February 13, 2011
I am very excited. Recently, I was invited to the above event. From November 14 to 16, 2011 the Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna (RMUTL) in Chiang Mai, Thailand will host the 3rd International Symposium on Tropical Wine.
It will be the most significant gathering of wine experts, scientists, vintners and wine drinkers here in tropical Asia. Thailand is maybe the best developed producer of new latitude wines. Although the Thai wine industry enjoys some protection from outside competition, it’s technological progress is remarkable, many of it’s wines are outstanding.
Wineries such as GranMonte Family Vineyard and PB-Valley Khaoyai Winery have become household names. Many new latitude wines have won major awards at international wine competitions. Chiang Mai and it’s surroundings will be a wonderful location for the event.
Needless to say there is a facebook group to promote the event. I suggest you better join this exciting group to always be up to date about the progress we make.
See you in Chiang Mai in November.
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wine, wine regions | Tagged: Chiang Mai, New Latitude Wines, Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna, Thailand, Tropical wine, wine | 
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Posted by themanfrommoselriver
February 9, 2011
Flat vineyards around the St. Urbanshof winery in Leiwen
There are not only steep slopes and stony vineyards along the Mosel but also flat bits, as in the picture above which shows the vineyards around the winery of St. Urbans-Hof in Leiwen, Mosel.
St. Urbans-Hof Oekonomierat Nic. Weiss Estate is member in the prestigeous VDP, the association of the top wineries in Germany. I visited the cellar door on a bleak November morning last year.
The winery
The entrance to the estate
Cellar door
Cellar door
Cellar door
My purchase
Wine box with label
2009 Laurentiuslay Riesling GG St. Urbans-Hof
The tasting of German “grand cru” (GG=grosses Gewaechs) Riesling wines by the German wine magazine “Weinwelt” awarded 91 points to the ‘2009 Leiwen Laurentiuslay Riesling GG’ by St. Urbans-Hof. I bought a couple of bottles, one of which I openend with a meal of game prepared by my friend Heinz. The wine is a wonderful specimen of Mosel Riesling and shows all the marvelleous characteristics they posses.
My conclusion is that any visitor to the Mosel river should visit the wine village of Leiwen, and – ergo – the fantastic wineries and vineyards to taste these georgeous Riesling wines.
Address:
Weingut St. Urbans-Hof
Urbanusstraße 16
D-54340 Leiwen/Mosel
Tel.: +49 65 07 / 93 77-0
Fax: +49 65 07 / 93 77-30
www.urbans-hof.de
5 Comments | vineyards, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: German wine, Leiwen, Mosel, Mosel Riesling, Riesling, St. Urbanshof, wine | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
February 7, 2011
The entry of di Vino wine bar in Thonglor
If you walk through the Thonglor-Ekkamai neighbourhood in Bangkok you might come to the conclusions that wine bars are like mushrooms, sprouting everywhere.
A good place to hang out, enjoy a glass of wine and have some Italian cuisine, is di Vino, a small and cosy wine bar in Thonglor, Bangkok. The play on words is funny too, is it “divine” or “of wine”? Both I suggest.
Roberto, the manager-owner, is a very sociable guy and a pleasure to talk to. He loves quality in wine and food and he is also a good cook. For my wife he made a fegato dish (liver), very difficult to make indeed, which was just superb. And he offers some great wine choices.
For instance the ‘2003 Il Lemos Negroamaro’ by Leone di Castris. The wine is not displayed on the website of Leone de Castris any more. You will fnid there only younger vintages. But the company has a wide selection of different wines on offer.
Leone de Castris was established in 1925 and the winery was the first in Italy which bottled rose wines. Many of its products are made from indigeneous grape varieties such as Negroamara, Primitivo and Aleatico.
2003 Il Lemos by Leone de Castris
This Negroamaro from Puglia produced in the Salento region, the heel of Italy, is just wonderful. It is a very earthy wine, rustic in character. Often it is blended with the highly scented Malvasia Negra as in the case of Salice Salentino. The grape produces some of the best wines of southern Italy.
Roberto has still some bottles left of the 2003 vintage, but you have to hurry to taste it before it is gone.
Address:
Di Vino
Penny’s Balcony, Thong Lo Soi 55,
Sukhumvit Road, Watthana, Bangkok, 10110
1 Comment | food, wine, wine bars | Tagged: Aleatico, Bangkok, di Vino, Italian wine, Italy, Leone de Castris, Malvasia Negra, Negroamaro, Puglia, Salento, Thailand, wine, wine bar | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
January 30, 2011
Beautiful fish
Pomfret, or Bawal Putih, as we call it in Indonesia, is a wonderful fish; in fact it is one of my favourites. I also love “fish-Sundays” which always lends itself to a beautiful white wine. Mind you, I also drink red wine with fish, but if I have some Riesling in my fridge….
Pomfret
With the chilli-garlic-ginger sauce, the pomfret was just wonderful.
From the outset, I was clear about the wine. Well, actually our wine fridge is quite empty. But from my last trip to Germany in November last year, I brought with me two bottles of precious liquid: Riesling wines from my beloved Mosel river.
You might guess it, yes. I opened a bottle of ‘2009 Dhron Hofberg GG Riesling’ by Grans-Fassian Estate in Leiwen, Mosel. This grand cru (or Grosses Gewaechs as the German call it) is just wonderful.
2009 Dhroner Hofberg Riesling GG by Grans-Fassian Estate
Wine tastings last year by Weinwelt, a German wine magazine, awarded it with 95 Parker points. The wine is luscious and complex, with beautiful peach and citrus aromas. It has the minerality of the Mosel Riesling. The fine acids and the balance of the wine are just mind blowing.
Wine prices in Bangkok are astronomical. For a 5 EURO wine in Germany one has to fork out about 20-30 EURO here. You can have the Dhron Hofberg Riesling for a price below 20 EURO from the cellar door. The trip is worth it. Leiwen is a treasure trove for wine lovers and Riesling geeks.
I wrote about the Grans-Fassian Estate in an earlier blog entry. The winery is also member in the prestigious VDP (the Association of German Quality Wine Estates).
Cheers and “zum Wohl”
Address:
Weingut Grans-Fassian
Römerstraße 28
54340 Leiwen, Mosel
Tel.: +49-6507-3170
Fax: +49-6507-8167
E-Mail: weingut@grans-fassian.de
Openng hours: Mon. to Fri.
8.00-12.00 und 13.30-16.30 h
www.grans-fassian.de
3 Comments | food, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: German wine, Grans-Fassian Estate, Leiwen, Mosel, Mosel river, Mosel wine, Riesling, Weingut Grans-Fassian | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
January 28, 2011
2007 Four Buckets Shiraz, Touriga, Grenache
On a cools summers’ night, red wine is my wine of choice. We had bought half a dozen of reds offered by Sevenhill Cellars through the Family and Friends Wine scheme (we had bought white wines too).
The stylish 2007 blend of Shiraz, Touriga and Grenache called “Four Buckets” is a very nice wine. It goes with and without food. We had it after dinner to enrich our evening when we were sitting in front of our shed enjoying the sunset.
Dark red colour
The blend is rich and luscious. Lots of red berries, full bodied with a good structure and a long finish. We loved the wine. It made our evening. Look out for it. You might download the order form from the internet and send it to the winery.
Leave a Comment » | vineyards, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Clare Valley, Four Buckets, Grenache, Neville Rowe, Sevenhill, Sevenhill Cellars, Shiraz, South Australia, Touriga | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
January 27, 2011
2009 Nolan Pinot Rosé
Rosé is always a nice wine for the hot summers days. We had the chance to taste the ‘2009 Pinot Rosé‘ from Nolan Vineyard, near Badger Creek in Healesville, Yarra Valley.
John and Myrtle Nolan are passionate about their wines. With 2 ha under vines Nolan Vineyard is a so called boutique vineyard. The site at the bottom of the valley is very cold. The vineyard is non-irrigated.
Back label
The wine has a salamon-pink colour. It is a luscious wine with strawberry aromas and a hint of lemon and honey. It is a truly refreshing drink, enjoyed with or withour food.
Address:
Nolan Vineyard
217 Badger Creek Rd,
Healesville VIC 3777
Tel.: +61-3-5962 3435
Leave a Comment » | vineyards, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Australian wine, Badger Creek, Healesville, John Nolan, Nolan Vineyard, Pinot Noir, Rose, Yarra Valley | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
January 26, 2011
Max Allen’s book and three wines from the Upper Goulburn
One of my Christmas presents was a book on wine. I am now the proud owner of Max Allen’s latest book, titled “The Future makers – Australian Wines for the 21st Century”.
So far, I had not had the time to read it, but I glanced at the chapter dealing with our wine region, the Upper Goulburn Wine Region.
Wines from Rees Miller Estate and Jean Paul’s Vineyard
Only three of our vineyards in the region are described in the book. They are: Delatite Winery, Jean Paul’s Vineyard and Rees Miller Estate.
The latter two of these three are practicing biodynamic-organic viticulture which is, in the perception of many conventional vintners, a very complex, complicated and generally difficult way of producing wine. If you talk to biodynamic vintners that’s not at all the case; it’s different of course.
Many conventional vinters have great respect for their biodynamic colleagues. At our recent “welcome of the year 2011 party” at Two Hills Vineyard, the wine-makers and vintners present discussed the challenges of producing healthy grapes at length.
How can they (the bioynamic/organic producers) control the many fungal and other diseases, was one of the pertinent questions? How do they deal with mildew? How about the work in the winery?
Undoubtedly, many of their wines are of outstanding quality. This is also what Max Allen shows in his book. It is certainly worth to explore the production methods of the biodynamic and organic growers. In recent years also many of the larger wineries and vineyards have started to convert to more environmentally friendly methods of production.
Max Allen interviewed Will de Castella, owner and wine-maker of Jean Paul’s Vineyard, how he does it. I highly recommend the study of his answers.
Happy Australia Day veryone.
Leave a Comment » | wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Australian wine, Delatite Winery, Glenburn, Jean Paul's Vineyard, Max Allen, Rees Miller Estate, Two Hills Vineyard, Upper Goulburn Wine region, Will de Castella, wine, Yea | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
January 16, 2011
Sevenhill Cellars ‘2007 College Red’
When I opened the bottle of ‘2007 College Red’ by Sevenhill Cellars from the Clare Valley and had the first sip I thought how awful. But after a short while only, my perception changed. The wine “opened up” so to say.
I just had to get used to the blend: one of Cabernet Franc with Malbec. Unusual somehow with dense aromas, a full palate of red and black fruit, weighty with a long finish. In Argentina Malbec is blended with many other red varieties but not so in Australia.
Beautiful. I immediately regretted that we had only one bottle of it. It came as part of a special order pack. We will have to order more from Sevenhill Cellars. At A$ 12 per bottle the wine is quite affordable.
Very dark coloured 2007 College Red
The back label
Agnolotti pasta
The blend of Cabernet Franc-Malbec went very well with the food: Agnolotti (originating from the Piedmont region of Italy) with mushrooms. It made a very pleasant lunch on a warm summers day on our farm in Glenburn.
Leave a Comment » | wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Cabernet Franc, Clare Valley, College Red, Malbec, Sevenhill Cellars, South Australia, wine | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
January 14, 2011
If you see the pictures of the Queensland and New South Wales floods, it is hard to believe that we in Victoria had perfect weather conditions and enjoyed two beautiful weeks of a mild, but enjoyable summer over the Christmas break.
It is also hard to imagine that the area affected by the floods covers the size of France and Germany combined. The tragic loss of many lives makes me sad. The individual stories are heartbreaking. It is to be hoped that further losses and damage can be avoided in the future.
But Summer calls for summer wines, Rosé being one of them. Timo Mayer, winemaker and owner of the Mayer Vineyard in the Yarra Valley produces just one such wine. His ‘2010 Bloody Hill Rosé’ made in the traditional way out of Pinot Noir grapes, is a just wonderful; it is delicate, complex and refined.
I also love its colour. I wish we had more bottles of it but so is life.
Summer lunch with Timo Mayer Rosé
2010 Bloody Hill Rosé
We enjoyed the wine with an Italian main course consisting of gnocchi with a side salad.
Address
The Mayer Vineyard
Timo Mayer, Miller Road,
Healesville, Victoria
Tel.:+61-3-5967 3779
e-mail: timomayer@bigpond.com.au
http://www.timomayer.com.au
Leave a Comment » | wine | Tagged: Australian wine, Bloody Hill Rosé, Mayer Vineyard, Pinot Noir, Rose, Timo Mayer, Victoria, Yarra Valley | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
January 5, 2011
What a beautiful red snapper
My friend Brett Travis had given us the above red snapper before leaving on a fishing trip to Samoa. This was a wonderful opportunity for another wonderful lunch at our vineyard. We prepared the fish for a six persons meal.
Yummy veggies
It was a beautiful summers day. The fish was “crying” for a white wine too. We took the opportunity to open one of the recently acquired bottles from Sevenhill Cellars in the Clare Valley in South Australia where our mate Neville Rowe is the general manager.
The ‘2009 Inigo Riesling’ is a typical Clare Valley wine. It is young and fresh and lively. Of course I prefer German Riesling wines, and it is my view that Australian Riesling cannot reach that ultimate Riesling level which I love so much.
Sevenhill Cellars is the oldest wineries in the Clare Valley. It was founded by Jesuits in 1851 to produce sacramental wines. We enjoyed the “sacrament” with the delicious fish, and thank all our benefactors. Cheers mate.
2009 Inigo Riesling by Sevenhill, Clare Valley
Leave a Comment » | food, vineyards, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Australian Riesling, Australian wine, Brett Travis, Clare Valley, Glenburn, Inigo Riesling, red snapper, Riesling, Sevenhill, Sevenhill Cellars, South Australia, Two Hills Vineyard, Victoria | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
The Man from Mosel River 