January 17, 2013
Bangkok Post page on “California Dreaming”
I am always happy when I find essays and articles about wine and wineries in newspapers and magazines. So it was with the above piece, published on January 11, 2013 in the Bangkok Post.
“California Dreaming” is mainly about wine-maker Peter Vella and the wine empire of the Gallo family in California.
The author of this article tries to address the “angst” of people who are new to wine and wine drinking and first-time wine consumers. Fortunately, wine was never the drink of an elite only. This is only so in Thailand because the high taxes on imported and domestically produced wines which are taking wine out of the reach of the common person.
Fortunately, I come from a different tradition. In the Mosel valley where I grew up, it was the simple people, the famous “man on the street”, the villagers, the workers, who were wine drinkers and many of them are experts as far as the quality of the heavenly fermented juice is concerned.
Further down on the page some wines made by Peter Vella are mentioned. These wines are now available in Thailand it seems. Vella offers among others a “Fresh White” (Chardonnay), a “Smooth Red” (Cabernet Sauvignon) and a “Rich Red” (Shiraz).
And then it comes.
The retail price of these wines in Bangkok is 299 Thai Bath only, the equivalent of about 7.5 Euro per bottle. Don’t forget there is almost 400% taxes on these liquids. For this in a Thai context modest price, I would get a solid, hand-made (artisan) Riesling in my native land. Instead, what will I get for my 299 Bath? An industrial product of a mass produced grape by a giant winery in California.
When considering the level of wine prices in Thailand, tears are dropping from my eyes. We need to be happy that we do get wine at all. And that the variety and choice of wines in Bangkok wine shops and wine bars has improved over the almost 5 years that I live in the City of Angels.
How about the wines produced in Thailand? Thailand has a small but vibrant wine industry.
There are about 10 grape and wine-making ventures, some of them boutique family vineyards, others medium to large sized wineries. They have to strive for the premium segment of the market, not the mass-produced base-wines as the ones mentioned above.
I highly recommend you try some of the indigenous products the next time you order a bottle of wine in Thailand.
2 Comments | 
culture, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Bangkok Post, Californian wine, E&J Gallo, German wine, Mosel valley, Peter Vella, Riesling, thai bath, Thai Wine Association, Thai wine industry, Thailand, Vella Vineyards, wine consumers, wine drinkers, Wine drinking, wine prices | 
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Posted by themanfrommoselriver
January 13, 2013
The other day (actually it was about a month ago during my last visit in Trier, Mosel), I had some fabulous reds at “Weinsinnig”, my favourite wine bar in Trier.
Both wines come from the Pfalz (Palatinate) wine region in Germany. Markus Schneider Estate is located in Ellerstadt, and Rings Estate in Freinsheim. Both estates are led by young and innovative vintners and wine-makers.
2010 Black Print by Schneider
I have written about the wines of Markus Schneider before. ‘Schneider Ursprung’ is a wonderful cuveé (blend) of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Portugieser.
The ‘2010 Black Print’ is a blend of St. Laurent, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Mitos and Cabernet Dorsa (hold your breath). The last two grape varieties are new crossings (hybrids) produced in Germany.
The wine was matured in small oak barrels. It has an almost black colour, as the name suggests. The fruit aromas are very concentrated, some plum and cassis but also blackberry. The tannins are already soft enough and well balanced. This is a yummy wine at a very reasonable price (around 12 Euro/bottle). But you have to be quick to pick up the remaining bottles.
Markus Schneider is not only very innovative as the composition of his blends are concerned but also the labelling of his wines is new and against German traditions. The Wine Guy has done a portrait of the winery which might be of interest to you.
2011 Das kleine Kreuz by Rings Estate
Also the second wine I tasted at Weinsinnig was a red cuveé from the Pfalz. The ‘2011 Das kleine Kreuz’ by Rings Estate is a blend of Merlot, St. Laurent, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
The brothers Andreas and Steffen Rings appeared 2007 on the German wine scene. That was the year that the Gault & Millau wine guide included the winery for the first time. Last year the brothers won the German red wine award.
This wine is just wonderful, awesome, fabulous. The density of the fruit, the well balanced acidity, the soft tannins and the long finish are all very striking. I could not believe it, my vintners soul cried more, more, more.
If we only could have these wines in Bangkok.
Address:
WEINSINNIG
Weinbar & Verkauf
Palaststraße 12
54290 Trier
Tel.: +49-651-979 01 56
info@weinsinnig.com
www.weinsinnig.com
Weingut Markus Schneider
Am Hohen Weg 1
67158 Ellerstadt
Tel.: +49(0)6237 – 7288
Fax: +49(0)6237 – 977230
info@black-print.net
Weingut Rings
Duerkheimer Hohl 21
67251 Freisenheim
Te.: +49-6353-2231
info@weingut-rings.de
http://www.weingut-rings.de
www.black-print.net
1 Comment | wine, wine bars, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Cabernet Dorsa, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Mitos, Cabernet Sauvignon, cuveé, Gault Millau, German red wine award, Germany, Merlot, Mosel, Palatinate, Pfalz, Rings Estate, St. Laurent, Syrah, The Wine Guy, Trier, Weinbar Weinsinnig, Weingut Markus Schneider, Weingut Rings, Weinsinnig, wine bar | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
January 3, 2013
My daughter Lucy gave me the above new wine journal as a Christmas gift. Now I can again systematically record the wines I was tasting.
Often I displace my notes and when I want to write about a specific wine a frantic search stands at the beginning of a blog entry.
Alas, order has been restored. Now I only have to use the book for the intended purpose.
I am ready for the wines of 2013 it seems. Bring em on!
Leave a Comment » | culture, food, food and wine, vines, vineyard management, Vineyard profile, vineyards, wine, wine bars, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: food, German wine, new wine, records, tasting notes, wine, wine journal, wine judging, wine records, wine tasting | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
January 2, 2013
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
19,000 people fit into the new Barclays Center to see Jay-Z perform. This blog was viewed about 72,000 times in 2012. If it were a concert at the Barclays Center, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Click here to see the complete report.
Leave a Comment » | culture, food, food and wine, history and culture, Restaurant Review, vines, vineyard management, Vineyard profile, vineyards, wine, wine bars, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Bangkok, best wine of the year, German wine, Mosel, Thai wine, Thai wine industry, The Man from Mosel River, Trier, vintner, wine, wine blogger, wine blogging, wine of the year | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
December 31, 2012
What to do on the 31 of December? Well, I thought to check out my wine fridge. Small as it is, the review did not take very long.
I was amazed that my wine collection included wines from Germany (yes mostly Riesling wines), Austria, Italy, Canada, Australia, China, Vietnam, Myanmar and of course Thailand. This makes eight countries, four in the West and four in the East.
I also realized that I have no French wine in stock.
1982 Scharzhofberger Spaetlese
Two wines in particular I look forward to taste in 2013.
One is a ‘1982 Scharzhofberger Riesling Spaetlese’ by Egon Mueller from Wiltingen at the Saar river, the second a ‘2009 Pinot Noir Centgrafenberg Grand Cru’ from Rudolf Fuerst in Buergstadt, Frankonia.
2009 Centgrafenberg GG Spaetburgunder
Both wines, both terroirs and both vintners are among the top in Germany.
The Riesling bottle looks OK, just the label has suffered a bit. I wonder what a 30 year old wine will taste like. In any case it is a treasure. I wonder when I shall open it?
The bottle of Pinot Noir I bought from Fuerst junior during a wine tasting at Karthaeuserhof in Eitelsbach last August.
There are of course other treasures in my wine fridge. More about this next year. Now I will get ready for the New Years party.
I wish all of you a good start into 2013, and stay tuned to the Man from Mosel River.
Leave a Comment » | culture, general, vineyards, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Buergstadt, Centgrafenberg, Egon Mueller, Franken, Frankonia, Mosel, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Riesling wines, Rudolf Fuerst, Saar, Saar river, Scharzhofberg, Spaetburgunder, Wiltingen, wine collection | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
December 30, 2012
Before the end of the year I want to return to the wines of my host country Thailand. As you know I have written about the Thai wine industry, Thai wines and Thai wineries before. Thai wines have received international recognition, and the industry, though tiny by international standards, is progressing well.
The old vine grower’s quote may still apply, “that grape growing and wine making are easy, that only the first 200 years are difficult”. So in Thailand the search for the right variety and the right terroir are still ongoing and experimentation is the rule rather than the exception. Having said this I believe that the Thai wine industry has made tremendous progress and shortened the learning curve. This is in part due to very talented and open-minded wine-makers and vignerons.
This time of the year is the best season Thailand has to offer. The Thai winter in Bangkok with temperatures ranging from 32 Celsius in the day and 24 Celsius at night, with dry winds and blue sky, is just marvellous. The lower morning temperatures make everybody more relaxed and cheerful.
Greek salad
In such conditions light summer lunches are the fashion. We had a kind of Greek salad and some salmon on beetroot. Very lovely.
Greek salad and salmon on beetroot
Thai white wines are a very good accompaniment with this type of food. Fortunately, I was given some bottles of the Gran Monte 2012 vintage (thank you Khun Visooth Lohitnavy). Gran Monte Estate is one of the top Thai vineyards and winery.
The 2012 Viognier is a wonderful wine. I think that Khun Nikki Lohitnavy, the wine-maker, has done a marvellous job. This is maybe the best white wine I have had from anywhere in 2012.
The grapes for this wine are grown at 350 m above sea level in the Asoke Valley, in the Khao Yai region. The skin contact was short, only 3 hours. Wild ferments in new oak puncheons did a great job. The 5 month on lees seem also to have benefited the wine. The alcohol content is only 12% vol. Total acidity is 7.1 g/L. Residual sugar is 1.4 g/L and the ph is 3.26.
I tasted stone fruit, a bit of apricot, and also some tropical fruit. The wine is well balanced, had a superb structure and fine acidity. I love the long finish.
This is the only Viognier wine grown in Thailand! I believe that the variety is well suited to the tropical conditions and shows great promise.
I think the wine is going to be released soon. So look out for this 2012 Viognier by Gran Monte and ask for it if you are patronizing wine bars in Bangkok.
51 Comments | wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Asoke Valley, Gran Monte Estate, Khao Yai, New Latitude Wines, Thai wine, Thai wine industry, Thailand, Tropical wine, Viognier, white wines | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
December 28, 2012
2007 Marynissen Estates Syrah
We had Canadian friends over for boxing day lunch. They had come from Beijing (where they now live and work) and were on holidays in the kingdom. It was a wonderful opportunity for a reunion, and we made the most of it.
I had prepared various meets on my barbecue (on my Weber, also from Canada): large chunks of beef and pork skewers. It was easy to select the wine.
The bottle of ‘2007 Marynissen Estates Syrah’ from Marynissen Estates, Niagara-on-the-Lake, in Ontario was just the right stuff.
I had only this one bottle which was hand carried all the way from Ontario, then stored in my mothers house in Trier for a while, until I had space in my suitcase to carry it to Bangkok.
In short: this was a true rarity.
2007 Syrah by Marynissen Estates, Niagara-on-the-Lake
When we visited Canada two years ago, we had also visited some wineries in Prince Edward County as well as near the Niagara falls. Marynissen Estates was one of the latter.
You can look up my archives of the Man from Mosel River where you will find reviews of Del Gatto Estates Winery, Closson Chase Vineyards, Huff Estate and The Grange of Prince Edward County Estates. My glands go berserk when these names come over my tongue.
The back label
2007 was a ripper of a vintage in Ontario with little rain and many dry and sunny days.
I do not know if I could taste all what is written up here on the back label. The wine is definitely a Rhone style wine. The colour is a very dark and beautiful deep red.
It stinks when you catch the first whiff with your nose. Burned tire aromas come to mind. But when you got used to that, it is the most beautiful drop of red you can imagine. Smooth and full, intensive dark fruit. I wish more wines were made that way.
My experience is that you cannot get Canadian wines outside Canada. The only exception is ice wine which is offered in duty free shops in airports, mostly from Inniskillin Wines.
But if you happen to know where to get Canadian wines in Thailand, please let me know.
The wine regions of Canada are certainly worth a visit.
Address:
Marynissen Estates
1209 Concession 1
RR#6,
Niagara-on-the-Lake
Ontario, Canada L0S 1J0
Tel: +1-905-468-7270
Fax: +1-905-468-5784
info@marynissen.com
www.marynissen.com
3 Comments | food and wine, Vineyard profile, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Canada, Canadian wine, Canadian wine industry, Marynissen Estates, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Prince Edward County, red wine, Syrah | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
December 27, 2012
Steep vineyards along the Mosel river
When I visited my home town Trier recently, I came across an article in the local newspaper about the joint marketing efforts of vintners of the Mosel river.
With the help of government (in this case the European Union), producers from three countries – France, Luxembourg and Germany – have united their efforts to promote their produce: wine from the Mosel river.
“Terroir Moselle“ is the name of the undertaking. The project shall benefit about 4,000 vintners across the borders of the three countries. It includes about 229 villages and hamlets along the river Mosel which are involved in grape and wine production.
The project was started in 2010 for a duration of three years. About 20 associations, institutes and other bodies from the three countries had initiated it after preparatory work in 2009.
The total area under vines along the Mosel is about 10,500 ha, 180 ha of which in the Lorraine, France; 1,350 ha in Luxembourg, and the remainder in Germany (Saar 110 ha and Mosel 8,880 ha).
The Moselle
“River, terroir, grape production and wine making” are the unifying features of the project. Producers in the three countries face similar challenges. Many are small family units with insufficient “muscle” to raise awareness for their products: high quality wines from the Mosel river, in highly competitive markets.
Unfortunately, the website does not give an account of the achievements and the impact of the joint undertaking. The newspaper article mentioned ‘joint tasting across borders’ and ‘presentations in international wine shows’ as examples.
The members of “Terroir Moselle” have now to come up with a plan to sustain activities after the end of the funding period (December 2013). The total amount of EU support for the three years is 250,000 EURO.
I wish them well.
7 Comments | wine, wine regions | Tagged: climate, environment, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Mosel, Moselle, nature, Riesling, science, Terroir Moselle, Trier | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
December 24, 2012
‘2012 Arum Fields Chenin BLanc Reserve’ by Darling Cellars
Ever since residing in Bangkok, Thailand I have learned to appreciate a grape variety which was not on my wanted list before: Chenin Blanc. Thai vineyards and wineries are producing some outstanding Chenin Blanc wines.
So when I had a chance to taste a South African version of it, I bought this bottle right away. The colour of the wine is golden. I was a bit surprised about the intense apple aromas I tasted with the first sip. The wines is soft but still crisp.
The tasting notes by Darling Cellars speak of guava flavours. The wine has 13% alcohol. The grapes come from non-irrigated vines. The wine makers are Abé Beukes and Welma Myburgh.
The vineyard is located in the Darling district in the Western Cape, which used to be a dairy area, about an hour from Cape Town. The mean annual rainfall of the region is 600 mm only (occurring from April to August). The mean temperature is 24 degrees Celsius.
I will try this wine again. Next time with some food.
Address:
Darling Cellars
Mamre Weg Station, R315,
Darling 7345, South Africa
Phone:+27 22 492 2276
www.darlingcellars.co.za
7 Comments | vineyards, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Abé Beukes & Welma Myburgh, annual rainfall, Cape Town, Chenin Blanc, dairy area, Darling Cellars, Darling district, Darling Tourism, South Africa, wine, wine makers | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
December 23, 2012
Mosel in mid December near Bullay (shot taken from the train)
Is the retirement of the Man from Mosel River imminent?
Every December I ponder the very same question. Shall I continue this blog or not?
You might have noticed that I am struggling this year. The last three months were particularly painful. My day job is sucking up all my energies. I have been feeling drained and empty for a while. One could say that I am Gulliverized by my professional responsibilities, which have grown over the years and weigh more heavily on me now that I am getting older.
My stats show this too. I have been sliding a little, and continue to slide a little every month.
I started this blog in January 2007 and have posted a couple of hundred entries. At the end of this month I have six years of blogging under my belt. They say ‘people do not read blogs any more’; these days people are on Twitter and Facebook instead.
So why waste so much energy and time?
When I scroll though older posts I also notice that I am repeating myself. I eat the same food, visit the same places, and tend to drink (if possible) my favourite wines. Am I spent?
Not quite, I think.
Let me tell you what happened to me last weekend in my home town Trier. I had only about 43 hours available. I arrived late the first evening and was much too tired to do anything.
Saturday night, after a family meal, we watched some slides and family photos, before I could go on a stroll and check out the Christmas market. I also intended to have a glass of wine. My favourite wine bar, ‘Weinsinnig’ was my destination.
The place was crowded and I only found a table at the back. That table, however, was reserved and I was asked to swap with a place right across the “wine list”, a wall with about 20 or so wine bottles in metal holders and a description of the wine and the producer. I will tell you another time which wines I sampled that night.
When I went up to that wall with my phone to document what I had tasted (two reds) and returned to my table, a woman approached me and asked: “Are you the Man from Mosel River”? You cannot image how flabbergasted I was. How could she know?
It turned out the the woman was Manuela Schewe, the owner and initiator of ‘Weinsinnig’. She had seen my last post about the wine bar. After the introduction, we had a good chat about wine, wine bars, the vagaries of life and so on.
Well, and when I was leaving I thought that I should think it over again before giving up my blog and retiring the Man from Mosel River.
3 Comments | culture, general, wine | Tagged: blogging, Bullay, German wine, Manuela Schewe, Mosel, Riesling, The Man from Mosel River, Trier, Weinsinnig, wine bar | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
The Man from Mosel River 