I have already announced and informed you about the 3rd International Symposium on Tropical Wine to be held from 12. to 18. November in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Now the first draft program is out. Gosh there are so many interesting sessions, international and national speakers, and exciting field trips on offer that I might not know where to go. I cannot attend all for them.
Have a look and check it out.
By the way, you should register, I have already done it.
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culture, food and wine, history and culture, vines, vineyard management, Vineyard profile, vineyards, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: 3. International Symposium on Tropical Wine, Chiang Mai, New Latitude Wines, Thai wine, Thailand, wine | 
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Posted by themanfrommoselriver
One of the good things when in Trier is that one is very close to Luxembourg and France. Both countries are ideal destinations for day tours. It was a cloudy day when we set out. Our first stop was at Nennig where we visited the Roman villa with its fantastic tessellated floor.
When the weather changed and the sun cam out, we spontaneously decided to continue our tour and visit Metz, the capital of the Lorraine region of France, just about an hour from the German-French border.
My last visit to this historic and picturesque town was when I was at the gymnasium, about 40 years ago. Because I belonged to the “French branch” of my high school, and French was our first foreign language, school trip brought us regularly to neighbouring French regions. My family had never been there, and of course Metz is also situated at my beloved Mosel river, and French vintner produce good wines as well.
When another rain shower surprised us during our city walk, we found refuge in a wine bar which we had spotted earlier; Le Sommelier, it was called. While writing this blog entry I learned that Le Sommelier gets extremely good ratings in trip advisor which doesn’t surprise me at all. The service was just excellent.
Wine bar Le Sommelier ‘cave à vin’
The entrance to ‘Le Sommelier’ with the blackboards with wine list
The bar
Shelves with wine bottles
The lady behind the counter was very friendly, rearranged chairs and tables to accommodate the four of us. The children had soft drinks and we adults embarked on a tasting of Moselle wines. We were also served a platter of various cheeses and cold cuts, delicious stuff. The wine list if short but there are many more bottles on the shelves which one can buy.
A well kept secret: Pinot Noir from the Moselle
The Saint-Stephen Cathedral of Metz just opposite of ‘Le Sommelier’ with some stained glass windows by Marc Chagall
We settled for two wines by ‘Le Domaine les Béliers’ in d’Ancy-sur-Moselle, Moselle. The Maurice family is working the vineyards at ‘Domaine les Béliers’ since 1650. The total area under vines is only about 4 ha. This is a small vintner to my liking. The main varieties are Auxerrois, Pinot Noir, Gamay and Pinot Gris. No Riesling, as the Riesling lovers will notice.
We tasted the Auxerrois and the Pinot Noir, which we liked best. Needless to say that we bought some bottles of these wines. More about the wines and the winery another time.
Visit the cities of the Moselle/Mosel Metz, Thionville, Trier and all the rest. Its truly worth it.
Address:
Le Sommelier
Cave à vins
27 place de chambre, 57000 METZ, France
Te.: +33-3 87 36 84 91
Open Weekdays 9:30am-1pm, 3pm-8:30pm; Sat 9:30am-1pm, 9:30pm-8:30pm;
also open Sun
Leave a Comment » | Vineyard profile, vineyards, wine, wine bars, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Auxerrois, d'Ancy-sur-Moselle, France, French wine, La Lorraine, Le Domaine les Béliers, Le Sommelier, Marc Chagall, Maurice family, Metz, Mosel, Moselle, Nennig, Pinot Noir, Saint-Stephen Cathedral, wine bars | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
The Black Prince Winery in Picton
The Black Prince Winery was the first winery we visited after our arrival in Picton, Prince Edward County, Ontario. We came by car on road number 33 from Kingston crossing by ferry to the “island” respectively the peninsula. The ferry ride was somehow a bit romantic and we enjoyed it thoroughly.
The tourist information office in the picturesque town of Picton was our aim. Quickly we found our bed and breakfast accommodation called “Saraswati” which doubles as a cancer and naturopathic care centre. The two guys in this office were extremely helpful.
After we had dropped off our stuff at Saraswati, we had some free time on our fingertips. We used it for a quick winery visit before dinner. The only winery in Picton is the Black Prince.
The vineyards were planted in 2000 and the winery opened in 2003. At that time only two other vineyards were operational in Prince Edward County.
Cellar door entry to the Black Prince
“Total terroir, local grapes, local barrels, local wine located in the heart of beautiful Prince Edward County”, is the motto of this winery.
Where does the name come from?
The search for an appropriate name lead the owners to research the “Edwardians”. One of them was the Black Prince. He was the eldest son of Edward III, and became a legend in his own lifetime. “He was one of the most successful commanders during the 100 years war and a model of chivalry and courtesy”, says the winery’s website. Since he also ruled over parts of Aquitaine, which included Bordeaux, his connection to wine was obvious and he qualified as name giver.
Lots of wine is displayed in the tasting room
We tasted two flights (three wines) of whites and one of reds. The whites included a 2010 Vidal, a 2007 Gewuerztraminer, 2008 Chardonnay, and a Pinot Gris. The reds were a Baco Nero, a 2009 Cabernet Franc, and a 2009 Merlot.
We liked the Merlot best. It had very nice aromas of cherries, was fruity, and medium bodied. The previous vintage of the Merlot was an award winner. At 17.75 C$ is seemed modestly priced for Canada.
We bought the Vidal, a frost resistant hybrid variety widely planted to produce ‘Icewines’ in Canada, the Gewuerztraminer and the Cabernet Franc as well as a bottle of Merlot. More about the Vidal another time.
Because the staff in the tasting room was so friendly we bought a few bottles. We had a great chat with the lady behind the counter and were very enchanted when we left the place. This was a great start to our Prince Edward County wine tasting tour.
I highly recommend visiting the Black Prince.
Address:
The Black Prince Winery
13370 Loyalist Parkway,
Highway #33,
Picton, Ontario
Canada K0K 2T0
Tel: +1-613-476-4888
Fax: +1-613-476-0075
Toll Free: 1-866-470-9463
www.blackprincewinery.com
Comments Off on Winery review – Black Prince Winery, Prince Edward County, Ontario | Vineyard profile, vineyards, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Baco Nero, Black Prince Winery, Cabernet Franc, Canadian wine, Chardonnay, Gewuerztraminer, Merlot, Ontario, Picton, Pinot Gris, Prince Edward County, Vidal, winery review | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
Traveling through Canada, my wine of the week is the ‘2008 No. 99 Wayne Gretzky Chardonnay’ which we drank the other night at my friend Dominik’s house in Stratford, Ontario.
It is well known that not only dentists and medical doctors get lured into the wine business but also sport stars. Wayne Gretzky the famous Canadian ice hockey player being one of them. His winery, the Wayne Gretzky Estate, which opened in 2007, is located on the Niagara Peninsula, Ontario.
This unoaked Chardonnay is a very pleasant wine. We had it with a pizza. The wine has all the good characteristics of a good ‘Chardy’. It won some awards (silver and bronze) as well. I liked the peach notes and the fine balance of acids. It is also a very affordable wine (12.95 Canadian $). We had great pleasure sampling it.
Address:
Wayne Gretzky Estate Winery
3751 King Street
PO Box 55
Vineland ON L0R 2C0
CANADA
www.gretzkyestatewines.com
2 Comments | vineyards, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Canadian wine, Chardonnay, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Ontario wines, Stratford, Wayne Gretzky, wine | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
Bruce peninsula
This is just a teaser, a reminder that the Man from the Mosel River is still alive and kicking.
We are traveling through Canada. In fact we are visiting our friends Dominik and Kym Franken in Stratford on the Avon river in Perth County, Ontario. Stratford is the Shakespeare and music town of North America. It is most famous for its annual Stratford Shakespeare Festival.
Dominik and I, we go back many years, in fact decades. We shared a flat during our university years in Bonn. He also loves wine and good food, a passion we share.
But before I can write something about Canadian wines, I will have to visit a Canadian winery, which has not happened yet because we are exploring some of Ontario’s nature and wildlife parks right now.
But, as always, there is light at the “wilderness tunnel”. In a couple of days from now, we will visit Prince Edward County, one of the three wine regions of Ontario. The other two are the Niagara Peninsula, Canada’s largest wine growing region and Pelee Island at Lake Erie, Canada;s most southerly wine region.
I will write more about Canada and its wines later. Stay tuned.
Leave a Comment » | culture, vineyards, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Canada, Canadian wines, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Pelee Island, Prince Edward County, wine regions of Canada | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
Brass Razu Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand
A very nice white wine is the ‘2008 Brass Razu Sauvignon Blanc’ from the Marlborough wine region in New Zealand. Apart from Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc is one of my favourite white wines.
Brass Razu is a wine brand produced by Warburn Estate formerly called Riverina Wines in New South Wales, Australia.
The company has about 1,000 ha under vines and a crash capacity of about 40,000 tonnes, not exactly a boutique winery. But the firm is still a private business and independent.
The Brass Razu Sauvignon Blanc is made from grapes grown in Marlborough, New Zealand. The wine is a typical specimen of a good Marlborough SB, technically well made and very pleasant to drink.
“Brass Razoo” is an Australian and New Zealand expression defined as “a non-existent coin of trivial value”. Is is used in “I haven’t got a brass razoo” indicating the speaker is out of money.
Address:
Warburn Estate
700 Kidman Way
Tharbogang, 2680
New Zealand
www.warburnestate.com.au
2 Comments | vineyards, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Australia, Brass Razu, Marlborough, New South Wales, New Zealand, Sauvignon Blanc, Warburn Estate | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
To find a wine for every day which goes with many different dishes, nothing fancy, just for a family meal, can be challenging. To my great surprise, Yering Station Winery from Yarra Glen in the Yarra Valley in Victoria produces just that kind of stuff with its “Little Yering” brand. Moreover, here in Bangkok you can get a bottle of Yering wine for a decent price.
Established in 1838 Yering Station was Victoria’s first vineyard. That’s a awful long tradition in an Australian context. I like the place, the winery and the cellar door as well as the restaurant. Despite the fact that the vineyards are mostly planted on flat lands, one has a good view from the terrace.
2008 Little Yering Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz
The ‘2008 Little Yering Cabernet Shiraz’ is a blend of the two red grape varieties, an Australian classic so to say. It cost about 18 A$ if bought at the cellar door. In Bangkok you can have it from Villa Market for about 560 Bath, about 13 Euro.
The wine is aged in mainly old oak casks after it has undergone a malolactic fermentation. The vines are of medium age (7-11 years). I like the intense taste of red berries and the spiciness provided by the Shiraz grapes.
Dark red colour
We had ‘malanzane alla parmigiana’ for dinner. The photo below does not do justice to this delicious Italian dish.
Melanzane alla parmigiana
3 Comments | food, Vineyard profile, vineyards, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Australian wine, Yarra Glen, Yarra Valley, Yering Station | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
Today is one of these days when I would prefer to be somewhere else. Well, where? This is easy to answer: Two Hills Vineyard in Glenburn, Victoria.
For some time I wanted to assemble some of the pictures I took while on the Vineyard last December and January but I just did not find the time. Now I am finally getting to it, thanks to the public holiday in Thailand.
In times of digital photography it is not easy to make a meaningful selection. There are just too many photos to choose from. I try to show you some of the natural conditions and beauty of the place with plenty of flowers and wildlife. But will also be hinting at some of the pleasures of eating an drinking.
Drying hay with the two hills in the background
Mothballed vineyard
Washing line with traktor
When we arrived the swallows had just fallen out. They were lovely little featherballs squeezing through any cranny in the door. Flowers everywhere, below is a selection.
Our young swallows
Hollyhock below the stairs
Australian native: Bottle brush
Native lily
Another native
Many animals roam our property. Kangaroos we can see every day. The bird life is the most amazing. We were thrilled when the king parrots visited. The kookaburra is hunting small animals and calling out with a thrilling “song”. But we have also many small creatures for instance shiny little skinks.
A King parrot visiting our place
The kookaburra, a meat-eating bird
A “roo” on our dam
A skink in dry gum leaves
The girls have fun in the dam
We have two dams. The bigger one is used for irrigation. The smaller one carries native fish, mostly silver perch but in both dams we catch “jabbies”, a type of crayfish which tastes very nice and is great a entrée.
Jabbies for lunch
The beauty of Victoria is that there is plenty of wine available. On hot days we consumed “bubbly”, lots of rose from the Mayer Vineyard, some white and plenty of Two Hills Merlot (left overs so to say from our 2001 and 2004 vintages).
Luckily we found another box of the 2004 vintage. Of the 2001 vintage we have still stock. Not every bottle is still drinkable. We chuck the ones which are off and consume the reasonable ones.
This bubbly does not reveal its identity
…and there is a bench to enjoy the wine on
2004 Two Hills Merlot
Reminiscing about the glorious days past is just wonderful. The good news is that the place does not run away (it just has to be lucky in the wildfires).
Hope you visit us one day. Cheers to the good life.
Leave a Comment » | vineyards | Tagged: Australia, Glenburn, Two Hills Merlot, Two Hills Vineyard | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
Wine bar Kesselstatt in Trier
A place I just love to visit while in my home town Trier, Mosel is a cosy wine bar-cum-restaurant near the cathedral, called Weinstube (wine bar) Kesselstatt.
It is housed in the historic administrative building of the Estate Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt, a well known winery with a long tradition (more than 600 years – difficult for us Australians to comprehend).
In front of the building is a replica of a tomb stone called the “Roman wine ship” found in Neumagen-Drohn, a village at the Mosel river, in 1878. In 220 it used to be one of two stones marking the grave of a Roman wine merchant. Honestly, I would love to get such a tombstone set on my own grave. What a hoot.
Today the winery is owned by the Reh family. Annegret Reh-Gartner manages the 36 ha of prime vineyards located along the rivers: Mosel (12 ha), Saar (12 ha) and Ruwer (12) ha. 98% of the area is under Riesling. The estate calls itself “the Riesling winery”.
When I strolled through the town at the end of March, I could not resist its magnetism and dropped in for a quick glass of wine.
The inside of wine bar Kesselstatt
Because the Kesselstatt estate owns vineyards along the three rivers constituting the former wine region of Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, one has a great choice of different Riesling wines.
I ordered a semi-dry Riesling from Scharzhofberg, a grand-cru of the outstanding Saar Riesling wines. Normally I avoid semi-dry wines but because of the early hours of my visit I just could not go for a dry Riesling.
2010 Scharzhofberger Riesling semi-dry, Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt
What a delight this wine is! I dissolved, so to say, this is Riesling at its best, and I tend to argue that none in the world is better. Lush and full, round but with zest, a titillating pleasure for the palate.
Below you will find pictures of the inside of the bar. There are old barrels filled with bottles, a old wooden press, and a side room with a map of the estates’ vineyard locations and other interesting wine paraphernalia.
Wine bottles in old barrels
A huge wooden wine press with a church bench in front
The function room
When I left the Kesselstatt wine bar revitalized and in high spirits, I walked out to a cherry tree in full blossom with a splendid view of the adjacent church of St. Liebfrauen and the cathedral (Dom, left).
1 Comment | culture, Restaurant Review, Vineyard profile, vineyards, wine, wine bars, wine regions | Tagged: Annegret Reh-Gartner, German wine, Mosel, Mosel Riesling, Neumagen-Dhron, Roman wine ship, Ruwer, Saar, Scharzhofberg, Trier, Weingut Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt, Weinstube Kesselstatt | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
This is just a photo blog entry. One could sense spring when I visited my hometown Trier in March. I deliberately went to the hight at “Perisberg” and have a good look around the vineyards and the city. I love Olewig and its wine festival. Come to Trier, the oldest city in Germany, it’s worth a visit.
The village of Olewig
Steep slope vineyards
The vines are pruned and ready for another season
The main cathedral in Trier
5 Comments | vineyards, wine regions | Tagged: Augusta Treverorum, Mosel, Mosel river, Olewig, Riesling, Trier | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
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The Man from Mosel River
The Man from Mosel River 