Niagara – Canadian Icewine

Niagara-on-the-lake © Pixabay

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.

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Feinherb showpiece – Molitor’s Zeltinger Himmelreich 2016

There are four different grades of sweetness according to German and EU wine law: dry, semi-dry, semisweet and sweet, in addition, one also finds the term feinherb. A term probably only used in Germany, which should convey to the consumer that the wine has a fine, slightly herb note, even though or just because it is not dry.

In various wine lexica it can be read that a feinherb wine, such as a semi-dry one, has a residual sugar content of 9 to 18 g / l, whereby the sugar may not be more than 10 g / l above the acidity. This is true for … Read more ...

Sigrun Noble – noble rot from Marlborough

The fact that first-class dry Sauvignon Blanc is produced at Marlborough on New Zealand’s South Island only became known at the end of the 1980s, when Cloudy Bay‘s Sauvignon Blanc became a cult wine. Sensitivity to botrytis makes this grape variety a suitable candidate for sweet wine, as does the Riesling. If the microclimate is right, there is a body of water like river or lake nearby, so wet fog can develop with its humidity, but quickly dry off from the grapes by wind and sun, these are usually the ideal conditions to harvest Botrytis infested grapes , In Waihopotou Valley in Marlborough in the Southern Valleys region, such … Read more ...

Top-Auslesen from the Mosel

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 ...

Exotic fruit salad from the Frühlingsplätzchen

On the western edge of the wine-growing area Nahe, in Monzingen there is the winery Emrich-Schönleber, existing since more than 250 years, since 1994 member of the VDP. On about 19 hectares of vineyards flourishes predominantly Riesling (85%). The Riesling wines of the winery are among the best of Germany – often they are very filigree and show a good minerality. In addition to the care of soil and vine, responsible for the classic, excellent wines, also a balanced balance of yield and nutrient supply is necessary. Frank and Werner Schönleber take care of both, care and balance. The wines are also characterized by the stony and strongly by … Read more ...

At its finest – fruit sweet Riesling from the Mosel

Vineyards around Uerzig © Pixabay

Riesling develops a great deal much flavor when maturing in the cool climate. It matures very well on heat-storing soils, in sun-oriented locations. This is true to a large extent for the steep slate slopes of the Mosel wine region. On slate Riesling often develops a racy acidity, which in fruit sweet Rieslings can play a brilliant game with fruit and sweetness . That’s why fruit sweet Rieslings are among my favorite sweet wines. In the offer of the usual wine trade are usually found only a few such fruit sweet Riesling. All the more reason why I was pleased to receive an e-mail telling me that “one month ago I started an online shop for Riesling Spaetlesen“. This appealed to me so much that I immediately responded positively to the request to taste some wines from its assortment and to blog about it.

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Rheingau Riesling – Auslese with fruity acidity

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 ...

Auslese Gold Capsule by J.J. Pruem – High End Class

Gold capsule is the name given to the gold-colored bottle enclosure, which is used primarily in the wine regions Mosel and Rheingau to identify particularly high-quality sweet wines. A superlative of it is in addition the Lange Goldkapsel (long gold-coloured enclosure), sometimes abbreviated LGK. Usually there are only small amounts of these sweet qualities, which often are not traded, but only available at auctions.

Also the winery J.J. Pruem, one of the most renowned wineries in Germany, usually offers its gold capsule wines through auctions. The wines produced by Manfred Prüm and his daughter Katharina are known for their floating lightness, finesse and precision. The careful management of … Read more ...

Mosel Riesling 2016 – Fruity elegance

Bernkasteler vineyards (at the upper edge from the village from right to left: Doctor, Graben and Lay) © Pixabay

Maximilian Ferger‘s passion for wine becomes clear if listening to him, the enologist and manager of the renowned winery Wwe. H. Thanisch – Erben Mueller-Burggraef, when he is speaking about his work in the vineyards and in wine cellar.
Talking with him about Riesling and Pinot Noir on the phone, I had the impression that he speaks of the vines as his children. Just as you give children the best you can, in any case, he wants the best for his vines. In doing so, he pursues an ecologically oriented, sustainable path, which also includes the renunciation of herbicides and botryzides – a path that will soon be completed

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K. Wechsler – Elegantly balanced sweet wines


rieslingtrauben

Katharina Wechsler entered the family winery first 2009 and in a short time she became well-known with the wine lovers. She presented her very elegant, drinking-inspiring wines in the Munich wine shop Furore – including two sweet wines.

The winery Wechsler manages 17 hectares in Westhofen in the famous vine locations Steingrube, Kirchspiel and Morstein. The Riesling Schweisströpfchen 2015, which we have tasted, owes its name to a part of the Kirchspiel, in which the work on the calcareous, deep loam soils is always very sweat-producing.

The Riesling Benn Beerenauslese 2015 comes from a vineyard of the same name, a small monopol vineyard of 6.5 ha with … Read more ...