An Awesome Red From...Germany? Lemberger Rocks!

Lemberger.

Is that a cheese that smells like dirty feet? Is it related to a hamburger? No and no. Lemberger (not Limberger, which is a cheese from the an area on the Belgian/German/Dutch border) is a red grape grown in the Württemberg area of Germany that is also called Blaufränkisch in Austria or Kékfrankos in Hungary.

Although I've had my share of German and Austrian wines, I have to admit that I've never had one that was 100% Lemberger/Blaufränkisch/Kékfrankos before. But when the nice folks at Valckenberg (a major German exporter) sent me this one as part of a big shipment that I'll be reviewing in the coming weeks (there's my disclosure, but I'll still be honest, as you already know), I was really excited to pop it open and see what it tasted like.

Most of us don't associate Germany with red wine, and for good reason. It's freaking cold in most parts of the country and red grapes need a little more sun to get pigment and flavor than whites. Stands to reason that red wouldn't be the grape of choice in most parts of this Central European nation.

That said, about a third of German vineyards are planted to red grapes like Spätburgunderr (said SHPATE-Burg-uhnduh) or Pinot Noir, Schwarzriesling (Pinot Meunier, as in the grape used in Champagne) and Central European grapes like Trollinger, Portugiesier, Dornfelder, and Lemberger. And in the Anbaugebiet (AHN-bow-guh-beet), or wine region, of Württemberg over 70% of the grapes are red.


This big region in Southern Germany is on the Neckar River and a lot of the vineyard land is on steep terraces that line the river and its tributaries. Most of the wine is made by co-op, with hundreds of growers who own about 2.5 acres all contributing.

As a personal note, I kind of like what I read about Württemberg... the region has the highest per capita wine drinking rate of any place in Germany. It seems like Stuttgart (the big city in this area) should go on the map for a place to have fun. Frankly you'd have to go there to see what they've got to offer -- to satisfy local demand, not a ton of the stuff is exported. I guess they conform well to the locavore movement!

My travel aspirations aside, I'll get back to the grape. Lemberger is a mixed bag. It's a dark skinned and can have good mouth-drying tannin and spice but it can also make light, wussy wine that's not that good. It's grown all over central Europe -- in the Burgenland region of Austria, where the wines are called Blaufränkisch and are pretty highly regarded, in the Czech Republic, in Slovenia, in Croatia, and in Hungary where it's a main component of the Egri Bikaver (aka, Bull's Blood, a blended wine that can be powerful or awful depending on the producer). In Germany, it was imported to Württemberg from Slovenia in the 19th century, from Lemberg (hence, the name).

Grafen Neipperg, owned by Valckenberg is one of a handful of wine estates in the region (since most of the wine comes from the big co-ops). The name translates to "Count of Neipperg," and rather than just a marketing gimmick, there is actually a Count and the dude is still involved in the business. He's from a long line -- the family has been growing vines for 750 years.

Grafen Neipperg producer bottles wines from one of three estates, and even uses a percentage of German oak (I know nothing about it, seems untested, but I'll go with it) from their own land. 60% of it is red. They are also a member of the prestigious VDP (Verband Deutscher Prädikats, or the 200 member association of all the best German wine producers. They use an eagle symbol on the bottle, so look for that next time you're shopping German!).

Whatever they're doing, they are doing right. This stuff was good. I love me a spicy wine and that's just what I got...


The Wine: Grafen Neipperg
The Grape: 100% Lemberger
Where it's from: Württemberg, Germany
Alcohol: 13%
Vintage: 2010
Price: $13.00

Color: This wine was so beautiful. It had a pink, rose color to it. Although it was pretty light, it had a real shine to it -- like it was smiling up at me. I lingered on the color for a while because it was so pretty (dorky, I know).

Smell: I LOVE the smell of this wine. It was like a spiced orange or apple cider drink. It reminded me of mulled wine with a spicy cinnamon stick in it (Renaissance Festival, anyone?). There was also a rose-like potpourri smell on the second whiff. Spice, flowers, and citrus -- homerun for my big schnoz.

Taste: My first impression: this wine is SASSY. It was like little electrodes on my tongue -- prickly and electric with spicy flavor. It was medium weight -- kind of filled up my mouth and coated my cheeks, but not too much. I liked the texture, and the flavors were good, albeit a little artificial-tasting. Manufactured candy came to mind -- like fake raspberry flavor or a candy apple Jolly Rancher. It had some great spiced cherry with black pepper and nutmeg notes to it too.

Pairing: I had this with Israeli couscous and vegetables with herbed goat cheese and it was great. Lighter pastas, appetizers that feature veggies (think spanikopita or mushroom tarts) would let the wine shine. I think it would be great with chicken, turkey, or pork with thyme or rosemary-based rubs would be ideal. Don't pair this with anything too heavy or you may overpower the spicy nuance, which is what makes this wine so delicious.

Drink or Down the Sink?: Drink. What a fabulous medium-bodied wine. In a world where it's hard to come by something on the lighter side that still has umph, this is a real gem. Seek it out and remember that brand is important in looking for Lemberger, so look for this wine or another VDP producer to make sure you're not getting the German equivalent of Franzia boxed wine! Readmore »»

Mosel v. Rheingau Riesling: A Taste Test With An Unexpected Result

Ah Riesling, you need a PR campaign! Similar to the US ads that called pork "the other white meat" to un-ghetto-ize it, you need a campaign as the "other white wine" to get some much deserved props! You have fallen to the wayside in the minds of many a wine drinker and although sweet seekers know and love you, you get a horrible rap among dry wine lovers who have already made a foray into the world of wine.



Sad, but true.



There are a ton of amazing drier Rieslings but people don’t seem to know this. It’s neglected and cast aside for the safer Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.



I'm an unabashed Riesling fan and advocate and I write about it all the time. I could make a very convincing argument that it's the finest white in the world and that it's more versatile than the ever-popular Chardonnay because it makes every type of wine -- dry, sweet (Chardonnay doesn't do sweet), and sparkling -- and it can age forever. It is so reflective of terroir (listen to the podcast for more on this) but it maintains a strong character everywhere it grows. It is almost always super aromatic -- like peaches, flowers, honey, and minerals -- but it's balanced by strong acidity no matter how much sugar the producers leave in the wine (which is why it's often sweet). Pay attention when you have it next time and you'll see that under your tongue waters and waters regardless of sweetness: the mark of acid.



Riesling needs cold climates to really thrive and no where does it do better than in Germany, its homeland. I'm lucky enough to be on the mailing list for the Wines of Germany so they send me some amazing stuff to try (full disclosure, although I'll be honest about what I think). I had a few bottles on hand to write about so I decided to do a bit of a taste test to see the differences between wines from the same vintage and of the same sweetness level from the two finest growing regions for Riesling – Rheingau and Mosel – were true to the common knowledge about them.



To reiterate from a previous post, which gives details on German wines that I won't go into here:

"Rheingau has completely different terrain from Mosel. Where Mosel is full of steep slopes and terraced vineyards, Rheingau is pretty gentle, with slopes that flatten towards the Rhine River and its tributaries. Mosel has mostly one type of consistent soil -- slate, and Rheingau has lots of different soils mushed up together. Rheingau's Rieslings are hard core -- lots of flavor, lots of acid, lots of stuff goin' on in general, probably because of the soil type and the growing conditions. Mosel Riesling is but a soft flower compared to Rheingau."

Although that's conventional wisdom, strangely, it appears that in the case of these wines, the identities flip-flopped. They were of slightly different price points, but that doesn’t account for what I discovered.



This issue will need further exploration…thank goodness I’m still on the Wines of Germany list so I can replicate the experiment and report back! Here are my "findings:"



The Wine: Selbach Riesling Kabinett, Fish Label

The Grape: 100% Riesling

Where it's from: Mosel, Germany

Alcohol: 9%

Vintage: 2009

Price: $14.99



Color: A beautiful pale straw color with kind of a greenish brassy look to it (like a bleached blonde in a pool). There were some bubbles, probably from the addition of a little sulfur dioxide, a common practice in Germany to keep the wines fresh.



Smell: I felt like I had just stepped into an orchard of peaches and apples. This was fruity and delicious with a bit of honeysuckle scent too. I wanted to take a bite out of the glass – it smelled like juicy, ripe fruit. There was a very characteristic note of petrichor (my favorite esoteric word, which just means the smell of wet pavement after it rains). It had that petrol/gas smell that is so common in German Rieslings (sounds gross, smells good), which I adore.



Taste: This is definitely on the off-dry/slightly sweet side, so if you don’t like that beware. The wine was more like an apple pastry with honey on top than fresh fruit. It had almost a marshmallow, candied taste, which I think dulled the prickly acid sensation I love in Riesling. I was slightly disappointed that it wasn’t more minerally in flavor. But with food...



Pairing: Although alone, I wasn’t a fan, we paired this with sushi and it was AWESOME. This wine with soy sauce was a freaking dream. It mellowed the salt and made the sushi taste creamy and smoky. This was one of those times that the wine completely transformed the food. I couldn’t get enough of this pairing (nor could MC Ice who poured soy sauce on the brown rice and practically ate it with his hands, in between sips).



Drink or Down the Sink?: Drink, but only if you’re having Asian that has soy sauce. This wine was not what I’d expect from a Mosel Riesling, which tend to be subtle and complex. It was kind of a yawn on its own but because it came alive with food, I’m keeping it on the list.



This is a re-review of Schloss Reinhartshausen Old Vines Wine -- I've reviewed the '07.



I wish we had tried this the same night, but we broke it out the next night.



The Wine: Schloss Reinhartshausen Old Vines, Estate Bottled

The Grape: 100% Riesling

Where it's from: Rheingau, Germany

Alcohol: 12%

Vintage: 2008

Price: $22



Color: Richer than the Selbach, this was like the color of those golden raisins your mom puts in your lunch bag when you’re a little kid, which you promptly chuck so as not to look like a dork because you don’t have the regular kind.



Smell: Not much has changed since the last time I smelled this wine – it’s so light in aroma for a

Riesling. I got a little bit of the gardenia smell and a touch of something like a waterfall but that was a real stretch. This is not an aromatic wine -- weird for Riesling.



Taste: Certainly the wine has more going on once you drink it, but it’s still kind of blah. Just like last time, I found that it had great acid. There were some light lime and peach notes but this time around, I thought the wine was much more noticeably sweet. It was clear to me that this was an off-dry wine, which I didn’t note last time. I don't mind a little sugar, but this seemed too sweet and not in harmony with the fruit and acid.



Pairing: I wish I’d had this with Asian, but I went Mediterranean and just had it with couscous, veggies, and herbed goat cheese. It was a nice, unoffensive complement but nothing special. Even though I didn’t get to try it with Asian, I don't think it would have been as good as the Selbach was. It just didn't have enough going on to hum in the way the Selbach did with food.



Drink or Down the Sink?: I really wasn’t impressed and it definitely fell short of the promise of a Rheingau wine, which I think should be bold and rich in flavor and smell. In comparison to the Mosel, I thought this fell short. I wouldn’t buy it for $22 – there are too many other great things out there!



I think this is an unusual outcome and that these wines kind of switched identities. It's not a case of vintage variation (same vintage) or different sweetness levels, it just must be that these producers are not making the expected -- cool but also a little disappointing for me.



I'm going to do more tasting and research and I'll report back on whether this is just an anomaly (which my hunch is that it is...). If you do any of your own taste testing, drop a note here or on Facebook and let me know how it turns out!

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Stunning Dry German Riesling By Peter Jakob Kuhn: A Perfect Summer White

It's no secret that I'm a champion of the quintessential German grape: Riesling. It has nothing to do with the fact that my last name is Schneider, which I've been told is one of the most popular last names in Germany (and it means "tailor" so if I translated it I'd be a violet-eyed, recently deceased celeb). It has to do with the fact that this wine is extremely delicious, versatile, and fascinating. It's a perfect expression of how terroir shows itself (listen to the podcast for more details on this!).

Given that I'm a big fan of this misunderstood, ragged on grape (people ALWAYS think it's sweet and cheap, mostly because of the brand to the left), it should be of no surprise that I'm on the mailing list for Destination Riesling, a marketing program to help elevate the grape in the US. Most of the wines that they send me are good, but some are really outstanding and I'm happy to tell you, we've got a live one here.

For Father's Day my dad was in town. He's a Sauvignon Blanc guy who, for some unknown reason, refuses to buy a dry Riesling, despite my repeated suggestions that he would love it. Given this, I had no choice but to bust out the Peter Jakob Kühn Quartzit Trocken (means dry in German) sent to me courtesy of Destination Riesling with our Brie and baguette. It was unreal.

The wine is from the great winegrowing region of Rheingau, which is situated between the Taunus Mountains in the north and the Rhine River to the south. Why do these topographic features matter? Because in this steeply sloped land, vineyards that face south capture a ton of warmth and sun from the reflection off the Rhine and with a northerly mountain border, the area is über protected from nasty storms from the north. Vineyards this far north could never grow such awesome grapes without this precise positioning. Rheingau is a gem for sure.

But it's not like this new news. Charlemagne (yes I did just whip out a name from your 7th grade history class. Deal with it) planted the first vineyards here near Johannisberg (if you've heard of Johannisberg Riesling, this is the origin). And of course, no great European vineyard area was left untouched by the monks -- there's evidence that three orders had their hands on Rheingau, including the Cistercians who made two major contributions -- studying the best sites and plots for vines and documenting them, and bringing Pinot Noir to the area.

Yup, I said Pinot Noir. Although cold climates usually can only support white wine grapes because red grapes can't get enough sun to ripen, 12% of Rheingau's grapes are Pinot Noir or Spatburgunder (SHPATE-burg-under), as it's known here. Because I'm so immature, I'll point out that the town of Assmannshausen (I laugh EVERY time I read that) makes lots of Pinot and apparently it doesn't taste like what the town sounds like -- it's fruity and delicious and not at all like ass.

The Pinot factoid aside, 80% of the grapes grown in Rheingau are Riesling and the producers here don't mess around. The VDP, a quality growers association that denotes membership by a black eagle on participating wineries' labels, has classified the vineyards of Rheingau in a way similar to Burgundy. There are the top quality first growths, which are called Erste Lagen and other classified wines in something called the Erste Gewachs system (I bring this up so you can look for it on the bottle, and know that it's a quality designation, don't worry about memorizing it though!).

The wine we were lucky enough to have was from Peter Jakob Kühn, a top notch producer in the area. The Weingut (winery in German, and not to be confused with beer gut, a truly American phenomenon) been around since 1786 -- 11 generations of winemaking. The property is in the prestigious Oesterich area on the right bank of the Rhine, on a steep slope with clay soils that hold moisture and create acidic Riesling that can age for decades. Kühn's vineyards are Biodynamic and organic and the winemaking is hands off -- they let the grape express itself.

Kühn is so focused on quality that they have their own ranking system. The label has zero, one, two, or three grape bunches on it, indicating basic wine (zero) to outstanding wine (three). Details, details -- very German indeed.

The wine we had the pleasure of trying was a two grape rating and was absolutely amazing. If you like dry Riesling, make sure you look for "Trocken" on the label when you're buying German...it always means dry and usually guarantees that you're going to get something special!

The Wine: Peter Jakob Kühn Trocken Riesling, Quarzit
Where It's From: Rheingau, Germany
The Grape: 100% Riesling
Alcohol: 11.5% (I love that German Rieslings are always low in alcohol -- great for sipping because they don't get you sloshed!)
Vintage: 2008
Price: $46 (a worth-it splurge)

Color: Much paler than I expected, it was almost clear with just a light straw tint to it. I expected high acid, which is right on with what I've read about the 2008 vintage in Rheingau -- it was a little less sunny than other vintages, so the acid was high and the alcohol was low (not a lot of sugar in the grapes because they were less ripe, so lower alcohol). There were small bubbles, probably from a last minute squirt of sulfur into the bottle before they capped it with a screw cap, my favorite closure for a white wine to keep it fresh.

Smell: This is a benchmark for what dry German Riesling should be like. Unmistakably there was the smell of a crashing waterfall -- minerals and wet rocks, with a very typical note of what wine dorks call petrol (my dad pointed out that this sounds unappealing, but somehow in the wine this gasoline-type thing is interesting not nasty. Look for it in German Riesling and you'll see what I mean!). Awesome sweet lemon, peaches, and clementines (sweeter than regular oranges) with a white jasmine smell that was so intoxicatingly delicious.

Taste: If you love dry Riesling, you will LOVE this wine. If you don't know if you like dry Riesling, this should be your litmus test! A great wine. That mineral smell carried over in the taste and was so interesting. The quartz soil was apparent in the flavor -- terroir matters so much here! There was searing, tooth-enamel stripping acidity -- a great match for the fat in the Brie we had because it lightened up the double creaminess of the cheese. The lemon combined with a bread character and made the wine a little like a cookie (although not sweet).

As an aside, I think it's important to note that the winemaker used a process called sur lie aging, where after the yeast eat the sugar and turn it into alcohol, they die and settle to the bottom of the tank. If the winemakers don't remove the wine from the yeast, the yeast cells break up over time and create a richer, nutty, yeasty taste. The contrast of that flavor against the acid and mineral flavors was such a sensory treat (hence the cookie thing).

Pairing: You couldn't do much better than to match this with a white food that's got some fat. The Brie was a great match, but anything that has cheese, or a butter sauce should be great. Salads, flaky fish, light chicken dishes, pasta with cream sauce or primavera -- all would be ideal.

Drink or Down the Sink?: Drink! I know it's expensive and a little hard to get, but I think it's well worth seeking out on the internet if you have the cash. It won my dad over instantly and I think he'll be seeking out more dry Riesling now. Again, this is a benchmark for Rheingau Riesling and it's one of the most delicious ones I've ever had.

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Mixed Results of Thanksgiving Pairings and an Amazing Non-Related Pairing

Whew, with the first round of decadent, butter-laden, obesity-inducing meals (aka, Thanksgiving chow) behind those of us in America, and one more on the horizon (whether that be in form of potato latkes or Christmas ham), I thought I'd do a post to share my pairing experience and ask if you'll comment and pay it forward so we can all figure out what worked and what didn't.

I'd love to say that I tested out all my pairing suggestions this year (I have at one point or another done it, so please don't think I'm suggesting stuff blind, BTW), but we drank just two wines and MC Ice and I disagreed on the results. I'll share those and, as a bonus, I'm going to tell you about the pre-Thanksgiving random-ass pairing we had because it was, surprisingly, THAT good.

Because I do love the wine and because I had it on hand courtesy of Destination Riesling (the advocacy group for this under-appreciated grape) I pulled out a bottle of the Dönnhoff Spätlese (SHPATE-lay-zah) Riesling for the meal. Without having had this brand before, I didn't know how sweet it would be, but thought I'd roll the dice. This is the perennial problem we all face when buying Riesling.

I'll dork out on Riesling for just a second in the hopes that this information (whether it be a refresher or new news) may make you less squeamish about buying the stuff. I think it's damn confusing, so hopefully a plain English explanation (with a little German thrown in) will make it less daunting.

So to break it down, Riesling is a grape that grows really well in cold climates like Central Germany. I know the general perception is that Riesling is sweet, but when German growers pick it, it's generally kind of tart and ALWAYS really acidic -- that's just how the grape rolls. Now, if the growers decide to let the grapes hang out on the vines a little longer than regular harvest time (which is a risk because it could get cold and stormy and frosty), then the grapes may be slightly riper and the resulting wine fruitier and fuller, and often sweeter.

In a climate where it's cold and grapes don't ripen all that well, the Germans have decided that the longer the grapes hang on the vines, the higher quality they are. The thing is, this doesn't translate to what most contemporary wine drinkers consider high quality because according the German schema, the higher the quality, the sweeter the wine. It's all kind of cock-eyed, but if you know what the stuff means, you can avoid buying sweet wine from Germany and just get the kind of wine you want -- which for most of us is dry, aromatic, acidic Riesling that kicks ass and goes well with Indian food.

Here's a cheat list (with pictures) for you of the three most common German Riesling classifications out there:

Kabinett: ripe grapes (it actually means cabinet, like where you store the stuff). It is generally light in style, and usually a little drier than the next two levels because the grapes aren't as ripe. That said, I've had my share of off-dry Kabinett, so caveat emptor, my dry-loving wine pals.


Spätlese: late harvest, really just means ripe grapes. It can be dry or sweet. Usually if it's dry, it will say so somewhere on the label. The producer could indicate it by using the word "trocken" (see right) but these days I usually see them put DRY somewhere on the label. Germans are nothing if not efficient in labeling.

Auslese (OWS-lay-zah): select harvest. Means that the growers have hand-picked the grapes from selected bunches that are sweeter and riper than the Spätlese grapes. These wines can only be made when the weather is warm enough to get the grapes fat and juicy with ripeness. More often than not, these are sweet, but there ARE dry versions out there, rare though they may be. Much like the Spätlese, there will be a bit "To-Do" on the bottle if the wines are dry.

I won't get into these because they are rare, not produced in every vintage, and are definitely dessert wines, but for thoroughness there are three more levels of sweetness -- Beerenauslese, Eiswein (ice wine), and Trockenbeerenauslese. These are extremely sweet, never dry, and are generally super expensive.

The Dönnhoff we had was a Spätlese and it was a little more than off-dry. I won't go into too much detail, but this producer is one of the most highly regarded in all of Germany. The family has been making wine since 1750 and although Nahe is a small region that many don't know, it's known among Riesling lovers as rivaling the famed Mosel for having the greatest Riesling wines. Dönnhoff is the king of the Nahe, and, some would argue is the best producer in Germany. The wines are known to be a little fleshier and fatter than Mosel's Rieslings but with great acidity. The vineyard from which this wine hails is called Oberhäuser Brücke and it is famed for its gray slate and amazingly powerful wines. For me, I can see why these wines are esteemed -- it was pretty damn good.

Here's the quick rundown:
The Wine: Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke, Riesling Spätlese, 2008 (translation --Dönnhoff is the producer, Oberhäuser Brücke is the vineyard, Riesling, the grape, Spätlese, we just went over that)

Price: About $40

Color: The lightly golden hue made it a little darker than what I would expect from a totally dry wine. Sugar darkens a wine a touch, so I expected some sweetness.

Smell: It was a classic Riesling all right -- peach, lemon cookie, and white flowers just wafted into my nose and then there was a really light petrol or gasoline note.

Taste: The wine had a little spritz and it was noticeably sweet. It was very pleasant though -- peachy, lemony, with a really strong hit of cantaloupe or honeydew melon. There was a little bit of petrol smell after it left my mouth too -- kind of sassy. I liked the acid, it wasn't too strong but definitely present.

Food pairing: This was such a hit with all the savory food at Thanksgiving. The light sweetness and the acid just made everything even and smooth. The starches were lighter, and I was surprised that it was a great complement to the sweeter butternut squash soup and the sweet potatoes. The salty/savory stuffing was awesome with the wine too -- it was so nice with the herbal quality of my mom's famous recipe popcorn stuffing (it's stuffing with popcorn in it, not just popcorn). I don't eat turkey (just don't like it, sorry!) but it was a split decision at the table -- some loved the pairing, MC Ice hated it. I thought it was a fabulously versatile wine and it was a hit for my palate.

Drink or down the sink: For me, it was a total DRINK. I loved the complementary pairings of sweet with sweet and the contrast of savory with sweet. MC Ice hated the pairing and thought it made everything taste too sweet. He also is a total sweet wine hater, so take that as you will. It got a thumbs up from me, a thumbs down from him. Regardless, I will make the call that it was a well-made wine and of high quality, even if its style isn't for everyone!

Now for a Thanksgiving honorable mention.

The next wine on the docket -- Erath Pinot Noir from Oregon with Thanksgiving dinner. This is a wine I generally like. It's lighter in color and fruity and slightly earthy, but not a wine of great depth, I find. For $15, it's pretty good.

For me, it completely clashed with the starches. The acidity and fruit kind of made everything taste like an unripe cranberry! It wasn't something that worked for my palate at all. MC Ice, on the other hand, loved the way it went with everything, especially the turkey. He liked the contrast of the fruit and acid against the starch. What I found kind of angular, he found delicious. To each his or her own, I guess. This one is totally inconclusive -- maybe you can weigh in to tip the scales.

Finally, a non-sequitur to all of this. The night before Thanksgiving, for really no reason at all, I made a completely unseasonal, fattening, and wrong-holiday dish -- I made basil pesto. I know, it's not in season and it's not from my garden, but I saw basil at the store so I bought it and made pesto because, well, I wanted to. I make it with walnuts instead of pine nuts and it was a successful, yummy meal when placed over whole wheat pasta and tossed with a ton of grilled veggies.

Looking for something light and seaside-like (pesto is from Genoa, a seaside town in northeastern Italy so I thought I'd try something beachy), I grabbed a bottle of $5.99 Espirial Vinho Verde from Trader Joe's. Ohhhh yeah.

Vinho Verde is not "green wine" as in the color (recently I had a very snotty, self-professed wine connoisseur haughtily tell me that, of course, the name comes from the fact that the wine is green), it's green as in youthful. Actually in Portugal, one-third of this "green wine" is actually red. You get the point.

What's great about Vinho Verde -- it always is lightly bubbly (Fizzy Bubblech, for you Zohan fans) and it's always fruity, light, and a little briny or seaside-like. I love the stuff. It's inexpensive, it's fun, and it's reliable. And with fresh seafood or a bright, herbal dish like pesto, it gives just the right lift to food without butting in too much with a strong flavor. It was a great pairing. The only downside -- it made me want to eat more food to keep tasting the combo! So there you go.

In summary, I think Riesling is the bomb for Thanksgiving, but lighter style Oregon Pinot doesn't ring my bell (I do think there are other Pinots that would have done the job, though). MC Ice thinks the opposite. We both agree that Vinho Verde and pesto is the best poor man's dinner we've had in a long time. Maybe we'll have that for TG next year : )

Please post a comment or go on my Facebook page and let me know how your pairings worked out for Thanksgiving! I'd love to hear your opinions! Thanks for reading! Readmore »»

Schloss Schönborn Riesling: THE Cool Down for a Scorching Day (or Meal!)

I know I've been talking a lot of white wine lately, but when it's 95 degrees with 100% humidity, red can be a hard sell for me. I genuinely have no preference for red vs. white wine -- I love them equally -- but in the summer when even my sweet, rascally, and energetic puppy, Ellie (11 months and soooo cute, see right), can only go out for 7 minutes before she's wilting, chilled white is the way to go.

So when it hit 104 with the heat index the other day, M.C. Ice (my fabulous husband) and I busted open the bottle of German Riesling that the folks at Destination Riesling sent me (there's my disclosure, but as always I'll be honest, as you know) with total joy and excited anticipation. What is Destination Riesling? Well, to quote them:

Destination Riesling is a holistic communications campaign designed to increase interest and awareness for European Riesling among consumers in the U.S. The campaign is underwritten by the German Wine Institute and the European Union.

I love the idea of this campaign, since I think perceptions of Riesling that it's sweet and for rookies are just plain wrong. Creating more awareness about styles and the range of Riesling is so important, because people are just missing out by sticking with their bad impression of this awesome wine.

So let me just step off the soapbox (ah, nice to be back on solid ground) and tell you that the wine we tried was a German Riesling from the region of Rheingau.

Rheingau is an area near Frankfurt, whose name literally translates to "Rhine District" (really original, huh?). Geographically it's interesting because the Rhine River, which flows in a fairly straight, northerly shot from the Swiss Alps to the North Sea, bumps up against the Taunus Mountains and is forced to turn west at Rheingau. This is great for winegrowers because at the bend is a big ledge of south-facing slopes. The vineyards are planted on these gentle hills right on the water, so they benefit from the sun and warmth reflecting off the Rhine -- totally key in an area that's so far north that it's nearly impossible to ripen fruit. Given all that, Rheingau is a fabulous place to grow grapes.

And grow they do.

Even though it represents only 3% of the total wineland area in Germany, Rheingau's history as a wine growing region (winemaking began in the 1100s here) and its commitment to quality make it a standout. For example, I think it's very classy that instead of growing mainly lesser grapes such as Müller-Thurgau and Silvaner, 80% of the land in this region is planted to Riesling, a rarity in the German wine world and especially ironic because the Geisenheim Wine Institute, which developed Müller-Thurgau, is located here. Adding further to its cred, Rheingau is the home of the famed Johannisberg Riesling, which you've probably had so you know it's super fruity, creamy, aromatic, and delicious. Even if you don't like sweeter or fuller styles from Germany, you can appreciate that Rheingau winemakers also invented late harvest wines, or Spätlese, which are made by letting the grapes hang on the vines for a few weeks after the regular harvest to build some ripeness and make a sweeter, fuller-bodied wine. All these accomplishments and delicious wine make Rheingau a great region.

That said, people make a big deal of Riesling from the Mosel and often forget those from Rheingau. I love them. They are so cut and dried: a good Rheingau Riesling will be fragrant and super clear in flavor -- you won't be grasping for descriptions. These wines are upfront with what they are. Dry or sweet, they are fruity (like peaches and limes), rich and creamy, have a spicy mineral twang, and wicked acidity.

The Schloss Schönborn that M.C. Ice and I tried is from the largest estate from a designated high-quality vineyard within Rheingau, called Marcobrunn (I keep wanting to call it Macro Bun, as in large yummy, bready, roll, but I'm wrong. It's Marco, as in Polo, and brunn, which apparently means stream). There are several vineyards in the area known to be outstanding sites for grape growing and this is one.

Schloss Schönborn started growing grapes here in 1349. It's one of the oldest wine estates in Germany. Today, it is known for outstanding Rieslings. Schloss Schönborn is a member of the VDP, an organization of high quality German wine producers that signify their compliance to these standards by placing an eagle emblem on their capsule (yeah, that's what that is). This organization is hard-ass -- they review members closely, guard membership by ensuring that the temperature, altitude, rain, wind, sun, soil conditions, etc. are up to par. They don't mess around, so believe that Schloss Schönborn's wine is no joke...it's a solid wine.

The wine is a Kabinett. That doesn't mean you stick it in the cabinet and never drink it. It's the way that Germans classify their wines. They have a scale of different ripeness levels (which they refer to as Pradikat, which they equate with quality, although we dry wine drinkers are better off thinking about it in terms of ripeness or sugar levels). Here are the most common levels and what they mean:

Kabinett: Ripe grapes from a regular harvest. They can be dry or they can be slightly sweet.

Spätlese: Late harvest with very ripe grapes. They can be dry but usually they are pretty sweet and they can be fruitier than a Kabinett but not always.

Auslese: It means "select harvest," and this wine is made from very ripe, selected bunches and is either sweet, semi-sweet, or rich and dry. Auslese is tricky because it covers a lot of different styles, so you have to ask or research before you buy one.

Other sweeter styles are Beerenauslese, Eiswein, and Trockenbeerenauslese and these are uber sugary and just really for dessert. Oh, and lastly, if the wine says "trocken" on the label, that means it's dry. I've found that hard to find, just as an FYI, but that may just be me.

Ok, with that out of the way, here's the wine...

The Wine: Schloss Schönborn Kabinett
Where It's From: Marcobrunn Vineyard, Rheingau, Germany
The Grapes: 100% Riesling
Vintage: 2008
Price: $17.99

Color: This wine was the color of a ripe yellow apple and kind of reflective (I probably could have applied lipstick in the reflection it was so sparkly!). There were a ton of little bubbles -- probably from the addition of CO2 at the end for freshness, or an early bottling with little filtering left some yeast that processed some sugar and made CO2 while working away. Either way, they are harmless, common in German wines, and I don't mind a little spritz in young white wine so I was happy to see them.

Smell: I loved the smell of this wine because it was a study in contrast -- both typical and atypical of Riesling. I know that when you smell a wine and you read these descriptions that I put down or other wine people write you think we're full of BS and question our sanity or sobriety when coming up with this crap, but I swear this wine had distinctive scents that you would call out easily (goes back to what I said before about Rheingau -- focused, easily pinpoint-able flavors). The typical -- nice ripe peach, white flower, and honey smells. The atypical -- it smelled exactly like figs, clovers in a field, and English peas (seriously). There was one thing in which it was very much lacking -- no noticeable spiciness or strong mineral tones to smell. I worried. Was this going to be a powder puff wine, all fruit and nothing else?

Taste: Nope. No powder puff here. Whew! This wine had the honey, sweet pea (I know it sounds weird but I swear it's there), and dried apricot flavor, but to my relief it also tasted like licking a slate slab. It was a little spicy and rocky (think mineral water), and it was spritzy and fresh from the mini bubbles. It had low alcohol and was lightly sweet and creamy in texture. I loved that the wine was so acidic that I felt like I needed a dentist hose to drain the moisture from under my tongue. Another thing I adored about this wine was that the flavor and texture were consistent from start to finish -- it kept its (tasty) character throughout. I like this in a white wine and find that it is a rare occurrence, so I was happy with this attribute (it's the kind of thing that you don't notice until you have a wine that has it and then you realize that it's amazing!). This was a typical German Riesling and it delivered.

Food: Asian and Indian cuisines are this wine's best friends. The acid mitigates the burning effect of the spice and the fruitiness and sugar make Asian spices rounder/less stinging. Your mouth goes from being on fire to being coated with slightly sweet creaminess and clean acid. The effect is that the food tastes more balanced/less hot and the wine tastes creamier and less sweet. What a killer combo (I love this with Indian because it complements those warm spices -- curry, tamarind, cumin, etc).

Drink or Down the Sink?: Although definitely not an everyday sipper for me because it's a little sweet (I love my Rieslings bone dry), this one goes into the rotation for anytime we do Indian, Thai, or Chinese. It's a wonderful wine with food and I'd give it a whirl next time you're trying anything with Eastern spice! If you don't believe me, M.C. Ice, who hates semi-sweet wines (although strangely doesn't mind dessert wines, but that's a story for another time) really liked this wine for its balance, its clear flavors, and its great ability to become tastier with food!

How to Shop For a Wine Similar To This One: Well, first either go to the German section or to the Riesling section of your shop. The wine will be in a long, skinny green bottle (called a Hoch bottle). First look for Riesling then Rheingau on the label. Then look for a vineyard name like Johannisberg, Mannberg, Rüdesheimer Berg, or Marcobrunn, as was the case here. Look for that VDP symbol (right) mentioned above. Lastly, look for the ripeness/sweetness level. This wine was a Kabinett, which tends to be a little drier. If the wine says Spätlese or Auslese it will most likely be much sweeter than this wine, so caveat emptor. All these tips should increase the likelihood of you getting a high quality product that's typical of the area and similar to the wine I'm describing here! Readmore »»