February 11, 2013
After a couple of weeks without a Riesling from my beloved Mosel, I came across a bottle of ‘2011 Goldtroepfchen Gran Crue’ by Weingut Lothar Kettner in Piesport, Mosel.
I had no idea where the bottle came from. I must have bought it in Bangkok, I thought. But right when I opened it, I knew it was what I needed to celebrate the New Years eve of the Chinese Year of the Snake, the spring festival, as it is also called.
The golden colour is intriguing. The aromas are infatuating. Green apples and white stone fruit came to mind. A Riesling from the Mosel, a wine I adore. What wine would be better to prelude the New Year?
Faith – Love – Hope is the motto of the family winery Weingut Lothar Kettern in Piesport, Mosel. This is represented by the three symbols in the logo of the winery: the cross, the heart and the anchor. The vintner tradition runs in the family for about 200 years. The son of Lothar, Philipp Kettern, also know as ‘the wine pirate’ is now running the estate.
The Kettern family only grows Riesling grapes. Steep slopes, with cooler climate, are the preferred vineyard locations, so that vintage is late. Low yields, perfection regarding leave removal and environment friendly techniques are the key to success. The wines are hand crafted in the true sense of the word.
I will have to see that with my own eyes, next time I visit my beloved Mosel.
12 Comments | 
culture, history and culture, vineyards, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Goldtroepfchen, grand cru, Lothar Kettern, Mosel, Philipp Kettern, Piesport, Riesling, Weingut Lothar Kettern | 
Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
February 7, 2013
Author with a Dr. Loosen Riesling from the Mosel
As a man from the Mosel, I love the Riesling wines grown on the steep slopes of the valley. This is not to say that there are no other good Riesling wines elsewhere.
I also love the Rieslings from Rheinhessen, the Rheingau, the Pfalz and Alsace of course. When it comes to Riesling wines from my adopted home Australia, I still had not the necessary exposure which I very much regret.
Recently two Australian Rieslings won the top awards at two major wine shows in Australia. The ‘2012 Ravensworth Riesling’ a single vineyard wine produced by Ravensworth Wines, was the best wine of the 2012 Canberra International Riesling Challenge.
And the ‘2012 The Lodge Hill dry Riesling’ by Jim Barry Wines was awarded the honor of best table wine at the National Wine Show of Australia.
This is something. This is big. But what is even better is the pricing of these wines. The Ravensworth Riesling retails for A$ 20 and the Lodge Hill Dry Riesling for A$ 22. This is quality for money, I assume, and you need to buy now, because who knows how long this will last.
Leave a Comment » | wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: 2012 Canberra International Riesling Challenge, 2012 Dan Murphy's National Wine Show, Alsace, Australian Riesling, Australian wine, Best Australian Riesling, canberra international, German Riesling, jim barry wines, Mosel, Mosel river, national wine, Pfalz, Rheingau, Rheinhessen, Riesling wines, The Man from the Mosel, wine | Permalink
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 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 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 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
December 20, 2012
It has been a while since my last blog entry. Somehow my work does not allow regular blog entries any longer. You will have guessed right: I was on an extended business trip to Germany.
After my official program was completed I also visited my mother in my home town Trier, just for a short weekend only. It was a cold and rainy day when I arrived late in the evening. My beloved Mosel lay in the dark.
Fortunately, a splendid meal was waiting for me. My friend Heinz had prepared roast venison for me. It was the last piece of meat he had left over from his hunting days in Schoden, Saar. In spring 2010 Heinz and his friends had lost their hunting rights to a group of hunters from Luxemburg.
Fortunately, he had the freezer full of delicious meat: venison, wild boar, wild sheep among others. The last piece of a young deer was just the right stuff to make me happy. As you can see from the two pictures below, the meal was awesome.
Roast venison with noodles and vegetables
What a fine consistency
What wine would go with this meal? Well, since the meat came from the Saar, the wine had to come from the Mosel. Fortunately, we had a bottle of ‘1999 Neumagener Rosengaertchen Riesling Spaetlese’ by Rainer Krebs, a winery in Neumagen-Drohn, Mosel.
1999 Neumagener Rosengaertchen Riesling Spaetlese
The wine was amazing. It had the nose of petrol fumes, was full and buttery. Despite its age, the wine still displayed its great character. I do not know how many more year it would have lasted.
It complemented our meal in a perfect way. We were reminiscing about the glorious hunting days in Schoden, the nights we spent together sitting in the cold and waiting for deer or wild pigs to show themselves. It was a wonderful time, and I am sad that the hunting rights could not be retained. But such is life, good things come, and go.
I salute all the hunters who treasured their time in this fabulous place.
Address:
Rainer Krebs
Weingut in Neumagen Dhron
Hinterburg 14
54347 Neumagen Dhron
Tel.:+49-6507 / 5934
1 Comment | food, food and wine, wine | Tagged: food, German Riesling, German wine, Mosel, Neumagen-Drohn, Rainer Krebs, Riesling, roast venison, Saar, Schoden, Spaetlese, Trier, wild pigs, young deer | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
November 22, 2012
The other day, while I was waiting for my flight home to Bangkok, I discovered to my great amazement in the business class airline lounge of EVA Air, that a wine from my native Mosel was on offer.
What a pleasant surprise, I thought, when I spotted the label in the wine cooler. It was a ‘2011 Bockstein Kabinett Grand Cru’ by St. Urbans-Hof in Leiwen, Mosel. The wine village of Leiwen is only a couple of kilometers away from my home town Trier.
I have visited the winery and love their crisp-dry Rieslings. For the first time I had the opportunity to taste one of their off-dry wines. The terroir, “Bockstein” in Ockfen, a small village at the Saar river, a tributary to the Mosel, is also a place very dear to me.
From the raised hides in the hunting territory of Schoden (another village at the banks of the Saar river) one could have a glimpse of the “Bockstein”, a rock formation towering over the Saar valley. It’s vineyards are very steep and the Riesling grapes grown are famous for their high quality.
Off-dry whites are not my favourites, but of course this wine showed it’s outstanding quality. It was full and lush, smooth as silk in the mouth, with intensive and mellow Riesling aromas. It had also a long finish, and I loved the balance of sugar and acidity.
Moreover, I found my beloved Mosel (Saar) here, thousands of miles away in a place of Asia where I least expected it.
1 Comment | wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Bockstein, Eva Air, German wine, grand cru, Kabinett, Leiwen, Mosel, Mosel wine, Ockfen, Riesling, Saar, Schoden, St Urbans-Hof, Taipei, Taiwan, Trier | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
November 20, 2012
Selecting the wine
If you want to imagine me happy, imagine me in “Weinsinnig”, my favourite wine bar in Trier, Mosel.
Manuela Schewe and her team are doing a great job. I just love, that the wine bar is also a kind of cellar door for quite a few wineries. Most of them do have a cellar door of their own. However, with Weinsinnig they have a cellar door right in the middle of town.
I love this concept.
Among the wine producers you can find: Winery
Bender
Deutschherrenhof
Heymann-Löwenstein
Jakoby Pur
Lauer
Markus Molitor
Maximin Grünhaus
Nick Köwerich
Pauly
Philipp Kettern
Stephan Steinmetz
Van Volxem
Von Hövel and
von Othegraven
The selection of these, mostly local, wineries guarantees to the wine lover that he or she can choose from a broad range of different wine styles, varieties, terroir and even wine regions.
So far I was not able to try all of them as yet, but believe me I am working on it whenever I visit my lovely Trier. Stay tuned.
Cheers
Address:
WEINSINNIG
Weinbar & Verkauf
Palaststraße 12
54290 Trier
Tel.: +49-651-979 01 56
info@weinsinnig.com
Leave a Comment » | history and culture, wine, wine bars | Tagged: German wine, Manuela Schewe, markus molitor, Maximin Grünhaus, Mosel, Riesling, Trier, Weinbar Weinsinnig, Weinsinnig, wine bar, wine producers | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
The Man from Mosel River 