fruity-sweet wines are the wines that are so popular among the fans of German wine in the world. These sweet-style wines have lost popularity in Germany, although there appears to be a comeback, but in any case remain very popular outside of Germany, for example in the US.

schiller-wine: Related Postings

Schiller’s Favorites at the 2013 Riesling and Co Tasting in New York City, USA.

Late Night German Riesling Tasting with Riesling Gurus Paul Grieco and Stuart Pigott in Washington DC on the 2013 Riesling Road Trip, USA

When Americans Drink German Wine - What They Choose

German Wine Basics: Sugar in the Grape - Alcohol and Sweetness in the Wine

1st International Riesling Symposium, Rheingau, Germany

Ombiasy Wine Tours: Wine and Culture Tour to Germany Coming up in August 2013

Germany’s 2011 VDP Grosses Gewaechs – Grand Cru - Wines Released. Notes from the Pre-release Tasting in Wiesbaden, Germany, 2012

German Spaetlese Wines Can Come in Different Versions. I Have Counted Five.

Approaches to Classifying German Wine: The Standard Approach (the Law of 1971), the VDP Approach and the Zero Classification Approach

Wine Blogger Christian G.E. Schiller from schiller-wine Featured Guest of #SommChat on Twitter

Tasting with Wilhelm Weil the 2010 Weingut Weil Wines in Kiedrich, Germany

Riesling, Pinot Noir and Indian Cuisine: A tête-à-tête Dinner with Winemaker Ernst Loosen, Weingut Dr. Loosen, at Rasika in Washington DC, USA

With Wine Maker Clemens Busch in Puenderich at his Winery in the Mosel Valley, Germany

Martin Mittelbach from the "Tegernseehof" and Klaus Wittauer from "KWSelection" Presented Tegernseehof Wines and Stefan Trummer and Chef Austin Fausett from “Trummer’s on Main” in Clifton Austrian Appetizers at the Austrian Embassy in Washington DC, USA

Anton Bauer and his Wines and Chef Jacques E. Haeringer and his Food at L'Auberge Chez François in Great Falls, Virginia, with Klaus Wittauer of Kwselection, USA.

JJ Pruem Goes Supermarket: Meeting Katharina Pruem and Tasting the Incredible JJ Pruem Wines at Wegmans

The 31-Days-of-German-Riesling Concert Cruise Around New York Harbor with the German Wine Queen Julia Bertram and the 3 Wine Amazones Tina Huff, Eva Vollmer and Mirjam Schneider from Mainz, Germany

July 30, 2013, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: Riesling and Couscous at Chef Driss Zahidi’s Le Mediterranean Bistro in Fairfax, Virginia USA

≪ Previous: Summer of Riesling with Annette and Christian Schiller in Washington DC, USA

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Picture: The German Wine Queen in front of the Statue of Liberty in New York City

The German Wine Queen Julia Bertram flew over from Germany to New York City for this event: A 3-hour voyage around New York harbor and a bottomless bottle of Riesling, i.e. an endless supply of German Riesling. Of course, Annette Schiller and I had to be part of this! Yes, it turned out to be a great evening, with great views, great wines and great company.

Picture: The Jewel

As a very special add-on, Annette and I managed to get the three Wine Amazones Tina Huff, Eva Vollmer and Mirjam Schneider on the boat. They were in town (New York City) for the “Lange Nacht des Deutschen Weins” (Long Night of German Wine) later in the week, but did not know about the 31-Days-of-German-Riesling Concert Cruise around New York Harbor with the German Wine Queen.

Pictures: Getting Riesling tattoos for the Cruise - Paul Gregutt, Annette Schiller, Wine Queen Julia Bertram, Tina Huff, Mirjam Schneider, Eva Vollmer and Christian Schiller

Of course, host and Riesling Guru Paul Grieco as well as temporary New York resident Stuart Pigott were also on the boat, in addition to 300 Riesling fanatics …. and hundreds of bottles of German Riesling, dry and fruity-sweet.

German Wine Queen Julia Bertram

Julia Bertram is the 64th German Wine Queen. Her reign started on September 29, 2012, when she was crowned in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse and will end in late September 2013, when the 65th German Wine Queen will be selected and crowned. The crowning is the culmination of a stiff selection process with thousands of candidates. During the last competition, Julia Bertram stood out with her profound wine knowledge, warmth and charm. The contestants had to answer difficult questions on wine, wine tourism, wine marketing and geographical issues. Additionally, the candidates had to pass several blind tastings of German wines.

Pictures: Waiting for Departure, with Stuart Pigott

Julia Bertram hails from the Ahr Region of Germany. Julia grew up in the wine village of Dernau and learned to love grape juice at the knee of her father, Josef, and her mother, Andrea, who accompanied her (along with Julia’s sister) on the trip. Having already graduated from Geisenheim with a degree in oenology, she wants to continue on an academic bent with a Masters in International Wine Economics (but this had to be put on hold for a year as she must travel the world with her scepter and tiara).

Pictures: Christian G.E. Schiller with (from left to right) Eva Vollmer, Tina Huff and Mirjam Schneider at Weingut Eva Vollmer in Mainz

The Summer of Riesling and the 31 Days of German Riesling

The Cruise was part of the 31 Days of German Riesling campaign, which itself is part of the Summer of Riesling campaign. The Summer of Riesling is the brainchild of New York City’s Riesling Guru Paul Grieco, from Hearth Restaurant and the Terroir wine bars. In addition, there is the 31 Days of German Riesling - As part of the Summer of Riesling, during the month of July, participating restaurants and retailers are focusing on German Riesling.

Pictures: Cruising in the New York harbor

The Summer of Riesling concept was created in 2008 when Paul Grieco decided that during the summer the ONLY white wine that Terroir customers could get was Riesling. The following years the Summer of Riesling expanded in various ways, initially by enlisting other Manhattan wine bars as part of the celebration and adding a concert where the only alcoholic beverage available was Riesling—no beer, no spirits. In 2011 Paul took the Summer of Riesling national, with support from the International Riesling Foundation (IRF), an organization specifically created to promote Rieslings from around the world.

Annette and Christian Schiller hosted a Summer of Riesling Party in July 2013 in the Washington DC area, with 90 guests bringing 90 different Rieslings from around the world; see:
Summer of Riesling with Annette and Christian Schiller in Washington DC, USA

On Summer of Riesling and 31 Days of German Riesling, see:
Late Night German Riesling Tasting with Riesling Gurus Paul Grieco and Stuart Pigott in Washington DC on the 2013 Riesling Road Trip, USA
Kick-off of the “Summer of Riesling 2013” with Chef Driss Zahidi, a (German) Dr. Loosen, an (Austrian) Tegernseehof and an (Alsatian) Trimbach Riesling at Le Mediterranean Bistro in Virginia, USA
Summer of Riesling 2013 and 31 Days of German Riesling 2013 in the United States

Eva Vollmer, Mirjam Schneider and Christine Huff

Tina Huff, Mirjam Schneider and Eva Vollmer are three young and gifted female winemakers from Rheinhessen in Germany. The three of them are at the beginning of a promising winemaker career, and they are best friends. They help each other and they spend a lot of time together.

Pictures: Mirjam Schneider and Annette Schiller

I have met them individually several times and I met them together at last year’s wine festival at Weingut Eva Vollmer in Mainz, were they did an interesting Silvaner tasting. In addition, my daughter Katharina Schiller helps Mirjam Schneider during the harvest and wine festivals, and she has helped Christine Huff. Finally, Eva Vollmer is the President of the Mainzer Weinguilde, a wine brotherhood, of which I am a member.

Pictures: Passing by the Lower East Side

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.

Pictures: Eva Vollmer, Mirjam Schneider, Tina Huff Passing the Lower East Side

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. Tina Huff, Mirjam Schneider and Eva Vollmer are 3 of them.

Weingut Eva Vollmer

Eva Vollmer is the 2010 Gault Millau Germany Wine Guide Discovery of the Year. She owns and operates - jointly with her husband Robert Wagner - a new Wine Estate in Rheinhessen in the outskirts of Mainz.

Pictures: Christian G.E. Schiller and Eva Vollmer at the Terroir Wine Bar (Murray Hill) in New York City and in Mainz

After studies in Geisenheim and an internship in California at William Hill and Atlas Peak, she founded the winery in 2007. She took over the vineyards of her father, who used to grow grapes only and sell them. Since then, she has not only produced outstanding wines, but also completed a Masters at the University of Giessen and recently a Doctorate at the University of Geisenheim.

Pictures: Paul Grieco Discussing

The very first vintage in 2007 was Eva Vollmer’s big bang on the national wine stage. Only just under 5,000 bottles were filled from the first vintage. Weingut Eva Vollmer is in the process of moving to organic wine growing.

I have published the following posting about Weingut Eva Vollmer:
Winemaker Eva Vollmer is Germany’s Discovery of the Year 2010
International Women's Day 2012: Meeting the Wine Amazones Tina Huff, Mirjam Schneider and Eva Vollmer of Mainz, Germany

Weingut Schneider – Mirjam Schneider

The Schneider Estate in Hechtsheim at the outskirts of Mainz looks back to a long winemaking tradition. Already since 1715 the Schneider family has grown and made wine. Mirjam Schneider, a young lady in her 20s is the 6th generation. She has split up the work with her father, Lothar Schneider, who looks after agriculture, while she is responsible for the viticulture and the wine making in the cellar. In the farm shop of the Schneiders, you will find both fresh fruits and vegetables and wines from Mirjam's cellar.

Pictures: Christian G.E. Schiller and Mirjam Schneider at the Terroir Wine Bar (Murray Hill) in New York City and in Mainz

Mirjam Schneider says that she always wanted to become a winemaker. She did her formal education, went to New Zealand to get an international perspective and took over the winery in 2005. As many other winemakers, she is trying to push nature to the fore and chemistry to the back: “The focus of my work is dealing with nature - because wine is for me a valuable natural product. I therefore attach great importance not only to keeping the wine in the process as natural as possible, but to bring this understanding to the vineyard as well.”

Pictures: Dancing

I have published the following postings about Mirjam Schneider:
International Women's Day 2012: Meeting the Wine Amazones Tina Huff, Mirjam Schneider and Eva Vollmer of Mainz, Germany 
Weinfest im Kirchenstueck: Meeting the Winemakers of Mainz-Hechtsheim and Tasting Their Wines, Germany 
In the Glass: Mirjam Schneider's 2007 Merlot No.2 from Rheinhessen, Germany

Tina Huff and Weingut Fritz Ekkehard Huff

Tina Huff’s name does not yet appear on the labels of the wines she makes, as her father still is very much involved with many aspects of winemaking at Weingut Fritz Ekkehard Huff. Tina is however increasingly moving to the fore. Tina Huff: “Today my parents Ekkehard and Doris still manage the operation, but following my studies in Geisenheim I am in the process of taking over as the fourth generation in the winery. My sisters Daniela and Johanna have chosen other careers, but their views are still very important for me”. Tina just got married with a young man from New Zealand, also a winemaker, who also works at Weingut Fritz Ekkehard Huff.

Pictures: Christian G.E. Schiller and Christine Huff at the Terroir Wine Bar (Murray Hill) in New York City and in Mainz

Wine making at the Huff family goes back by 300 years. But for many years, wine making was part of a larger mixed farming operation and the wine grapes were sold in bulk to other wine makers. Tina Huff’s forefather John Huff III. was the one who in 1948 took the bold step of starting to bottle his wines. Through marriage, he had added 2 hectares of vineyard land to his own 2.5 hectares, making bottling a sustainable operation. Over the following years, the share of winemaking increased while the role of agriculture and livestock decreased at the Huff Estate.

“Our goal is top quality wines’ says Tina. “For this, you need healthy and aromatic grapes. Healthy soils with high humus content and a functioning micro-organism are important. We do not use synthetic fertilizers; we encourage beneficial insects and work with natural and managed vegetation of the vineyard.“

Pictures: Returning

“Of our 6 hectares of vineyards, 1.5 ha is “Rotliegend”. This is about 280 million years old clay and sandstone alteration. The special feature of these soils is the reddish coloration, which is caused by oxidized iron, like in the Niersteiner Roter Hang”.

I have published the following posting about Christine Huff:
International Women's Day 2012: Meeting the Wine Amazones Tina Huff, Mirjam Schneider and Eva Vollmer of Mainz, Germany 

The Wines

Here are the wines:

Stuart Pigott: “I found the almost bone-dry 2012 Riesling trocken from Franz Künstler in Hochheim/Rheingau wonderfully refreshing. However, I could say the same thing for the 2012 Riesling Kabinett from Weiser-Künstler in Traben-Trarbach/Mosel, although this had a pronounced (and highly aromatic) sweetness. Riesling Kabinett of this filigree and playful kind is one of the styles in which the 2012 vintage wines really shine. Slightly less sweet, more savory, but similarly crisp and refreshing was the 2012 Riesling ‘Tradition’ from Robert Weil in Kiedrich/Rheingau.

After-Party at Terroir in the East Village

After the cruise, we went to the (original) Terroir wine (East Village) for an after-party, where we met Berlin-based food and wine writer Ursula Heinzelmann.

Pictures: Annette Schiller, German Wine Queen Julia Bertram, Ursula Heinzelmann, Eva Vollmer, Christine Huff, Mirjam Schneider and Christian G.E. Schiller at Terroir (East Village)

Annette and I had our last glass of wine at 10 Bells on the way to the hotel, where we stopped at 1:30 am - still open ... well that's New York.

schiller-wine: Related Postings

When Americans Drink German Wine - What They Choose
Winemaker Eva Vollmer is Germany’s Discovery of the Year 2010

Weinfest im Kirchenstueck: Meeting the Winemakers of Mainz-Hechtsheim and Tasting Their Wines, Germany 

In the Glass: Mirjam Schneider's 2007 Merlot No.2 from Rheinhessen, Germany
International Women's Day 2012: Meeting the Wine Amazones Tina Huff, Mirjam Schneider and Eva Vollmer of Mainz, Germany

Ombiasy Wine Tours: Wine and Culture Tour to Germany Coming up in August 2013

Impressions from the Riesling & Co World Tour 2010 in New York

Late Night German Riesling Tasting with Riesling Gurus Paul Grieco and Stuart Pigott in Washington DC on the 2013 Riesling Road Trip, USA

German Wine Basics: Sugar in the Grape - Alcohol and Sweetness in the Wine

Stepping up: From 3 … to 4 Quality Levels - The New Classification of the VDP, Germany

Approaches to Classifying German Wine: The Standard Approach (the Law of 1971), the VDP Approach and the Zero Classification Approach

Kick-off of the “Summer of Riesling 2013” with Chef Driss Zahidi, a (German) Dr. Loosen, an (Austrian) Tegernseehof and an (Alsatian) Trimbach Riesling at Le Mediterranean Bistro in Virginia, USA

Summer of Riesling with Annette and Christian Schiller in Washington DC, USA 

Summer of Riesling 2013 and 31 Days of German Riesling 2013 in the United States

Riesling and Couscous at Chef Driss Zahidi’s Le Mediterranean Bistro in Fairfax, Virginia USA

July 31, 2013, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: Carl von Schubert from the Maximin Gruenhaus Estate Returned a Favor: With his Wines in Washington DC (and in Seattle), USA

≪ Previous: The 31-Days-of-German-Riesling Concert Cruise Around New York Harbor with the German Wine Queen Julia Bertram and the 3 Wine Amazones Tina Huff, Eva Vollmer and Mirjam Schneider from Mainz, Germany

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Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller and Chef Driss Zahidi at Le Mediterranean Bistro in Fairfax

We celebrated German Riesling and Couscous at Le Mediterranean Bistro, a new French/Mediterranean restaurant that Chef Driss Zahidi opened a few weeks ago in the Washington DC area (Fairfax). Annette and I were joined by 6 friends. We started with German Rieslings and then moved to Spanish and Virginian (Linden Vineyards) red wines. I think the German Riesling went very well with the starters and the Seafood Couscous.

Earlier this summer, we celebrated the kick-off of the Summer of Riesling 2013 at  Le Mediterranean Bistro, see:

Kick-off of the “Summer of Riesling 2013” with Chef Driss Zahidi, a (German) Dr. Loosen, an (Austrian) Tegernseehof and an (Alsatian) Trimbach Riesling at Le Mediterranean Bistro in Virginia, USA

Couscous

Couscous is a traditional North African dish. It has a shape that is similar to rice but is basically a type of pasta. Like macaroni and spaghetti, couscous is made from semolina flour, but rather than mixing the semolina with a prescribed amount of water and/or egg into a dough, couscous is made by rubbing the semolina between moistened hands until the flour combines with just enough water to form hundreds of tiny grains. It is traditionally served with a meat or vegetable stew spooned over it. Couscous doesn't have a lot of flavor on its own, but it works well as a base for vegetable or meat dishes.

Dry and Sweet Rieslings

Riesling

Worldwide, there are about 34.000 hectares planted with Riesling. Germany – with 22.400 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. Alsace follows with 3500 hectares.

Pictures: Couscous and Riesling at Le Mediterranean Bistro in Fairfax

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 only less than 1 percent of total wine production in the world - but a very special niche wine.

Dry and Sweet

Many wine drinkers, in particular outside of Europe, when they see a Riesling in the shelves, have the association of a sweet-style wine. This is however misguided. Rieslings as a rule are dry wines. Of course, there are the famous sugar sweet Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese, Eiswein and Schilfwein wines from Austria and Germany, the Sélection de Grains Nobles from France, the icewines from Canada and other Rieslings, made from botrytized, dried or frozen grapes.

The grapes that go into these wines have such a high sugar content that there is nothing you can do to make dry wines out of these grapes. They inevitably produce nobly sweet wines. But apart from these specialty wine, which account for only a tiny share of total production, Riesling grapes in Germany, Austria, Alsace, the US and Australia have normal sugar content at the time of fermentation and tend to produce dry wines, when fully fermented.

Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller and Riesling at Le Mediterranean Bistro in Fairfax

However, modern cellar methods allow winemakers in Germany (and elsewhere) to produce wines with a bit of residual sugar with these grapes. These are exceptional wines, essentially made by not letting the fermentation going its full course so that natural sugar remains in the wine. Alternatively, German winemakers are allowed to add sweet-reserve (sterilized grape juice) to increase the sweetness level in the wine, but today, this is mostly done, if at all, for fine tuning the residual sweetness. These fruity-sweet wines are the wines that are so popular among the fans of German wine in the world. These sweet-style wines have lost popularity in Germany, although there appears to be a comeback, but in any case remain very popular outside of Germany, for example in the US.

Anyway, at the 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle earlier this year, Steffen Christmann, VDP President (Germany’s elite winemakers) and owner of Weingut A. Christmann estimated that “if you exclude the wines that cost less that Euro 15, 95% of German wine is dry today.”

See:
The World of Riesling in Seattle - Fourth Riesling Rendezvous in Washington State, USA

Starters

We had the following starters.

Picture: Merguez: lamb sausage with Harissa tomato-olives relish. I ate Merguez and they are always excellent, when Chef Driss makes them.

Picture: Beet Salad: golden and red beer salad with cara cara oranges and goat cheese

Picture: Crevettes: jumbo shrimp with scallion, shallots, garlic and cayenne butter. AnnetteSchiller: "They were absolutely delicious”

Picture: Crepe: Jumbo all lump crab meat stuffed spinach crepe.

Couscous

Pictures: Southern Moroccan-style Seafood Couscous: with halibut, scallops, shrimp, calamari

Picture: Moroccan style braised Lamb Shank Couscous: with tagine spices, served with baby carrots and turnips and rich lamb jus

Le Mediterranean Bistro

Le Mediterranean Bistro is located right in the center of old Town Fairfax, in the larger Washington DC area. Opening the door to the restaurant, I immediately was enveloped by a very positive vibe; a cosy, intimate French Bistro, which brought back good memories from the days when I lived in Paris in the 7th arrondissement. You could mistake Le Mediterranean Bistro for a bistro in Paris.

The Setting

Le Mediterranean Bistro has 55 seats. It does not have a bar, where you can hang around for happy hour or eat when you are by yourself. There is a big chalkboard of specials on the wall, similar to the one of Chef Driss’ previous gig, Bistro Vivant in McLean.

Pictures: Le Mediterranean Bistro in Fairfax

The bistro’s small crew includes Driss’ brother, Hicham, who used to work at Evo Bistro and also at Bistro Vivant with Driss.

The Wines

The wine list is mostly French, but also includes other areas, starting from around $30 up to $300 per bottle. It is an excellent selection. Some of the wines can be ordered by the glass. Our focus that evening was on the Rieslings that we brought along, but we later shifted to a Chablis, a Gigondas, both for around $60, and a Linden Claret for $58 (from Virginia).

The Food

The food is classic French bistro food, with Mediterranean and Moroccan flair. Chef Patron Driss Zahidi: “I am aiming for an elegant and unsurpassed modern French cuisine by using the very finest seasonal ingredients and employing both classic and modern techniques. I work with local farmers to get the best and freshest ingredients.” Fuad Issa: "I have known Driss for ten years, I continue to be amazed by his creativity and his ability to balance different subtle flavors." Annette Schiller: “I loved the flavors, the combination of spices - the menu leaves my mouth watering for more.”

3 Dry Rieslings from Germany

We started the evening with 3 Rieslings:

Picture: 2011 Doennhoff Riesling Trocken, 2011 Balthasar Ress, Riesling “Von Unserm” Trocken, 2011 Dr. Loosen, Riesling Dry, Red Slate

These were all excellent entry-level wines, in the 11% to 12,5% alcohol range and all close to 9 grams per liter remaining sugar, I guess. The Ress and Doennhoff Rieslings were earthy, mineral, while the Dr. Loosen was fruity, with delicious notes of apricot, pineapple and banana. All great wines for less than US$ 20 in the US.

For the 3 wines, see:

Weingut Dr. Loosen
Riesling, Pinot Noir and Indian Cuisine: A tête-à-tête Dinner with Winemaker Ernst Loosen, Weingut Dr. Loosen, at Rasika in Washington DC, USA

Weingut Balthasar Ress
Hanging out with Rheingau Winemakers: Dirk Wuertz, Desiree Eser, Alexander Jakob Jung, Hansi Bausch and Christian Ress in Hattenheim, Rheingau, Germany

Weingut Doennhoff
Top 10 Riesling Producers in the World– Snooth 2012

schiller-wine - Related Postings

Summer of Riesling 2013 and 31 Days of German Riesling 2013 in the United States

Late Night German Riesling Tasting with Riesling Gurus Paul Grieco and Stuart Pigott in Washington DC on the 2013 Riesling Road Trip, USA

Ombiasy Wine Tours: Wine and Culture Tour to Germany Coming up in August 2013

Riesling, Pinot Noir and Indian Cuisine: A tête-à-tête Dinner with Winemaker Ernst Loosen, Weingut Dr. Loosen, at Rasika in Washington DC, USA

Ernst Loosen and Dr. L. Riesling - His Hugely Popular Entry-level Wine Sold Throughout the World

Hanging out with Rheingau Winemakers: Dirk Wuertz, Desiree Eser, Alexander Jakob Jung, Hansi Bausch and Christian Ress in Hattenheim, Rheingau, Germany

Top 10 Riesling Producers in the World– Snooth 2012

1st International Riesling Symposium, Rheingau, Germany

German Spaetlese Wines Can Come in Different Versions - I have Counted Five

How does a Sweet German Riesling Become Sweet?

When Americans Drink German Wine - What They Choose

German Wine Basics: Sugar in the Grape - Alcohol and Sweetness in the Wine

Dennis Cakebread and his Wines, Napa Valley, at EVO Bistro, Virginia

The World of Riesling in Seattle - Fourth Riesling Rendezvous in Washington State, USA

Carl von Schubert from the Maximin Gruenhaus Estate Returned a Favor: With his Wines in Washington DC (and in Seattle), USA

August 1, 2013, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: Photo Album: 4th Riesling Rendezvous (2013) in Seattle, Washington State, USA

≪ Previous: Riesling and Couscous at Chef Driss Zahidi’s Le Mediterranean Bistro in Fairfax, Virginia USA

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Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller and Carl von Schubert in Washington DC

Carl von Schubert, who owns and runs the famous Maximin Gruenhaus Estate in the Ruwer Valley in Germany, was in town (Washington DC) and I had a chance to catch up with him at MacArthur Liquer. Phil Bernstein, the German wine expert of MacArhur’s, was at the estate last month and now Carl returned the favor. We tasted four 2011 releases. Carl von Schubert was on his way to the 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, Washington State, where I met him again a couple of days later. Below is a series of photos from the 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle.

For more, see:
The 4th Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle: Impressions from the Grand Tasting at Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, Washington State, USA
The World of Riesling in Seattle - Fourth Riesling Rendezvous in Washington State, USA
The German Winemakers at the Forthcoming 4. Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, Washington State, USA   
Top 10 Riesling Producers in the World– Snooth 2012
Pacific Rim Winemaker’s Blog Recommends "German Wine Basics: Sugar in the Grape - Alcohol and Sweetness in the Wine" on schiller-wine

Pictures: Carl von Schubert in Seattle, Washington State, at the 4th Riesling Rendezvous, with UK Journalist Tim Atkin, Pacific Rim Head Winemaker Nicolas Quille and Riesling Giant Helmut Doennhoff

When I use the adjective “elite” in connection with the VDP – the association of German elite winemakers – I am sometimes criticized that not all VDP members are elite winemakers, while there are elite winemakers in Germany that are not in the VDP. That is entirely correct. Maximin Gruenhaus is clearly a good example for the latter group. Notably, Maximin Gruenhaus is ranked in the Feinschmecker WeinGuide in the group of 18 top winemakers in Germany (with 5 stars), but is not a member of the VDP. Carl says the VDP wants him to become a member but he prefers to stay outside of that club.

For more, see:
Approaches to Classifying German Wine: The Standard Approach (the Law of 1971), the VDP Approach and the Zero Classification Approach

The historic Maximin Grünhaus estate lies at the foot of a long, steep south-facing slope on the left bank of the tiny Ruwer river, about two kilometers upstream from where it joins the Mosel. The estate belongs to the family of Carl von Schubert and is divided into three separate but contiguous vineyards: Abtsberg, Herrenberg, and Bruderberg. Each of these vineyards has its own distinct differences in terroir, which explain the unique character of the wines made at Grünhaus. The estate is also known by the name Schlosskellerei Carl von Schubert.

History

The first documentary evidence of Grünhaus, then called “Villa ad Valles,” dates from February 6, 966. Emperor Otto I, heir of Charlemagne, confirmed a donation that had been made in the Seventh century by the Frankish King Dagobert. At that time, the buildings, vineyards and surrounding land had been given to the Benedictine monastery of Saint Maximin in Trier.

Pictures: Carl von Schubert with MacArthur's German Wine Super Expert Phil Bernstein in Washington DC

See also:
German Wine: Tasting with Phil Bernstein of MacArthur Beverages the 2011 Vintage in Washington DC, USA
Phil Bernstein’s Third Annual German Riesling Tasting with the German Wine Society, Washington DC Chapter - Rieslings With a Touch of Sweetness

Until the end of the 18th century Maximin Grünhaus was managed by the Abbey of Saint Maximin. After all church property was secularized by Napoleon, the estate was held under French administration until 1810. In that year, the estate was sold to Friedrich Freiherr von Handel. In 1882, it was purchased by an ancestor of Carl von Schubert, who is the fifth generation of his family to own the Grünhaus estate. When in 1882 Carl Ferdinand Freiherr von Stumm-Halberg bought the Grünhaus estate, it consisted of vineyards, a farm, and extensive woodland. Investing heavily, he transformed it into one of the most modern of its time.

Along the way from generation to generation, at one point, there was no male heir and the estate went to a female von Stumm-Halberg, who married a von Schubert. The current owner Carl von Schubert took over management of the estate in 1981, after he completed his doctoral thesis on the economics of steep slope viticulture. Vine growing and winemaking is currently overseen by Stefan Kraml. The vineyard area totals 31 hectares.

Pictures: Carl von Schubert in Washington DC

The Vineyards

The Abtsberg

Wines from this vineyard were originally destined for the table of the Abbot (or “Abt”) of the Abbey of St. Maximin. The site covers 35 acres, parts of which have been planted with vines for over a thousand years. The subsoil is blue Devonian slate and the hillside runs south-east to south-west, achieving a gradient of up to 70 percent. Abtsberg wines are characterised by a finely structured subtle minerality, a racy acidity, generous fruit and great delicacy. They are amongst the longest lived Rieslings of the region.

Pictures: Carl von Schubert in Washington DC

Wines from this site were made specially for the Abbey’s choirmasters. Extending over 40 acres, the site benefits from deep soils with good water retention, over a base of red Devonian slate. Wines from the Herrenberg show fruit and body early in their lives, but also possess extraordinary ageing potential.

The Bruderberg

The smallest of the three Grünhaus vineyards, covering just 2.5 acres, the Bruderberg provided wine for the monks (or ‘brothers’). The site has the same Devonian slate soil as the Abtsberg next door, and the wines are very spicy, sometimes with a rustic slate-mineral quality.

The Wines Carl von Schubert Poured in Washington DC

Carl showed the following wines (and signed bottles).

2011 Carl von Schubert Riesling Qba Trocken Maximin Gruenhauser $26.99 - The estate Riesling Trocken (dry) is a blend of the barrels that remain after the single-vineyard dry wines have been selected out of the overall production. The result is an entry-level dry Riesling that shows the characteristic minerality of the area and the refined style of the Grünhaus estate.

2011 Carl von Schubert Riesling Qba Maximin Gruenhauser $21.99 - The classic Grünhaus off-dry estate Riesling is a blend of the barrels that remain after the single-vineyard fruity wines have been selected out of the overall production. The proportions from each of the three Grünhaus vineyards will change depending on the conditions of the vintage.

2011 Carl von Schubert Kabinett Maximin Gruenhauser Herrenberg $30.99 - This wine is a selection of barrels that exhibit the delicate Kabinett style, but also show the distinctive stone fruit flavors and red slate minerality that are typical expressions of this vineyard’s terroir.

2011 Carl von Schubert Spatlese Maximin Gruenhauser Abtsberg $41.99 - The Abtsberg Spätlese is a selection of barrels produced from fruit harvested late in the season. The longer hang time produces more fully developed aromas and flavors, and greater complexity.

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The German Winemakers at the Forthcoming 4. Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, Washington State, USA 

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The Tim Atkin Pinot Noir Taste-Off of October 2011: Germany Versus the Rest of the World - German Red Wines Show Strong Performance 

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