April 30, 2014
Through a beautiful bartering arrangement I came into the possession of a bottle of ‘2010 Mandala Prophet’, a single vineyard Pinot Noir by the Mandala Winery from the Yarra Valley.
Mandala has two vineyards, one in Dixon’s Creek where the seat of the winery is located, the other in Yarra Junction, a vineyard at higher elevation where on 10 acres a Burgundy clone of the variety is grown.
2010 Mandala Prophet Pinot Noir
Years ago I have visited the winery and eaten in the estate’s restaurant but have not visited recently. Mandala is owned by the Mulder family. The wine-maker is Charles Smedley; the viticulturist is Julian Parrott.
When I was given the bottle and red the name on the label, I was intrigued. Calling a Pinot Noir wine, “the prophet”, is quite something. Having lived in Indonesia for 10 years I have other associations when I hear the word ‘prophet’ than a grape wine.
We enjoyed this wine the very same day the bottle was given to me. A dinner with beautiful red meat was the right occasion to open a Pinot Noir. The wine did not disappoint.
In fact it turned out to be one of the most delicious Pinot Noir wines I drank during my three week on the farm in Glenburn.
The Prophet is not made every year; only in exceptional years is this single site wine produced (so far 2006, 2008, 2010). James Halliday, the Australian wine authority awarded it 94 Parker Points. I loved the plum and raspberry aromas of this well balanced and complex wine.
When you buy this wine here in Bangkok, you will have to pay about 1,500 Bath per bottle. You should try it; it is definitely worth that money.
1 Comment | 
food and wine, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Alison Mulder, Australia, Charles Smedley, James Halliday, Jason Mulder, Julian Parrott, Mandala, Mandala winery, Parker Points, Pinot Noir, Victoria, wine, Yarra Valley | 
Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
February 28, 2014
Traditional folk dances to welcome the guests
The Gran Monte Harvest Festival was the highlight of the year for me here in Thailand. For the third time in a row I had the opportunity to participate in this wonderful event at the Gran Monte Family Winery in the Khao Yai region, about 2 1/2 hours northeast of Bangkok. And it is not getting boring, just the opposite. Each year Khun Visooth and his team surprise their guests with new highlights.
Khun Visooth overseeing the competition
On the wine front of course everybody is eager to taste the new vintage. This year we were, among others, looking forward to the second vintage of the Viognier. Nikki Lohitnavy, the wine-maker, is doing a great job. I just love her hand grafted wines. And every year it seems they are getting better and better.
Margit with Sole, the Chenin Blanc
For tasting notes, please visit the wine blog of my friend Oliver, the Winegetter. I cannot do tasting notes like him; just reading Oliver’s descriptions is mouth watering.
Ripening grapes
Another novelty this year was that the evening program of the event was held in new building for the VinCotto Restaurant. After the addition of the tower, a wine cellar and a much enlarged main hall, the new VinCotto restaurant has the flair of a traditional country inn. I particularly liked the various bits of veranda which reminded me of an Australian porch.
Together with my wife Margit, I threw myself into the festivities. Since we stayed overnight in the cottage at the estate, we did not have to worry about anything. Many musicians joined us in the evening and entertained the crowd with the good old songs from the last century: rock and roll.
Since we are leaving Thailand for Europe in June, it felt a bit like a farewell. But the good thing is that to travel back home to Australia we have to come via Thailand. Therefore, there is hope that this was not our last harvest festival. We will come again.
Cheers
21 Comments | culture, food, food and wine, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Chenin Blanc, Gran Monte Family Estate, Khao Yai, Khun Visooth, New Latitude Wines, Nikki Lohitnavy, Thailand, The Winegetter, VinCotto Restaurant, Viognier, Visooth Lohitnavy | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
February 5, 2014
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 39,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 14 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Click here to see the complete report.
2 Comments | culture, food, food and wine, general, Restaurant Review, Vineyard profile, vineyards, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: 2013 vintage, review, Riesling, The Man from Mosel River, Two Hills Vineyard, vintage, wine | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
January 28, 2014
Margit, Helen, Michael, Lucy and Charlotte
After six weeks on the farm the time has come to go back to Bangkok. All good things (bad ones too) must come to an end, and the last days on the farm are always the most difficult ones. The brain tends to wonder off and indulges in the planning of activities which need to be done after the return to the job. At the same time last minutes projects await to be completed on the farm and in the vineyard. It is always the same anxiety which descends on the unprepared but well informed holiday maker.
As always it is very educative to spend such a long and uninterrupted time in Glenburn. The learning is amazing, and this on many different levels. Time and place attain a different meaning, and the observation of nature enriches the mind. The nights at the vineyard are dark when there is no moon, The milkyway looks stunning and the quiet is amazing. No street noise, nothing, things we are used from our life ini Bangkok where the city never sleeps.
While I was reading a historic account of the Crimean war from 1853-56, written by Orlando Figes, I was also browsing through a book about the history of Yea (by Harvey Blanks), the charming country town just 35 km north of Glenburn, which I have in our bookshelf. I found out that Yea, formerly known as Muddy Creek, was named after Colonel Lacy Walter Gilew Yea, an English officer who took part in the battles of Alama and Inkerman, and who lost his life during the siege of Sebastopol on June 18, 1855. After that, Melbourne street names such as Alama, Inkerman and Balaklava gained a new meaning. Who would have thought that innocuous things such as the name of a country town in central Victoria and a war fought more than 150 years ago in a very different part of the world could be connected?
Living on the farm right in the middle of an ancient Australian landscape also connects you to arts. In this case the Australian pastoral landscape paintingS. We visited the TarraWarra Estate to see the current art exhibition and have a bite at the restaurant of the TarraWarra Winery. Surprise surprise, a show by Russell Drysdale was on display, whose modernists pastoral landscapes connects the interracial histories of Australia.
The highlight on the culinary front were certainly the meal we had at the TerraWarra restaurant. I also liked the Viognier-Marsanne-Rousanne blend, an excellent white for hot summers days. Moreover, a visit to Rocky Passes Estate which is located between Seymour and Yea, gave us the opportunity to reconnect with Candy and Vitto, the charming owners. Candy prepared delicious tapas for us, and the award winning 2010 Rocky Passes Shiraz is just a ripper of a wine. Vitto does not only make delicious wines (with 90 plus Parker points) but also exquisite furniture. A visit is highly recommended.
I also discovered the Fratelli wines who make a very nice Riesling from grapes grown in the Upper Goulburn region of Central Victoria. Timo Mayer has a new Pinot Noir made from grapes grown in the Yarra Valley on granite soil. The current release is the first vintage and promises to become another star at the “Pinot Noir heaven”, if you know what I mean.
A week of sweltering heat above 40 Celsius taught us the importance of a fire plan (which we did not have but have now) and the positive effect our 12 mega liter irrigation dam can have for suffering humans. Every two hours we jumped in to cool down during those hot days. We survived a second heat wave with temperatures in the high 30ies. The hot weeks were interrupted by very cool days with even cooler nights. That might be one of the reasons why our own wines last so long. The fine and firm acids of our grapes allow for the Merlot wines to age so well. We tasted the 2004, 2006 and 2008 vintages and found that the 2004 Two Hills Merlot did still hold its freshness. Also the fruit (red cherries mainly) was still vivid. The younger vintages were less elegant and showed rather “umpf wine” characteristics.
2004 Two Hills Merlot
Our vineyard is still in a “mothball state”, meaning we are keeping the vines alive but do not produce fruit. Nonetheless, together with my twin daughters, I attacked the blackberries whose roots we tried to dig out. We did the Chardonnay and the Pinot Noir blocks, and left the other two (Merlot and SB) for my next visit. Various repairs of the cottage and the shed were completed. We also cleared fallen branches and other wood from the paddocks. All in all, the property looks very nice and well kept. I can leave it behind with a laughing eye, as we say in German. The other one will, as always when leaving Two Hills, filled with tears. Cheers
3 Comments | culture, food and wine, history and culture, Vineyard profile, vineyards, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Australia, Candy Westney, Fratelli, Glenburn, Mayer Vineyard, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Rocky Passes Estate, Russell Drysdale, TarraWarra Estate, Timo Mayer, Two Hills Merlot, Two Hills Vineyard, vine, Vitto Oles, Walter Gilew Yea, wine, Yarra Valley, Yea | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
November 29, 2013
When I opened the Bangkok Post last weekend, I could not believe my eyes. The headline red “Going wild for Cambodian wine”. Well, I thought why not Cambodia. After Indonesia (on Bali island), Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar, another Southeast Asian country has joined the club of vine cultivators and wine makers.
The grapes for the wine-making are collected from wild forest grapes, the article says. There are photos available also on the internet but they are not so clear as regards the kind of vinus vinifera (if it is vinifera).
Bennett Murray and his piece in the Bangkok Post
The wine-making process described in the Bangkok Post article reads as follows:
“The manufacturing process is much the same as for wine everywhere. The juice is extracted from the grapes, and then palm sugar and yeast added”.
Palm sugar, I thought, that’s not just the usual additive to grape wine as far as I know. The article mentioned the problems with the grape quality. Since it is collected and not estate grown-fruit, I can imagine the magnitude of the issue. However, I am still interested to get a closer look at this product.
But there is also a real winery in Cambodia. Located in Battambang province, Leng Chan Thol and her husband Chan Thay Chhoueng, have planted a vineyard. They grow on a 3 ha plot of land mainly Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.
I would love to try some of their wines.
My next trip to Cambodia should provide an opportunity for just that.
Address
Chan Thay Chhoueng plantation is located at
#72, Bot Sala Village, Banon District, 16 kilometres south of Battambang City.
For more information call tel.: 012 665 238.
Leave a Comment » | history and culture, vines, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Address Chan Thay Chhoueng, Bangkok Post, Battambang province, Bennett Murray, Cambodia, Chan Thay Chhoueng, Leng Chan Thol, New Latitude Wines, Tropical wine, tropics, vine, wine | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
October 29, 2013
The following wine tasting was a remarkable event which we utterly enjoyed. I do not include tasting notes here; we were not in the mood to write all that stuff down. We wanted to enjoy each others company and get on with the exploration of the wines.
The Oechsle wine house in Trier
The tasting facilities
Wine stored in the tasting room
The wine tasting costs about 15 EURO/Person and includes six wines. So what were the wines we had included in the tasting, you might ask?
They were as follows:
– 2011 Chardonnay by Sektgut Laurentius
– 2011 Elbling Classic Margarethenhof by Juergen Weber
– 2011 Riesling Spaetlese (old vines) by the Bremm winey
– 2011 Ayler Riesling by Peter Lauer
– 2011 Chardonnay by von Nell Estate in Kasel
– 2011 Kasler Kehrnagel (off dry) by Recihsgraf von Kesselstatt
and two red wines
– Rotweikoenigin (red wine queen) by Longen-Schloeder
– 2011 Pinot Noir by Chateau Edmond de la Fontain
You will have noticed that this in more than six wines. In fact the sommelier was so encouraged by our enthusiasm that he served us some selected drops.
Elbling, my new passion
Riesling from the Mosel
Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt, semi dry Riesling
The Mosel produces also excellent Pinot Noir wines
The jolly wine tasters: The Weber and Adam families
2 Comments | culture, food and wine, vineyards, wine, wine bars, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Elbling, Mosel, Oechsle, Oechsle wine bar, Pinot Noir, Riesling, semi-dry, sommelier, Trier, wine, wine bars, wine tastings | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
September 30, 2013
The Fuerst Winery in Metzdorf
My day job does not leave me much times these days. However, as promised, I wanted to share with you some of my wine experience during the last summer vacation in Europe. Today I want to inform you about our visit of the “Hoffest”, a kind of open day with all kinds of program for the guests including food and wine of the Fuerst winery in Metzdorf, a small village on the banks of the Sauer river.
Elbling, one of the oldest vine varieties
The Fuerst family is know for their excellent Elbling wines. Elbling, a white grape, is one of the oldest grape varieties in Europe. It’s origins are not entirely clear. Some claim that the Romans brought the grape to Gallia and Germania, others say that is was an indigenous variety cultivated by Celtic communities long before the Romans arrived.
However that may be. It is very high in acidity, and therefore suitable for the production of sparkling. The total area under Elbling grapes has decreased over the years. Less than 600 ha are planted to Elbling grapes these days, most of it along the Mosel river. Luxembourg has about 120 ha of Elbling vineyards.
The wine is spritzy and fruity, in short a straight forward affair, a pleasant and down to earth experience. It should be drunk young.
It was a splendid day when the six of us visited on a Sunday morning. Unfortunately we had missed the breakfast and morning walk in the vineyards, which was offered as an culinary and educational experience for the guests.
Because everybody was in the vineyards, the seats and tables in the winery were rather empty when we arrived which left us with lost of choice. Just about 30 minutes later the place should fill up very quickly and we were lucky to have a comfortable place.
We were hungry. The photos below show the different dishes we ordered. Apart from various cold platters, even a simple sausage with fries could be ordered. The barbecue and grilled meat were the favourites with many guests.
I was eager to taste the Elbling wines. They should not disappoint me. There is nothing more refreshing on a hot summers day, I must say. The relatively low alcohol of the wine also helps.
Before we left I searched for the vintner; and the young wine-maker sold me a few bottles. I was amazed. Here you get value for your money. Please check out the price list of the Fuerst winery. You will find many pleasing offers.
The man from the Mosel with daughter Lucy
Concluding I will say that Elbling is an underrated grape variety but makes very pleasing wines. If you visit the Mosel river and its tributaries, please plan for an excursion along the Elbling wine route and visit some of the lesser known hamlets and villages and taste the wines of small family owned vineyards and wineries.
Leave a Comment » | culture, food, food and wine, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Elbling, German wine, Metzdorf, Mosel, Riesling, Trier, Weingut Fuerst, wine | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
August 13, 2013
The Mosel river near Trittenheim
In the picture above you will see the wine village of Leiwen (left). Further around the bend of the river (to the right) is the wine village of Trittenheim. This is basically the view of the Mosel you will get when you drive though the Hunsrueck mountains.
Trittenheim, Mosel
And this was also our first view of the Mosel when we arrived in Germany for our summer vacation this year. We were mesmerized. What a splendid view, what a splendid landscape, what a splendid river, how good to be home.
From the outset let me tell you we had a great time (only about 3 weeks), and despite our at best erratic planning and our lousy preparation, we were able to line up some unique, memorable and exquisite encounters with the wine and food world.
I intend to write in more detail about most of these encounters. But let me not be too optimistic as regards the time available for blogging.
So what were the highlights of our visit?
Well, we had the best pork-knuckle ever (!) after a two hour march through the forests near the Ammersee on our way to the monastery of Andechs, a famous location for catholic pilgrims. Bavaria is a fantastic place to visit especially if the weather gods are smiling on you, and smile they did. We had warm, at times even hot, weather during the whole time of our holidays.
Along the Mosel we visited three wineries – two along the Ruwer, one on the Sauer, both tributaries of the Mosel – and had one wine tasting in Trier city at Oechsle. Wonderful, exquisite, I can only rave about the many fresh and zesty wines we had the opportunity to sample.
The wineries we visited were:
– Fuerst Winery, Metzdorf, Sauer
– Karthaeuserhof Estate, Eitelsbach, Ruwer
– Maximin Gruenhaus C. von Schubert Winery-Estate, Mertesdorf, Ruwer
Another highlight was the visit of one of the best restaurants in the Alsace region of France. For a family lunch we went to the Auberge du Cheval Blanc in Lembach, Alsace near Wissembourg in the Vosges mountains.
Needless to say we spent many afternoon and evenings in wine bars and beer gardens, among them the wine bar Kesselstatt and the wine bar “Weinsinnig”, two of my favourite places to relax and enjoy a good glass of wine in Trier.
More soon. Stay tuned.
PS: I made some gorgeous pictures.
1 Comment | culture, food, food and wine, general, history and culture, vineyards, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Alsace, Ammersee, Andechs, Bavaria, food, France, French wine, German wine, Karthaeuserhof, Leiwen, Lembach, Maximin Gruenhaus, Mosel, restaurants, Riesling, Trittenheim, Vosges mountains, Weingut C. von Schubert, Weingut Fuerst, wine, Wissembourg | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
July 8, 2013
‘2012 Colombard’ by Monsoon Valley
Many white wines go well with Asian cuisine, for instance my beloved Riesling, either in its dry or semi-dry incarnations.
Fortunately, Thailand has his own wines which do pair well with its cuisine. Chenin Blanc and Viognier wines from Gran Monte Winery, as well as Chenin Blanc from PB Valley come to mind.
One of my least favourite grapes, Colombard can also make a good wine to drink with spicy Asian food. Monsoon Valley Wine produces a Colombard wine (Classic Range) which I find ideal with spicy cuisine.
The grapes are produced near Hua Hin, a coastal town about 3 hours south of Bangkok. I personally have not visited the Hua Hin Hills Vineyard as yet but it is on my to-do list.
This Colombard wine is a blend made from Chenin Blanc, Colombard and Malaga Blanc grapes. It is light and fruity with some citrus aromas and fine acidity but has some residual sweetness which makes is well suited to accompany spicy dishes.
The 2012 vintage has won various bronze medals for instance at the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition in 2012, and the FBAT Wine Challenge in 2012.
Spicy prawn noodles
4 Comments | food, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Chenin Blanc, Colombard, food, Gran Monte Winery, PB Valley Khao Yai Winery, prawn noodles, restaurants, spicy asian food, Thai wine, Thai Wine Association, Thai wine industry, Viognier, viognier wines | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
July 7, 2013
The ‘2007 Cascinotta Barbaresco’ by Angelo Negro, Piedmont, Italy is a wonderful specimen of wine from this premium wine Producing region in Northern Italy. The Nebbiolo grapes display some sweetness which can also be sensed in this wine.
The tannins are strong but have already mellowed a little so that drinking it in 2013 is already a real pleasure. With age the tannins will be even softer, but…I could not wait for that.
The colour is deep red; the cherry aromas with some vanilla and hint of rose-petals leave an impression on the palate. The medium bodied wine has a good structure and a long finish.
We paired it with an open Mexican pie, a meat-bean dish which was prepared by my daughter Lucy. I usually add some chilli and the spicyness goes well with the residual sweetness of the Nebbiolo.
This is a lovely food and wine experience which I highly recommend.
1 Comment | food, food and wine, vineyards, wine, wine regions | Tagged: Angelo Negro, Barbaresco, Cascionotta, Italian wine, Italy, Nebbiolo, Piedmont, wine | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
The Man from Mosel River 