M°vin stands for wine from the Mosel, actually rather for fruit sweet Cabinet wines. Only these are offered by M°vin, which goes back to an initiative of the native Moselles Roman Bastgen and Felix Schon. During their studies in Cologne the two made the experience that the Cabinet wines of their home were very well received with their Cologne friends and acquaintances, even with those who wanted to drink only very dry wines.
So they came up with the idea to market these wines under the label M°vin and thus make these typical Mosel wines better known. For this idea, they have won some young winemakers from the … Read more ...
About one and a half years ago I heard the first time from the online shop Goldrichs, which offered only fruit sweet Rieslings at that time. At that time, I had been asked by Goldrichs if I would like to taste some wines of the assortment and post the tasting in my blog, with which I agreed. This has only been because I found the idea of putting fruity Rieslings in the center of attention worth of support and still find.
The Vereinigte Hospitien, founded in 1804 by Napoleon Bonaparte as a social foundation, still perform this task today by looking after and caring for old, sick or disabled people in different institutions. From the beginning, a winery was also part of it, which provably has cultivated the first Riesling in the Mosel valley in 1464. The figure of St. James on the bottle label reminds at the St. Jacobs Hospital, the owner at that time.
The United Hospitals are also known for their spectacular wine cellar, the oldest wine cellar in Germany, which impresses not only with ancient Roman masonry from around 330 AD, but above all by its size and the possibility to enjoy wine tasting there.
Canada is considered the world’s largest producer of ice wine. This is also reflected in the value share of exports, which can account for up to 25% of Canada’s $ 80 million (Canadian dollars) worth of Canadian wine exports per year, as in 2016. However, the 3334 hl of ice wine produced at that time was only 0.5 % of the total exported wine amount, which means that Canadian ice wine costs six to seven times more as dry Canadian wine.
In the autumn, there are many wine events – selection is necesssary. Sweet wines are rarely to be found on tasting lists – if there is one -, mostly the winemakers have only dry wines with them. I wanted to taste dry Silvaner at the presentation of wine from Franconia, which was announced with the brand Silvaner Heimat seit 1659 (Home of Silvaner since 1659) created this year.
Home of the Silvaner is not so wrong, because about 1,500 hectares, corresponding to 1/4 of the Franconian vineyards are planted with Silvaner. However, Rheinhessen has almost half more Silvaner in terms of area and the original home of the grape … Read more ...
Chardonnay is a very versatile variety, which is reflected in dry wines in a variety of wine styles. Usually dry wines are produced with this variety, but there are also sweet and noble sweet Chardonnay variants, especially in Germany and Austria. Two characteristics make Chardonnay a very well suited grape variety for sweet wines. On the one hand, the variety definitely has enough acidity to balance residual sugar, on the other hand, the berries’ shells are thin enough to facilitate botrytis infestation, thus enabling the production of noble sweet wines.
We tasted a Chardonnay Auslese 2001 of the Wittmann Winery. The Wittmann family is involved in viticulture since 1663. … Read more ...
Sauvignon blanc is not necessarily everyone’s favorite, at least for the dry wines. Some people because of its aromas can not drink enough of it , others refrain entirely from it because of the aromas. The flavors can vary greatly depending on the harvest time. With increasing maturity, the spectrum of aromas of grass, herbs, green fruits, boxwood, gooseberries, elderberries and yellow fruits often shifts, especially with ripened specimens supplemented with vegetables, asparagus and cabbage.
Among the best known dry Sauvignon Blanc are Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and those from New Zealand. Although Sauvignon Blanc is very prone to noble rot, it plays only a minor role in the well-known sweet wine … Read more ...
After a walk in the warm spring sun and a subsequent coffee with cake, Hans not only served some dry, but also three sweet Riesling readings from the Mosel – all three from well-known, good producers.
Maximin Grünhaus Abtsberg 2010 Riesling Auslese No. 24
Expressive nose with herbaceous, delicately spicy and fruity aromas of citrus and peach. Harmonious on the palate, but thrilling, fine juicy fruit with pleasantly subtle sweetness and racy acidity, spicy herbs, beautiful mineral notes, long very good finish, complex, excellent wine with potential.
Wehlener Sonnenuhr 1994 Riesling Auslese ***, Jos. Christoffel jr.
Golden yellow with orange reflections. In the nose restrained, smoky, spicy, some tobacco, slightly … Read more ...
Hans had already opened some excellent wines to the excellent French dinner, including, for example, a 2013 Chevalier Montrachet from Domaine Leflaive and a 2005 Le Pavillon from Chapoutier. For cheese and dessert he had selected matured sweet wines, from German predicates such as Spätlese on Vin Doux Naturel to Madeira – all excellent.
1994 Niederhäuser Herrmannshöhle Spätlese, Dönnhoff
Quince, pear and white peach on the nose, delicately smoky. Very fresh on the palate, prominent acidity, mild fruit, juicy, lean, mineral notes. Excellent wine, which proved to be an ideal companion to Fourme d’Ambert with quince jelly, because it took out the pungency of the cheese and brought out its … Read more ...
In the Rheingau, the Rhine flows mostly from east to west, so that most of the vines grow on south-facing slopes, in the only a few kilometers wide wine growing area north of the river. Protected by the Taunus from cold north winds, the grapes thrive in a climate with warm, low-precipitation summers and mild winters, as well as the temperature and moisture-regulating effects of the Rhine. With a share of 80% Riesling is the key grape veriety of the Rheingau.
At the Weingut Freiherr Langwerth von Simmern, which has been based in the Rheingau since the 15th century, 98% of the currently 30 hectares cultivated vineyards are … Read more ...