Fortified Wines – All about sweet wines

Don PX – Sherry from Montilla-Moriles

16. October 202116. October 2021 by Karl-Heinz Datum

Finally, after Corona, for the first time there was a tasting with winemakers and other fellow tasters. The Spanish economic and trade department ICEX invited to the Charles Hotel in Munich, where the Spanish Wine Fair 2021 entitled Wine in Motions took place on October 11th. 22 wineries were represented, one of which caught my attention as it had wines made exclusively from Pedro Ximénez (PX). A grape variety that is grown in southern Spain, mainly in the Andalusian region of Montilla-Moriles, and is mainly used there and in Jerez for the production of sherry.

The Bodega Toro Albalá, founded in Córdoba in 1922, is very well known … Read more ...

Lots of profit with Allesverloren – Fine Old Vintage

28. April 202122. March 2021 by Karl-Heinz Datum

The Allesverloren winery, located in Swartland in South Africa, owes its name to the exclamation “All lost” when the owners returning from a supply trip to Stellenbosch found their settlement burned to the ground. About 100 years after this incident

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Classic chocolate companion – Maury Grenat

6. March 202120. February 2021 by Karl-Heinz Datum

I can seldom resist the naturally sweet French Vin Doux Naturel wines, this is only partly due to the wonderful holiday memories of Roussillon, the region where 80% of Vin Doux Naturel is produced and – due to its omnipresence there – also consumed in my opinion. I think my first encounter with a Banyuls Rimage as companion of a chocolate dessert was probably much more formative. That was most probably the reason why we chose this wine style of Vin Doux Naturel for the chocolate mousse. A style with very fruity notes due to

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East India Solera – Lustau’s Cream

14. January 20218. January 2021 by Karl-Heinz Datum

The Bodega Lustau, founded in 1896, majority owned by Luís Caballero since 1990, owns around 170 hectares of vineyards in the DOs of Jerez and Manzanilla.

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Ratafia – Multilingual liqueur wine from South Africa

21. November 202021. November 2020 by Karl-Heinz Datum

For a long time I have wanted to take a closer look at the numberous wines of the beverage market – there where I buy water, beer and whisky. Looking closer at these wines l hoped to find an interesting sweet wine among them. I found what I was looking for, the packaging and the bottle caught my attention, as did the name Ratafia, which reminded me more of Spain than of South Africa, from where it was packaged, on a winery with the French named Haute Cabrière by Takuan von Arnim obviously of german extraction and possibly a descendant of an author of the song collection Des Knaben Wunderhorn, and finally it found his way into an Upper Bavarian beverage market.

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10 Years Old Reserve Madeira from Tinta Negra Mole

14. May 202025. April 2020 by Karl-Heinz Datum

Câmara-de-Lobos – Main growing area of Tinta Negra Mole © IVBAM

Madeira always show a typical malty-caramel taste. This is caused by the heat treatment of the wine, which causes the sugar in the wine to caramelize. The simplest and cheapest type of heat treatment is the method called Cuba de Calor, in which the wine is heated to 40 – 50 ° C using simple heating coils. The most expensive type of warming, called Canteiro, which lasts up to 20 years, is reserved for better qualities. It takes place in the attics of warehouses in barrels of various sizes.

Different grape varieties are used for the production of a Madeira, whereby a basic distinction is made between the noble grape varieties such as Sercial, Verdelho, Bual, Malmsey and Terrantez and the less noble varieties such as Complexa or Tinta Negra Mole.

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Taylor’s pale red 10 Year Old Tawny

27. February 202026. February 2020 by Karl-Heinz Datum

Theoretically, a Tawny is a port wine which is aged for a longer time in the barrel until its red color changes to amber (tawny), which means the wine becomes a Tawny. This usually starts after about 6 years of barrel maturation. However, since port wines of different ages are always blended for a Tawny, as in the case of a 10 year old tawny, the indication of age is not very precise – but approximately true. However, all Tawny with age 10, 20, 30 or over 40 year old are checked and released by the IVDP (Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto). … Read more ...

Vino Naranja – not an Orange Wine

5. January 202031. December 2019 by Karl-Heinz Datum

Bitter Oranges © Dimitris Vetsikas Pixabay

Vino Naranja comes from Huelva, or rather from the DO (Denominación Origén) Condado de Huelva wine region, which, lying on the Atlantic coast of southern Spain’s Andalusia, has a long history of winegrowing. Given its location between the Portuguese border and the Jerez sherry area, it is no wonder that there still wines like Condado Pálido and Condado Viejo, which are comparable to Fino respectively Oloroso, are produced using the Solera process,

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Multi-layered – Martha’s Colheita Port

18. December 201917. December 2019 by Karl-Heinz Datum

Many wine drinkers know Vintage Port, whereas Colheita is largely unknown, and only few know which port wine style it is. Its brownish color identifies it as a Tawny type port and since the Portuguese word Colheita means harvest, a Colheita Port is a Tawny that comes from the grapes of a single vintage. A Vintage Tawny, so to speak, just like the Ruby typ Vintage port from a single vintage. But while the dark to black-red port wines of the Ruby type are aged in large barrels with little contact with atmospheric oxygen, the mostly amber to mahogany-colored

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Malvasia – Aromas from Sicily

12. May 20198. May 2019 by Karl-Heinz Datum

There are more than 20 different varieties of Malvasia – white, red and reddish, the last called gris or pink. In Sicily and its islands, the two varieties Malvasia Bianca Siciliana and Malvasia delle Lipari are the most common. The Malvasia Terre Sicilia Vino Liquoroso IGP of Cantine Pellegrino, which we have tasted, is produced to 100% with Malvasia Bianca. The grapes for the wine originate from vines that grow in the province of Trapani, from sea level up to 300 meters above sea level, on sandy and partly clayey soils.

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