4. Sunday of Advent with German Riesling

December 19, 2010

It was my time to cook Sunday lunch. Anyway, the three gorgeous women I share my life with were due to travel to Australia later today. In order to give them time to pack, I prepared lunch. I admit, however, that Margit helped me quite a lot. Otherwise, I guess, I would not have accomplished the task.

So what did I cook? A strange dish, I must say, straight out of the Jamie Oliver cookery book titled “Jamies does…”. It is a recipe from the Maghreb, Marrakesh to be precise. It consists of spicy vermicelli stuffed with prawns in a courgettes-tomato kind of sauce and on top a large fish is positioned (sea bass, snapper, etc.). Since we did not have a whole fish, we used fillets of sea bass.

The whole process is too complicated to be recited here. The recipe can be found on the internet, one of Jamie’s websites. Boy that dish is delicious, just wonderful. I would like to encourage you to try it, especially if you like spicy food.

The prawn-stuffed spicy vermicelli with fish

The fish is succulent but crisp

On the plate

As the title of this blog entry suggest, Riesling was the wine of my choice. German Riesling is my favourite. Wine does not age in my care here in Bangkok in the tropics. I selected a ‘2008 Riesling Kabinett’ by Schloss Johannisberg, one of the oldest Riesling producers in the Rheingau and Germany as a whole.

2008 Riesling Kabinett Schloss Johannisberg

A Kabinett was just the right wine because of its relative high “rest sugar” it’s off-dry or semi-dry, “halbtrocken” or “feinherb”, as the Germans say. However, the label did not say if the wine was dry or semi-dry. But my palate told me the sugar level must be at about 9 grams or so. Alcohol was 11.5%.

In any case the wine went extremely well with the very spicy vermicelli. I just love the bouquet, this slight petrol note on the nose. This is a wonderful rich wine, with a fine balanced acidity, the taste of apples and peaches are prominent.

2008 Riesling Kabinett Schloss Johannisberg

I wish we had more of this drop

If you buy this wine directly from the producer, you have to spend 17 Euro for a 0.75 litres bottle.

The meal with this wine was just perfect for the occasion. Time fly’s. Christmas is approaching fast and soon I will be back in Glenburn, Australia and taste many new-world wines.

Address:
Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg’sche Domäne
Schloss Johannisberg
D-65366 Geisenheim
Tel.: +49 (0) 6722-7009-0
E-Mail info@schloss-johannisberg.de
Restaurant
Tel:. +49 (0)6722 96090
E-Mail restaurant@schloss-johannisberg.de
www.schloss-johannisberg.de

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Dr Mayer Riesling – fine wine from the Remstal, Germany

December 1, 2010

‘2009 Dr. Mayer Riesling’, Remstal, Wuerttemberg, Germany

We were lucky that Timo Mayer, vintner and wine-maker of the Mayer Vineyard in the Yarra Valley, Victoria, carried with him a bottle of the ‘2009 Dr. Mayer Riesling’ with him when he dropped by recently here in Bangkok.

Timo came back from a wine making and wine selling visit to Germany where he had also made his ‘2009 Dr. Mayer Riesling’ from fruit sourced from his native Remstal (to be precise from a village called Grossheppach) in Wuerttemberg.

The dry Riesling has 12.5% alcohol

The wine is under a glass enclosure which gives it a very elegant appearance. It’s a beautiful dry Riesling, elegant and fruity with a good structure and a long and intensive finish, in short a treasure of a wine.

Mussels and clams with chorizo sausage

We saved the bottle for a special occasion, and surprise, surprise, the occasion should arrive very, very soon: a beautiful tropical Saturday afternoon lent itself for a delicious meal consisting of mussels, clams with chorizo sausages. This is a yummy dish and ideal light lunch.

The bad news is, one cannot buy this wine in Germany, the motherland of Riesling wines.

The good news is one can buy it from Timo Mayer in the Yarra Valley and the outlets carrying his wines in Victoria.

Timo got only about a pallet, so you have to be quick. Better rush.

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November ambience in a Saar vineyard

November 29, 2010

Vineyard near Schoden, Saar

When I recently visited my home town Trier, I also had the chance to explore mother nature in nearby Schoden, Saar.

It was a grey and rainy November day as we like it. The weather makes you wish for a hot tea in a warm place, maybe near a window with a view. Or a walk through the steep vineyards in the Saar valley.

Individual vines trained on a “stick”

Some of the vineyards were already pruned. One could spot pruners here and there, alone or in small groups. Please note the pruning style of these vines. November is a good time to visit wine regions. It is less crowded and people have time for a yarn.

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A great white wine – Pinot Blanc by Doerflinger

November 23, 2010

Pinot Blanc by the Doerflinger Winery

Recently I had the opportunity to enjoy a couple of glasses of a very yummy German Pinot Blanc, it was a ‘2009 Pinot Blanc Muellheimer Reggenhag dry’ (13%) by Doerflinger, a winery in Muellheim, Baden.

The wine guide Gault Millau awarded to the 2008 vintage 89 Parker points.

The winery was founded in 1900. Today, Hermann Doerflinger is the owner-vintner and he manages 16 ha under vines. The annual production is about 140,000 bottles.

Apart from Pinot Blanc, Doerflinger grows Gutedel, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes, the wines of which reached 85 to 89 points for the 2008 vintage.

I liked this wine, it was fresh and zesty, soft and round, a great summer wine.

Address:
Weingut Hermann Dörflinger
Mühlenstraße 7,
D-79379 Müllheim
Germany
Tel.: +49 7631 2207 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +49 7631 2207      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +49 7631 2207      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Fax: +49 7631 4195
mail@weingut-doerflinger.de

Open:
Mo.–Fri. 08.00 – 12.30 h, 13.30 – 18.30 h
Sat. 09.00 – 16.00 h

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Restaurant review: Der Schützenhof, Würzburg, Frankonia

November 21, 2010

Der Schützenhof

A great place to eat and be merry in the town of Würzburg in Franconia is “Der Schützenhof“, a German country inn with a long and strong tradition. The views from it’s terrace are spectacular. You sit above the roofs of the historical city, so to say.

Great views

On top of the world and above the roofs – below: the city of Würzburg

The “Schützenhof” is not only famous for its views, but for it’s traditional German cuisine as well. I just love these tasty, robust, rural dishes made as if grandma had prepared them herself. Look at the pictures below, are they not mouthwatering? The food is just excellent, German country cuisine at it’s best.

Local Franconian sausages

Potato dumplings with roasted pork

Noodles/pasta with salmon

A local Franconian wine

I ordered the house wine, a local drop made from the Silvaner grape. My friends Romy and Friedel prefer other grapes for instance “Gutedel”, also known as Chasselas grape in France. But they also like Mueller-Thurgau, Pinot Blanc and Gris, Kernen etc.

With about 6,000 ha under vines Franconia produces excellent wines. It is famous for it’s dry Silvaner wines bottled in the so called “Bocksbeutel”, a rounded and flattened bottle type.

Franconia is a wine land (or German wine region) which wine enthusiast should explore. You’ll find amazing drops. Check it out.

Address:
Der Schützenhof
Mainleitenweg 48
97082 Würzburg,
Germany
Te.: +49-931-72422 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +49-931-72422      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +49-931-72422      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
www.schuetzenhof-wuerzburg.de

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Franconian treasure: Weingut Schmitt’s Kinder

November 14, 2010

2007 Randersackerer Sonnenstuhl by Schmitt’s Kinder

One of the best Franconia wineries is Schmitt’s Kinder in Randersacker, a lovely village of about 3,500 people along the Main river, about 30 minutes from Wuerzburg, the capital city of Lower Franconia.

We have visited Randersacker in 2008 and cultivate fond memories of this (much too short) visit.

The name “Schmitt’s Kinder” (in English Schmitt’s children) goes back to 1910 when the children of the vintner (Schmitt) did not, as is the custom in Lower Franconia, divide the property after the fathers death among the siblings, but instead opted to jointly cultivate the land.

The winery is currently under the management of the 10th generation of vintners: Karl Martin and Renate Marie Schmitt. The total area under vines is bout 14 ha in the locations “Randersackerer Sonnenstuhl”, “Marsberg”, “Teufelskeller”, “Pfülben” and “Ewig Leben”.

Main variety is Silvaner, followed by Riesling, Mueller-Thurgau, Scheurebe, Pinot Blanc, Bacchus, Domina and Pinot Noir.

The ‘2004 Randersackerer Sonnenstuhl Pinot Noir’ won the 2006 Pinot Noir Cup for best Pinot Noir wine of the world!!!! Can you imagine? That’s just great, a German Pinot Noir beating the best of France and Australia.

The back label, very modest and unassuming

Our friends Romy and Friedel Engisch in Wuerzburg offered exactly that wine when we visited last August. I tell you also the 2007 vintage of this Pinot Noir is first class. Amazing what Pinot Noir wines Germany can produce.

If you have the opportunity to get your hands on a bottle of this wine, do so immediately. Total production is quite limited but the price level is very reasonable.

Romy and Friedel Engisch with their guests from Bangkok

Address:
Weingut Schmitt’s Kinder
Am Sonnenstuhl 45
D-97236 Randersacker
Tel.: +49-931 / 70 59-1 97
Fax: +49- 0931 / 70 59-1 98
www.schmitts-kinder.de/

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Mosel Riesling: Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein

October 30, 2010

2008 Slate Terraces Riesling Heymann-Löwenstein

The website of Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein starts with a poem of Ingeborg Bachmann, a famous Austrian poet and writer (1926-1973). The first line reads as follows:

»One should be able to pick up the stone
and hold it in wild hope
until it begins to bloom«

That’s in fact what Heymann-Löwenstein does. The earth or better the rocks (slate in this case) in which the vines grow is at the centre of his attention.

I know the sound of slate from my youth growing up in Trier, Mosel. Slate was all around us. The roofs of the houses were in slate, covers of walls, and walls themselves, all in grey slate. We liked to break individual thin pieces into smaller ones and the grey slate dust trickled through our fingers.

Reinhard Löwenstein, who founded the winery in 1980, was carefully searching for the best locations (terroir) before starting his venture in Winningen, a small hamlet along the lower Mosel (south of Koblenz). He is an innovator whose wine styles differ from the Mosel tradition, an inspiration to many young wine-makers at the Mosel river.

Yields are kept low, harvest is late and the steep slopes of the slate stone reflect the days heat during the night. Moreover, the juice is allowed to stay with the skin for up to two days. Some Botrytis infected fruit is sometimes also added giving complexity to the wine. Rheinhard Löwenstein’s wine making philosophy is non interventionist. He intends to bring out the terroir.

The ‘2008 Slate Terraces Riesling’ by Heymann-Löwenstein has an intense golden colour in the glass. It’s alcohol is 12.5%. The wine is full and round, with a balanced acidity. It is dry, displaying a fine minerality and beautiful aromas of citrus fruit. The wine has a good structure and a stunning finish.

Timo Mayer had brought the above bottle with him when he came on a stop-over to Bangkok. We enjoyed it together with some food during a night which saw many exquisite bottles of the fine wines being opened and consumed with great delight.

The winery Heymann-Löwenstein is ranked by Riesling.de as one of the top ten Riesling producers in Germany. The area under cultivation is about 16 ha with an annual production of 100,000 bottles.

And the good news for residence in the Healesville area in Victoria is that Barrique, the wine store in this lovely little town, has some bottles of Heymann-Löwenstein Riesling on offer. Two years ago I have bought a few there. Delicious.

Address:
Winery (Weingut) Heymann-Löwenstein
Bahnhofstrasse 10
56333 Winningen
Tel.: +49-2606-1919
Fax: +49-2606-1909
www.heymann-loewenstein.com

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German Riesling: Weingut Robert Weil

October 21, 2010

2008 Robert Weil Estate Riesling dry

A friend of mine made me taste this wine some time ago in Berlin. I brought a bottle of the 2008 vintage back to Bangkok. During the visit of a wine-maker friend from Australia, I opened my treasure trove, and the Robert Weil Riesling, from Rheingau, Germany was one of the many bottles of fine wine which we sampled.

The winery Robert Weil is a well known household name among Riesling producers and wine connoisseurs in Germany. As many of the German wineries, Robert Weil goes back a fair bit. The winery was founded in 1875. Although vineyards were among the family properties in the village of Kiedrich, Rheingau for some time.

The founder of the winery, Dr. Robert Weil, was a professor of German language at the Sorbonne University in Paris. The change in career turned out to be very beneficial for the professor and his descendants as well as the wine fraternity.

With about 3,100 ha under vines, the Rheingau is one of the smaller German wine regions. Robert Weil bought some of the best locations (terroir) and vineyards in the vicinity of Kiedrich and thereby consolidated his winery. Today, the total area under vines is about 75 ha. This is more than just a small family vintner.

Many of the vines are 50 and more years old. Plant density is between 5,000 and 6,000 vines per hectare (quite dense in comparison with the 2,700 vines on my own vineyard). The operation is characterized by the use of organic fertilizers and the minimization of the use of industrial pesticides.

The wines of Robert Weil are regular award winners. The winery is among the top 10 of the German Riesling Forum.

Beautiful colour of the Robert Weil Estate Riesling

The colour of the wine is pale straw (12% alcohol). The 2008 vintage is still a young wine; it is fresh and spritzy with lemon and lime aromas and some mineral notes. The residual sugar is about 8 grams. The wine is fruity with a well balanced acidity; it has a good structure and a long finish.

The pity was: I had only one bottle. Wine is just not suitable for air travel.

The Rheingau is a beautiful place and just a stone throw away from Frankfurt airport. if you have the chance just go and check it out yourself. Cheers mate

Address:
Weingut Robert Weil
Mühlberg 5
D-65399 Kiedrich / Rheingau

Tel.: +49-6123 2308 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +49-6123 2308      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +49-6123 2308      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +49-6123 2308      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +49-6123 2308      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Fax: +49-6123 1546

info@weingut-robert-weil.com
www.weingut-robert-weil.de

Opening hours:
Monday to Friday 8.00 – 17.30 h
Saturday 10.00 – 17.00 h
Sunday 11.00 – 17.00 h

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Emrich-Schönleber Riesling Sekt, Nahe. Germany

August 31, 2010

One of the best wineries along the Nahe river is Weingut Emrich-Schönleber in the village of Monzingen. The family vineyards (about 33 acres) produce great wines, mostly Riesling.

In 2010 the Gault Millau Wine Guide gave 10 of the 17 wines of the Emrich-Schönleber Estate 90 or more points. The wine writer Jancis Robinson was extremely impressed by the ‘2009 Halenberg Auslese’. 19.5 of 20 points was her verdict which is truly awesome.

Recently we visited the winery. Coming straight from Frankfurt Airport, we drove along the Nahe wine route, passed Bad Kreuznach, and spontaneously dropped in to pick up some bottles of wine.

In the yard, we bumped into Mr. Emrich-Schönleber senior, who was on his way out. In passing he referred us to his wife who was so kind to introduce us to the wines of the estate. Since it was early in the morning, we did not feel like tasting wine (we just came from breakfast in the small town of Sobernheim). Moreover, after many hours of flight, we had just gotten off the plane.

Our selection was quick but firm. I knew some of the ‘grand cru’ locations of Monzingen. After all, I had spent most of my school holidays in the neighbouring village of Martinstein where my maternal grandfather (Hans-Heinrich Schuessler) had introduced me to the amazing world of Nahe wines at a rather tender age.

We chose a nice cross section of Emrich-Schönleber’s wines including two sparkling ones. Ms. Emrich-Schönleber was so kind to add a small bottle of sweet desert wine as a gift. We were flabbergasted.

The bottle of Riesling Sekt (Sekt is German for ‘sparkling’) below did not last long. Only after a couple of hours, when the bottle was sufficiently cold, we opened it to celebrate the start of our holidays in Trier. What an auspicious start to a summer holiday in Europe?

Emrich-Schönleber Riesling Sekt

The Riesling Sekt is produced using the classical method of bottle fermentation. Everything is done by hand. Due to the acidity of the Riesling fruit, the wine displays a beautiful spectrum of fine acids. Moreover, it is dry and fruity with lots of fizz. The magnificent minerality of the wine is another characteristic.

Emrich-Schönleber Riesling Sekt

Nahe wines, especially the Rieslings, are one of the best kept secrets in Germany. You should visit this internationally little known wine region. It’s just about an hours drive west of Frankfurt Airport. I promise you: you will not regret it.

Address:
Weingut Emrich-Schönleber
Soonwaldstraße 10a
D-55569 Monzingen
Tel.: +49-67 51-27 33
Fax: +49-67 51-48 64
www.emrich-schoenleber.de

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Venison from a roe deer for Sunday lunch in Trier

August 24, 2010

My stories from July and August do not come in any particular order. When arrived in early July in Trier at my mother’s place we were greated by a feats, as always. And beecause her partner Heinz is a hunter we often eat game. This time it was venison from a German roe deer (in German: Reh) he had just shot. Needless to say that my mothers cooking is just delicious as you can see from the pcitures below.

Tender venison, a meal in the making

With noodles of course

2008 Saar Riesling Van Volxem Estate

The wine I choose for this meal was a Riesling from Van Volxem Estate in Wiltingen, near Schoden (where the venison was from), one of my favourite producers from the Saar. Tough this is just a “simple” wine, it deplays all the character of a Saar Riesling, fine and delicate which machted the tender venison just perfectly.

Address
Weinmanufaktur Van Volxem
Roman Niewodniczanski
Dehnstrasse 2
54459 Wiltingen, Saar
Ph.: +49-6501-16510
e-mail: vanvolxem@t-online.de

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