#WineStudio Presents Germany’s Lesser Known Varieties: Pinot Noir & Lemberger

Moving on to our third #WineStudio Session XII – Germany’s Lesser Known Varieties from the Rudi Wiest Selections Portfolio session. This week Protocol Wine Studio & Rudi Wiest Selections featured two red wines, the Friedrich Becker Family Pinot Noir 2011 ($20) and Schnaitmann 2011 Lemberger ($20).





In Germany, Pinot Noir is known as Spatburgunder and for the past decade one of the top producers - according to Gault & Millau - is the Friedrich Becker Family. As the name implies, this operation is a family affair. Fritz Sr. took over the estate from his father in 1973 and in 2005 Fritz Jr. took over the winemaking responsibilities while his father continues to manage the vineyard. Fritz Jr. is now the 7th generation family winemaker. Almost 70% of their vineyards are located in Alsace, a historical anomaly since the family vineyards have crossed the French-Germany border several times. Since the end of WWII, the Becker’s vineyards are actually straddling these two countries. One of these vineyard sites is Kammerberg (GG), a steep single vineyard near Wissembourg that the family recovered  in 1966. The other site is St. Paul (Grand Cru), which was first cultivated in the 14^th century by the Cistercian Monks of Wissembourg. "German growers with holdings between Schweigen-Rechtenbach and Wissembourg are permitted to market the wines produced from their “French” grapes under the German appellation Sonnenberg." (German Wine)  And 80% of the Becker Family 2011 Pinot Noir are sourced from the limestone rich Schweigener Sonnenberg region. The wine  starts with a dark fruit aroma, then velvety, chewy, cherry flavors on the palette turning to an earthy barnyard; and finishing with very soft tannins. This is a very approachable wine. 

Schnaitmann Winery also produces a well received Pinot Noir, but for this tasting we focused on their 2011 Lemberger.  Rainer Schnaitmann is a relative newcomer to the Germany industry having operated for only 15 years. The vineyard is located in Württemberg where 80% of the grapes planted are red grapes - quite a unique situation in Germany. According to our hosts, "Lemberger is cultivated almost exclusively in Württemberg, where it accounts for more than 14% of the region's vineyard area. Lemberger is a black skinned grape variety. It buds early, ripens late & thrives best in a warm environment to fully mature." In many instances Lemberger wines are very similar to Pinot Noir with more dark fruit flavors and a little more spice on the tail. This completely describes the Schnaitmann 2011 Lemberger. The nose opens with dark fruit and licorice, followed by a creamy blackberry flavor, finishing with a slight spicy character.My favorite characteristic of Lemberger or Blaufränkisch.

Thanks to Protocol Wine Studio and Rudi Wiest Selections for an interesting and enjoyable three weeks of tasting:

#WineStudio Presents Germany’s Lesser Known Varieties: Silvaner and Scheurebe

#WineStudio Presents Germany’s Lesser Known Varieties: Pinot Gris & Pinot Blanc

#WineStudio Presents Germany’s Lesser Known Varieties: Pinot Gris & Pinot Blanc

Moving on to our second #WineStudio Session XII – Germany’s Lesser Known Varieties from the Rudi Wiest Selections Portfolio session. This week Protocol Wine Studio & Rudi Wiest Selections featured two more white wines, the 2012 Rebohlz Estate Pinot Blanc and the 2012 Graf von Schonbom - Schloss Hallburg Estate Pinot Gris.

We started our tasting with the 2012 Rebohlz Estate Pinot Blanc ($20) and honestly it was gone before I blinked. Darn dinner guests. No wonder winemaker Hans-Jörg Rebholz was chosen Winemaker of the Year in 2002 and the estate was awarded Collection of the Year in the Gault-Millau 2013. In fact, the Rebholz name translates to “wood of the vine” and the family has been involved in viticulture since the 16th century, with the current winery belonging to the family for the past 100 years. And according to Protocal Wine Studio, "Rebholz has lately become the prime source for naturally made, terroir-driven, dry wines in Germany". The estate, “South-Pfalz”, contains 70 plus year old vines thriving in limestone soils and farmed bio-dynamically. Pinot Blanc (Weissburgunder in German) is a genetic mutation of Pinot Noir and a late-ripening, thin-skinned, tight-clustered grape.  The 2012 Rebohlz starts with white fruit and stoney minerals on the nose with the earthiness continuing on the palette along with a creamy peach-lemon flavor. There is great acidity in the tail - real refreshing. Quite a nice wine. One other note - winemaker's Hans-Jörg's handwriting is the "font" written into the label.

In our previous post we reviewed the 2011 Graf von Schönborn – Schloss Hallburg Silvaner Dry, Estate ($20) and for this week we turned to the same winery's 2012 Graf von Schonbom - Schloss Hallburg Pinot Gris ($20).  The estate is farmed organically and is mainly gypsum marl, gravely loess, and clay. The Pint Gris exudes a lemony peach aroma followed by minerality and depth on the palette, and another refreshing acidic finish. I used to think Pinot Gris was too bland; not the Schloss Hallburg.

Next up, reds Lemberger and Pinot Noir. Cheers.

#WineStudio Presents Germany’s Lesser Known Varieties: Silvaner and Scheurebe

Every Tuesday I normally tune into Protocol Wine Studio's #WineStudio Twitter chat in order to learn about under appreciated wine regions and wine grapes. For the next few weeks, I'm more enticed about the sessions since I've received a package of wine from Rudi Wiest Selections to accompany they latest topics: #WineStudio Session XII – Germany’s Lesser Known Varieties from the Rudi Wiest Selections Portfolio. For the next few weeks we will learn about the German production of Silvaner, Scheurebe, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Lemberger from the forgotten wine regions of Franken, Pfalz, and Württemberg. Pretty cool.

Last night we started with the Silvaner and Scheurebe wines from Franken, a region located in northwest Bavaria and the only wine region in the federal state of Bavaria. It is an old wine region, dating back more than 1,000 years and known for dry white wines - Fränkisch trocken (Franconian dry). Many times Franconian wines can be identified from the short, rounded and flattened bottle called Bocksbeutel.

We started with the 2011 Graf von Schönborn – Schloss Hallburg Silvaner Dry, Estate (Franken) $20. For those unfamiliar with Silvaner, it is the offspring of a spontaneous crossing of Traminer and Österreichisch Weiss (literally Austrian White) and was once the most planted grape variety in Germany. Silvaner is considered a blank canvas for the expression of the specific vineyard. Schloss Hallburg is currently practicing organic farming (should be certified in 2015) where the vineyards consist of gypsum marl, limestone, gravely loess/loam and layers of clay soil. The result is a dry wine with powerful peach aromas leading to a saline green apple flavor, finishing with a lemon and citrus slightly acidity tail. A noticeably less acidic finish than Riesling, but enough to balance the fruit and minerals - in the words of  Protocol Wine Sudio "elegant, but not pretentious".

We moved on to the real suprise of the evening, the 2012 Wirsching Scheurebe Dry, Iphöfer (Franken) $27. Scheurebe (shoy-ray-beh) was bred in 1916 by Prof. Georg Scheu and is a cross of Riesling and an unknown wild grape. (The pairing was previously thought as Riesling & Silvaner, but modern DNA eliminated Silvaner while confirming Riesling.) The result is a Riesling type wine known as  "Riesling’s evil, horny twin.” -- Terry Theise. The Wirsching Estate has an interesting history, now in its 14th generation, the Wirsching family has been making wine since the 1630's. But it wasn't always predestined. In the late 19th century the vineyards were ravaged by the phylloxera plague that devastated the European wine industry. The patriarch at that time was Andreas Wirsching, who passed away at an early age - possibly ending the family's winemaking tradition. But after WWI, his son Hans returned from the war and replanted the entire vineyards by hand using American rootstocks. In the early 1950's Hans obtained Scheurebe cuttings and planted them into their Kronsberg vineyard. Today Wirsching is among the best known & largest wine estates in Franconia. As for the 2012 Scheurebe, the nose is powerful - combination of tropical fruit and lemon - followed by a pineapple flavor. I mean - a big flavor, finishing with refreshing acidity. This is a very cool wine, ready to pair with your favorite Asian or spicy dishes.  

Next Up, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris. Cheers.

Learning about Wurzelwerk with German & Austrian Riesling

This week I was invited to an intimate tasting of German and Austrian wine hosted by Rudi Wiest Selection, the "leading importer of fine German wines in the United States market".  The tasting was held at B Too, the latest restaurant from Chef Bart Vandaele (Belga Café) and featured wine from three young winemakers who have just ascended to the wine making thrones for their respective family operations: Johannes Hasselbach, Gunderloch in Nackenheim, Rheinhessen, Germany; Max von Kunow, von Hövel in Oberemmel, Mosel, Germany; and Alwin Jurtschitsch, Jurtschitsch in Langenlois, Kamptal, Austria.  These three are not only friends, but family considering that Hasselbach's sister, and initial heir to the family's wine making venture, married Jurtschitsch with von Kunow serving as his best man. Before taking over their respective wineries, each traveled and interned at wineries from Australia and New Zealand to Canada. And surprisingly, a common thread was that each winery had become quite large under their parents such that the new wine makers turned towards more traditional methods. For instance Alwin Jurtschitsch re-introduced more organic farming methods and Johannes Hasselbach to

Since these three obviously spend quite some time together discussing and sampling wine, one topic that constantly surfaced was a particular wine the result of the vineyard site or actions by the winemaker.  They decided to experiment and shared a portion of their 2012 grapes (the first year each took over operations) grown in their grand cru vineyards in a project called Wurzelwerk or root work.  Each then made three separate wines using the grapes from each winery.  They attempted to eliminate by letting the grapes ferment outside using the yeast clinging to the grape's skins.  The result, I don't know. I was unavailable for the evening event which featured these wines but will link to Christian Schiller who posted about the project here.

Instead this lunch focused on two wines from each winemaker from their estate grapes.  We started the lunch with the Jurtschitsch Grüner Veltliner Loiserberg 2012 Kamptal DAC Reserve, Erste Lage and 2011 Zobinger Heiligenstein Kamptal Reserve Reisling, with Alwin introducing us to their 150 year old winery. The winery itself includes a 700 year old cellar and is located in the Kamptal DAC,  northwest of Vienna and west of . The steep hills of Heiligenstein ("holy rock") contain a unique blend of desert sandstone and volcanic soil which adds a salty minerality to the Riesling - a perfect match with our oysters appetizer. The Riesling also possessed a green apple flavor with plenty of acidity accumulated from the cool nights. The Grüner Veltliner has a more floral aroma, with a silky texture after being fermented in neutral oa and spending 10 months on its lees. These are two delicious wines.

We then moved to the two Rieslings from Gunderloch, with Johannes describing the winery's three vineyards sites situated above the Rhine river and the 120 year family history operating the winery.  An interesting story is that the harvest help has traditionally come from Poland, and as that country has become wealthier, the Polish workers still arrive for harvest, now using their vacation time to pick grapes. The first Riesling was the "entry" level 2012 Estate Dry Riesling ($15), but there was nothing entry level about this wine. It's a blend of grapes from the three vineyard sites and starts with green apples finishing in firm acidity. Very tasty and refreshing. The second wine was my favorite of the lunch, the 2012 Gunderloch Riesling Dry GG, Pettenthal ($42). The Pettenthal is the only site on the Rhine with red clay soil and this single vineyard wine is equally fruity and acidic. But it's the creamy texture that allows the wine to melt in your mouth.

The final presentation was given by Max von Kunow who brought along one von Hövel produced by his father and a second of his. The von Hovel estate was a acquired from Napoleon Bonaparte in 1806 ( a mini Louisiana Mosel Purchase) and Max is the 7th generation wine maker. Before Bonaparte confiscated the land, the manor house and cellar was the retreat for St. Maximin and are over 800 years old. And the wines match the winery's amazing history, these extremely low alcohol wines (7.5%-8%) are extremely fruity with a sense of sugar - yet 100% bone dry. The elder Kunow's wine was the 2008 von Hovel Riesling Kabinett, Scharzhofberger ($15) and has a peachy-apricot flavor, followed by a creamy mid and a refreshing acidic finish.  The younger Kunow's 2012 von Hovel Riesling Spatlese Dry, Estate ($35) is all tropical fruit, again a creamy mid, with balanced acidity. There's no way these flavors come from an 8% alcohol dry wine. Pretty amazing.

If you have a chance to find these wines from Rudi Wiest Selection or a retailer, grab them. I learned today that the 2008 von Hovel Riesling Kabinett, Scharzhofberger is available online at Last Bottle. And I hope to post more on the Wurzelwerk project. Cheers to German and Austrian wine.