Are matured Trockenbeerenauslesen the better choice?

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In other words: Are matured, ie older Trockenbeerenauslese better than those from younger vintages? Several reasons have led to this question, the most important is probably that I think the sugar content of Auslesen seems to be optimal. Another important reason is the fact that my wine friend Hans stores a lot of sweet wines, including many old TBAs in his wine cellar, from which we time by time we taste some. As a result of this fact, six of … Read more ...

From the Solera – Catalonian sweet wine

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Catalonia, currently in the news because its efforts of independence from Spain, is better known for cava as well as its red wines from the Priorat or Monsant. Sweet wines, which until the 1950s together with Cava held a leading role in Catalonia, are of minor importance nowadays, best known are still the sweet wines with untypical ageing notes, often varnish-like flavours, of the DO Terra Alta and the Garnatxa de l’Empordà. Sweet wines from the Tarragona wine region are … Read more ...

Cream-Sherry: Oloroso plus sweetness

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Cream means sweetened sherry, a category that also includes Pale Cream and Medium, is considered by quite a few sherry lovers as a purely commercial product. This may be true if Oloroso is sweetened by the addition of sweet or even cooked, concentrated grape must (Arrope). But that holds not true if of blending a dry sherry is done with a sweet sherry, such as PX (Pedro Ximénez) or Moscatel, as is the case … Read more ...

Majorca – Vi blanc dolç

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Inselinneres von Mallorca

Majorca had more than 10 million visitors last year. The least of them probably drink Majorcan wine, because the amount produced there annually of about 6 million bottles would not be enough.

Only 10% of the area of ​​Majorca is planted with vines. 2,500 hectares of vineyards are spread over four wine growing areas. Almost two-thirds of the areas claim the Vino de la Tierra – Majorca and Serra de Tramuntana – Costa Nord, the rest is shared by the higher quality DO (Denominación de Origen) Binissalem and the DO Pla i Llevant, located in the southeast.

Anyone who has already drunk Majorcan wine could have already made the acquaintance of one of the indigenous grape varieties of the Balearic Islands. Above all, these are the red varieties Manto Negro, Callet and the white variety Prensal, also called Moll.

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Trockenbeerenauslese from southern Styrian Opok

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“Evi and I are going on vacation to southern Styria at the winery Tauss” my friend Udo told me. I, too, had been on vacation in the winery Tauss and bought wine there – the last, recently opened bottle of the red Traminer macerated and fermented on the grape skins in 2006 has been sensationally good. Only one sweet wine of Tauss was slumbering in the wine cellar, a 2002 Trockenbeerenauslese of Pinot Gris, in German named Grauburgunder… Read more ...

Sicilian Notissimo

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The baroque splendor of Noto is known beyond the borders of Sicily. Less known, however, is the Moscato di Noto from the variety Moscato Bianco pressed. The variety is quite common in Italian sweet wines. The Moscato di Noto is often sweet – but it is also traded in a dry version. In the regulations of the DOC Noto the sweetness of the wine is not determined, only aromatic and varietal should the Moscato di Noto be.
Exactly to the … Read more ...

Swiss straw wine from the Rhine

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From Ticino to Aargau our Swiss wine tour led us this year in June. We also got to know the Räuschling, an indigenous Swiss grape variety, of which only 25 hectares are cultivated worldwide, 18 hectares of which at Lake Zurich. The parents of the grape variety are the grape varieties White Heunisch, also known as Gouais Blanc or Gwäss as well as the vine named in the Jura Savagnin Blanc and in Switzerland Heida. Gouais… Read more ...

Dulce de Invierno – sweet wine from Rioja

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The last wine tasted at Dinastía Vivanco, the tenth and last visited bodega in Rioja, was at the same time the first and only sweet wine of the entire Rioja wine journey in mid-May of this year. It was a sweet wine made from four of the five approved red grape varieties of the Rioja: Tempranillo (50%), Graciano (20%), Garnacha (20%) and Mazuelo (10%). A sweet wine made from this combination of grape varieties seems not gto be … Read more ...

Chardonnay Day 2017 – TBA by Fred Loimer

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Harvestehude Chardonnay grapes © pixabay.com

There are Cabernet Day, Grenache Day and a few more varietal days. Today is International Chardonnay Day and one thing is for sure: Chardonnay has earned this day as it is possibly the most adaptable grape variety that not only reflects the distinct terroir it grows on, but is also very sensitive to the techniques used in the cellar. That’s why Chardonnay comes in a variety of different styles: from taut and steely, through soft and creamy, to bold and opulent. In each of these styles, the Chardonnay grape variety is successful, as evidenced by very good placings at many of

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Ruché Passito di Castagnole Monferrato

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Vineyards in  Monferrato © pixabay.com

Since 2010 the Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato has a separate DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) although the grape variety, so to speak, was rediscoveredonly in the 1970s in Piedmont. Its then discoverer, Father Don Giacomo Cauda, ​​was so taken with the quality, body, aromas, flavors and aromas of the wines of his ten rows of ruché vines that he not only cultivated more of this variety, but even to inspire winemaker to increase plantings of it. Already in 1987 there was the DOC status, which at that time as well as today and also in case of the DOCG

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