Ratafia – Multilingual liqueur wine from South Africa


Haute Cabrière © Jeanine Smal Pixabay

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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Chardonnay for lovers of Auslese

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 ...

Are matured Trockenbeerenauslesen the better choice?

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 the eight TBAs discussed so far in the blog were 15 years or older. For me five of them met the criteria for an excellent wine.

Finally led to this … Read more ...

Chardonnay Day 2017 – TBA by Fred Loimer

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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Sweet pearls from Limoux

Limoux Methode AncestraleAs early as 1531, the first mention of a sparkling wine produced in the region around Limoux can be found. The wine-growing area of Limoux is located in the west of the Languedoc around the town of the same name, south of Carcasonne and along the Aude and its tributaries. The vineyards are at altitudes of about 100 to 500 m. The grapes then thrive under a Mediterranean-influenced climate, often on sandstone or limestone and clay. Most common white grape varieties are Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Mauzac, red grape varieties include Merlot, Cot (Malbec), Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir. The white grape … Read more ...