We are on our way to Europe, having a break at Singapore Airport. Its a great place for spendind a couple of hours before “jumping” from Asia to Europe.
There the Mosel is waiting for us, and we will spend a couple of days with my mother in Trier before moving on to Franconia for another family visit.
I hear a whisper: wine, wine, wine, delicious wine!
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It is not just the grape wine bottles which we are drinking up before moving to Bangkok. I have a small collection of exquisite Chinese liquors given to me over the years by Chinese and Taiwanese friends.
The sorghum based spirits are wonderful though Western people often have difficulties appreciating the scent (some say it smells, well it does: of Sorghum of course). The Shandong liquor was smooth as silk. For ‘Gu Jing Gong Jiu’ you need to be in a youngish suicidal mode and not afraid of headaches.
‘Maotai’, if it is the real stuff, is not only expensive, but a very nice drink. During my time in Beijing we drank a lot of rough ‘Er Gou Jiu’, but the bottle below is a ‘de luxe’ version.
Unfortunately, the bottles cannot come to Bangkok, so we enjoy them now. Soon our reserves will be gone and we can start anew to collect them. Thanks god that I have so many friends in Mainland China and Taiwan.
Shandong Bai Jiu, smooth like silk
Kweichow Maotai, 43% and Gu Jing Gong Jiu, 38%
Lao Beijing Ming Jiu (Er Gou Jiu), 45%
6 Comments | food and wine | Tagged: China, spirits | Permalink
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My garden is my treasure, as you probably know. We were very lucky to have such a splendid place for so long. Living in Asian capital cities finds garden enthusiasts like me often in dire straits as far as nature is concerned.
Most of my orchids were passed on to me by my friend Peter Hagen before he and his family left Indonesian after many years. I will pass them on to a friend as well.
The other day another one of my orchids, an orchid which was not very generous with blooming in the past, bloomed. Wandering about the garden, I wondered if the plant knew that I am leaving soon.
I know of course that the onset of the dry season is also the season for many orchids to bloom. But a nicer good-bye I could not have imagined.
A “special” Orchid…
..and the “normal” ones.
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The other day, the four of us went to Bangkok. I had a seminar and staff training with my new team and the three women checked out the new school and were going on house hunting to find a new home.
The last evening of our stay we met and compared notes. Nothing could be better for such undertaking than a family meal at a nice Thai restaurant. We walked down the street right into the Ninth Cafe.
What a great time we had
The restaurant is a very pleasant place. I was there once before. The staff was very friendly and we were very hungry. We ordered a couple of appetizers. Margit and myself we had fish with mashed potatoes and the girls had a Chinese chicken soup. It all tasted delicious. We were in a jolly good mood. Everything had worked out so well and we are very optimistic about our coming move to Thailand.
Of course the adults had a bottle of wine with their meal. We choose a bottle of Hardy’s Cabernet Sauvignon, nothing special but delightful and it suited the mood.
A typical Thai appetizer
Appetizers for the hungry kids – chicken wings
Fish with mashed potatoes
A Chinese type dish
Happy girls
The gods were smiling on us
Address
The Ninth Cafe
59/5 Soi Langsuan, Ploenchit Road
Bangkok 10330
Note: This restaurant gets excellent recommendations and reviews. Go and visit.
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Our last 60 days in Jakarta have started. Soon we will be moving to Bangkok. We try to enjoy every day. Apart from sorting out things, we are spending our time at home with family meals and drinks.
A delicious seafood pasta
I do not have a large supply of fine wines left but some of the bottles I have kept for special occasions. So what did we drink over the last couple of days? Here is a quick run-down:
‘2002 Léon Baur Gewürztraminer Grand Cru Pfersigberg’, alc. 13.5 % Vol.
We drank it before lunch as an aperitif. This is an aromatic wine, very generous in its flavours. It comes from a limestone “terroir” and is the gem of the Léon Baur collection. Low yields make great wines. It’s rather high in alcohol and has 15.2 g/l in sugar. A very enjoyable Gewürztraminer typical for this grape variety (www.leon-baur.com)
‘2003 Wiltinger Gottesfuss, Riesling Kabinett Feinherb, Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt’ , alc. 11 % Vol.
As you know, I love wine from the Saar River, and Wiltingen is one of the major location to produce first class Riesling wines. “Feinherb” is the German word for semi-dry. “Gottesfuss” is one of the best locations in Wiltingen, a very steep, stony slate ground which produces a fine, acidic, and balanced wine. Normally I prefer dry Rieslings but with a spicy Asian meal, the semi-dry version does very well. (www.kesselstatt.com)
‘2005 Hollick Coonawarra Reserve Chardonnay’, alc. 13.5% Vol.
We had it with a seafood pasta. What a delicious Chardy this was. Although cellaring for up to 7 years is recommended, the bottle did not last that long. It displayed aromas of white peach, had crisp acidity and balanced creamy overtones. Though the wine was matured in French oak for 10 month, it was not “over-wooded”. Beautiful (www.hollick.com).
‘1999 Mildara Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon’, alc. 13.5% Vol.
The Mildara brand belongs to the Fosters Group (www.fosters.com). Liz and Walter brought it with them and we had it with all kinds of cheeses, salamis, coleslaw, salads and all kinds of “nibblies”. Despite its age, it displayed all the freshness of a typical Coonawarra wine. The colour was a deep purple. The intense aromas ranged from cassis, to dark berries and plum with hints of mint and herbs. The 18 months in oak have given the wine great depth and bony tannins, mellowed by age. The wine had an excellent structure. It was well aged.
‘2004 Knappstein Clare Valley Enterprise Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon’, alc. 14.5% Vol.
The bottle retailed for US$ 26.50 at the Jakarta duty free store in Jalan Fatmawati. I had it reserved for a special evening. the wines is Clare Valley Cabernet Sauvignon at its best. Wonderful creamy, cassis, blackberry and mulberry flavours. A big Australian wine, full and complex but heavy which lingers on long after you swallowed the last drop. The fruit is grown on the “terra rossa” soils. Low yields guarantee the quality of the fruit. 2005 was an excellent year with a long ripening season. We had it after a meal just for enjoyment. This is a great wine indeed. (www.knappsteinwines.com.au)
The farewell dinner with our Australian friends (Brett, Janie, John and Dhanya) last night was a delight. We drank some very good wines. I only mention them in passing. Hope you don’t mind. We started with a pre-dinner drink, a ‘2006 Vasse Felix, classic dry white’ from Margaret River, Western Australia. The entreés we washed down with a ‘2007 Yarra Burn Sauvignon Blanc Semillon’ from the Yarra Valley, Victoria. We switched to red before the main course (a pasta bolognese), first to a ‘2004 Cape Mentelle Cabernet Merlot’ and then a ‘2003 Vasse Felix, classic dry red’. Three Margaret River wines stood against the cool climate SB form the Yarra Valley. It was a wonderful evening. No sadness was to find only the joy of being together and having a good time. I love this Australian attitude to life.
Leave a Comment » | food and wine | Tagged: Alsace, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Gewuerztraminer, Margaret River, Mosel, Riesling, Saar, Western Australia, Yarra Valley | Permalink
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Winter in Victoria is usually a very nice time, not too cold but has many days with beautiful blue sky and sunshine. It always reminds me of an Irish summer.
In the vineyard we are busy pruning , of course. The vines below are awaiting the pruners.
Our professional association, the Upper Goulburn Winegrowers Association advertised recently a pruning course (www.uppergoulburnwine.org.au).
This reminded me of the virtual-pruning tool of the German University of Hohenheim near Stuttgart. From time to time I play with it to somehow make up for not being in the vineyard this time of the year. Its in German, but I am sure you will master it. Its strait forward.
Wachsen = grow
Schere = secateurs
Biegen = bend
Neu = new
Zeit = season
Fruehling = spring
Sommer = summer
Herbst = autumn
Winter = winter
Check out the link below and prune your heart out. Have fun.
https://www.uni-hohenheim.de/lehre370/weinbau/java/index.htm
Leave a Comment » | vineyards | Tagged: Add new tag, Glenburn, pruning, Two Hills Vineyard, Victoria, winter | Permalink
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Well, he did not sleep but he watched the football final between Spain and Germany from 2 this morning till 3:30.
Congratulations to the Spaniards, they were the better team. What to do with this Monday morning?
I experimented with video clip downloads on my blog. Well, its not always fine wine and delicious food.
It can be dancing too. How about a dance in the backyard?
Please watch first the cartoon character clip, then you’ll know what the “real people” in the second clip attempted to do. Not easy to follow examples, it seems. Enjoy the show.
We were not the only people who were inspired by the song. On You Tube is one of rather under-dressed young women trying to follow the same dancing instructions.
PS: Note – This is only a temporary blog entry.
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One of the premium Riesling producing wine regions in Germany is the Saar, which is part of the Mosel region (the English usually call it Moselle, using the French word for the river). In fact the Mosel Wine Region used to be called (until 2007) “Mosel-Saar-Ruwer”, the latter two being small tributaries to the larger Mosel river. Along the three rivers about 13,400 ha are under vines these days, most of the vineyards are to be found on steep slopes, offering breathtaking views.
The village of Wiltingen, home to many famous wine producers along the Saar
Along the river Saar vine cultivation goes back a long long time, roughly 2,000 years only. Until Napoleon conquered this part of the various German lands, most wineries were in possession of the catholic church, monasteries, and other clerical institutions. Napoleon secularized the administration and with it most vineyards and wineries came into private hands.
The area between Serrig and Konz is the main production base of the Saar. Further upriver only small and singular plots are planted with vines. The most renown wine producing villages along the Saar are
Serrig, Saarburg, Irsch, Ockfen, Ayl, Schoden, Wiltingen, Kanzem, and Wawern. Moreover we find vineyards along one of the smaller side valley’s Filzen, Koehnen, Nieder- and Obermennig, Krettnach and Oberemmel.
Ayler Kupp, one of the prime ‘terroirs’ of the Saar
The dominant variety is, of course, Riesling. The total area under vines is about 1,500 ha, mostly on steep slopes with gradients of up to 55 per cent. Other but minor varieties are Pinot Noir, Dornfelder, Pinot Gris, Rivaner, Kerner and Pinot Blanc. The soil consist mainly of blue Devon slate soils. The alcohol content of the wines is usually low (between 8 and 12 %), but the acidity of the wines shows excellent structures and compositions and this is why the wines can be cellared for long periods of time.
Steep vineyards in Ockfen
The vineyards are ready for spring to come
The two photos above were taken in Ockfen, showing vineyards in the location ‘Ockfener Bockstein’, one of the prime ‘terroirs’ in that village.
Springtime and lots of work to do to make the season a success. Lime is distributed by hand in the vineyards, here in Schoden.
There are many prime wine producers along the Saar. The top estate is probably Weingut Egon Mueller (also called the godfather of Saar Riesling) – Scharzhof in Wiltingen. Among the highest rated Riesling wines in Germany (on www.riesling.de) Egon Mueller has three of the top eight wines.
But there are many other prime producers. I can only mention a few. For instance Weingut Fortsmeister Geltz-Zilliken in Saarburg, or Schloss Saarstein in Serrig. Then there is the rising star, Roman Niewodniczanski and his team at Van Volxem in Wiltingen. His wine maker, Dominik Voelk, is young and ambitious, and by the way is a native of Franconia, a wine region with long traditions in excellence. When I visited the estate in March, he had completely sold out all his wines. I am now waiting for the release of the newest vintage in September (grand cru only). Then there is Weingut Dr. Siemens in Serrig and Weingut Peter Lauer in Ayl.
Also other producers are worth mentioning. Weingut Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt, which operates a wine bar just across the cathedral in Trier (Trierer Dom), possess vineyards in Wiltingen. Four star ratings were awarded to Weingut von Orthegraven in Kanzem and Weingut von Hoevel in Konz-Oberemmel but there are many others who produce excellent Saar wines.
I love the Saar Rieslings with their well balanced, “filigree like” acid compositions. I love them for their explosiveness, zest, intensive aromas; they have structure and balance, are low in alcohol and usually impress with a long finish, lingering on your tongue’s taste buds like ballerinas which you can still see before your inner eye long after they left the stage.
I encourage you to visit the Saar and sample as many wines as you can, it’s worth it, definitely. This time of the year should be perfect, as the pictures below demonstrate. I hope they can entice you to give it a go and lure you to the Saar.
Explore the beauty of my home region, do not forget to visit Trier, its just around the corner.
Vineyards in Schoden
The ‘terroir’/location ‘Herrenberg’ in Schoden
Near Schoden the Saar is most picturesque. The hills, the forests, the river and the small villages offering local food and wines make the Saar a prime destination for tourism.
5 Comments | wine regions | Tagged: Mosel, Riesling, Saar | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
While in Munich I stumbled across another one of the Lutter and Wegner chain restaurants – Lutter and Wegner im Künstlerhaus – and could not resist to have lunch there before departing to Frankfurt (www.l-w-muenchen.de).
The outside terrace
Colourful room “Venezia” with great views upon the Lenbachplatz
Bottles arranged like art
Art for the wine aficionados
Lutter and Wegner is not just a restaurant but a symbiosis of bar, lounge, gallery and in the evening live and other music are performed. Moreover, about 350 wines are on offer. I could only sample two of them with my lunch, hope you are more successful. The restaurant was the perfect choice of a enjoyable lunch before leaving this wonderful city and returning to tropical Jakarta. I could not resist the mushroom risotto. It was delicious, a wonderful combination of flavours.
The mushroom risotto
Of course I had to have a wine with my food. My first wine consisted of a ‘2005 Grauer Burgunder, dry’ (Pinot Gris) of Weingut Otto Laubenstein, Baden (www.laubenstein.com). It had a rather yellowish colour which came as a surprise to me, I had expected something more pale, straw colour like. The wine suggestion for the risotto was a ‘2007 Bürklin Wolf – Weissburgunder’ (white Burgundy). I should have tried my meal with this wine too, I guess.
My second glass of wine which I drank instead of having a dessert is considered a rarity in other parts of the world and this is exactly why I ordered it. The ‘2006 Blauer Zweigelt, Weingut Tement’, Südsteiermark (www.tement.at), showed a beautiful deep red colour. It displays flowery aromas, dominated by red berries, and is very smooth indeed and not heavy (12.5% alc.). The wine is aged for only about six months in small oak barrels.
Blauer Zweigelt (created in 1922 in Klosterneuburg by Fritz Zweigelt) is a cross between Blaufraenkisch and St. Laurent. It is the most widely planted red variety in Austria (resistance to frost) but has also gained some presence in Canada: the Niagara Region in Ontario and British Columbia.
Wine prices I found reasonable. The Pinot Gris sold for € 3.5 and the Blauer Zweigelt for € 4 for a 0.2 ltr/glass.
Address
Lutter und Wegner im Künstlerhaus
Lenbachplatz 8
80333 Munich
Te.: +49-895459490
Leave a Comment » | food and wine | Tagged: Baden, Blauer Zweigelt, Canada, Lutter and Wegner, Niagara Region, Pinot Gris, Suedsteiermark | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
Auerbachs Bookshop from the outside
A very good friend of mine made me aware of this little marvel of a bookshop. Its owner, Gabriele Seeboden, is a very friendly and helpful person. But the shop does not only offer books, also a rather interesting selection of fine wines is on offer, all from small, family-owned vineyards and wineries. Gabriele’s passion is book and wines, that’s for sure. The clients love her for the excellence of the service; they also love the flair of the bookshop.
Gabriele Seeboden with a customer in front of the wine rack
This year the bookshop celebrates its 125 anniversary. It was opened by Richard Auerbach in 1882. Gabriele Seeboden is the third successor of Mr. Auerbach. It is not easy these days for such small ventures to economically survive. This was one of the reasons to add a product which goes well with books and reading. Wine is the natural choice, I would say. Wine tasting are also organised at the bookshop from time to time. Give it a go and visit when in Berlin. You will not find such combination anywhere else.
Address:
Auerbachs Buchhandlung
Albrechtstr. 10
12165 Berlin
(near Rathaus Steglitz underground station)
Te.: +49-30-7913125
1 Comment | history and culture | Tagged: Berlin, books, boutique vinyards, culture, wine | Permalink
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The Man from Mosel River
The Man from Mosel River 