Southwest of Heraklion lies the Psiloritis massif, also known as the Ida Mountains, on the north-eastern slopes of which the vineyards of the Dafnes wine-growing region are located at heights between 300 and 500 m. There, mainly local traditional vines, such as the white varieties Vidiano, Vilana or Thrapsathiri as well as the red varieties Kotsifali, Mandilaria and Liatiko, thrive on lighter, sandy, often gravelly, mostly poorly fertile soils.
The name Lentsch can be found often around Lake Neusiedl. So I first thought of the Gasthaus zur Dankbarkeit, where I had already eaten very well and also enjoyed wine of the Lentsch
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
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
Sandeman, an important sherry and port wine house, owned by the Portuguese company Sogrape since 2001, offers very high quality vintage ports. An ideal Christmas present for someone who likes to drink red port. So it’s the best to order more of it! At Christmas we enjoyed the Vau Vintage Port 2000 from Sandeman with homemade chocolate ice cream, which it went very well with.
About 20 km northwest of the Apulian Lecce is the small town of Salice Salentino, whose name is known to many, mostly because of its dry red wine, mainly produced from Negroamaro. It has to be be mentioned that the Salice Salentino also is produced pink or white and not only as a cuvée, but also from a single grape variety. The Salice Salentino Aleatico is also available in a sweet version, as well as liqueur wine.
Schilcher is the name given to the rosé-colored shimmering wine of western Styria, which is made from the red grape variety Blauer Wildbacher. From this variety mainly still wine is produced, only about 3% of the Blauer Wildbacher grapes harvested from more than 360 hectares are made into sparkling wine and even much less into red wine.
Moscato Rosa del Trentino – called in South Tyrol Rosenmuskateller – a grape variety that is found almost exclusively in northern Italy and especially in South Tyrol, does not come from Sicily, as often claimed in Italy, but most likely from Dalmatia. In this respect, the synonym of the variety Moscato Rosa del Trentino is a bit misleading, as far more than 85% of the approximately 100 hectares of the Italian Rosenmuskateller vineyards are in South Tyrol. Outside Italy you will find some Moscato Rosa del Trentino on Lake Neusiedl, as well as in Rheinhessen and Istria. It should be noted that the variety is a descendant of Moscato Bianco… Read more ...
Hans had invited to a wine tasting and announced to offer only one or two small courses – however, there were much more courses. Hans just returned from a journey through Roussillon and the Rhone Valley, where he had bought a variety of Vin Doux Naturel. For the dessert, a chocolate cake with honey olive jelly, he opened some of them.
Black Muscat: never heard of it – but maybe already eaten? Muscat Hamburg, as the grape is called in Great Britain, is used in many countries mainly as a table grape, because of its ability to survive long transport routes very well.
But there are also dry wines of Muscat Hamburg , such as in Eastern Europe or Württemberg. Dessert wines are also produced in Württemberg as well as in California, where exists more than 100 hectares of Black Muscat vines, almost exclusively owned by the Quady Winery. The winery of the Quady brothers specializes in dessert, aperitif and Muscat wines, as well as vermouth and port-like … Read more ...