Heinzelwein

German cider revisited II: a Sparkling Surprise from Joachim Döhne

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For various reasons I’ve been into clearing stuff and tidying up recently, cleaning dark, dusty corners and getting rid of unnecessarities. This has been leading to some great discoveries. When I went down to the cellar to grab a sparkling to open dinner procedures the other night, there were those cider bottles, sparkling cider. Fill level was low, my expectations accordingly and I put three bottles in the fridge instead of just one, to be prepared for the worst. Oh, the negativity in me… dear Joachim Döhne, I sincerely apologize. » Weiterlesen…

German cider revisited I: Apple Heaven from Andreas Schneider

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I could start this with saying that Ebbelwoi, traditional apple cider from around Frankfurt, doesn’t exactly enjoy a great reputation. But that would be so yesterday and predictable. I could also be totally honest and admit that for some unknown reason, a 12 bottle box just re-emerged from the depth of my cellar, containing 2011 and 2009 (!!!) apple wines from Andreas Schneider in Niedererlenbach near Frankfurt, Germany’s leading cider producer. Kind of embarrassing and unprofessional, I know. However, as life goes, it made for some amazing stuff in the glass. » Weiterlesen…

Die Nacht war rot: drei deutsche Spätburgunder

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Spätburgunder und ich, wir haben so ein richtiges Liebhaß-Ding am Laufen. Er (und da gibt es wirklich keinen Zweifel, für mich ist er eindeutig ein „er“) kann so köstlich sein, so total anziehend, unwiderstehlich quasi, und doch so grausam. Letzteres findet frau allerdings erst am nächsten Morgen heraus: Es gibt nichts Schlimmeres als die morgendliche Joggingrunde mit Spätburgunderwatteschwaden im Kopf.. » Weiterlesen…

The same, yet different: 2012 Roter Riesling from Corvers-Kauter, Rheingau

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In case reading that heading makes you feel dazed and confused: yes, it does mean red Riesling, and it’s not a joke. The white queen has a red sibling! Well, red… let’s make that pinkish  in berry and white in the glass. But it’s rare. To my knowledge it’s been almost extinct until 2006, when a few producers in the Rheingau started to look after it. » Weiterlesen…

I want to go to Cappadocia: 2012 Kaya Kapadokia from Kocabağ

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Dedicated Heinzelcheese followers will have noticed that I’ve been into Turkish red wine since a year or so… Well, I’ll be completely honest with you: I fell in love with Öküzgözü, one of Turkey’s many indigenous varieties (for German readers: here is the full story from Effilee). And our little fling is still going strong. » Weiterlesen…

Sooo good with salmon: 12 Silvaner Quarzit from Riffel/Rheinhessen

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Some NYC wine guys recently had a discussion about tasting notes on Twitter. One of them pronounced a stranger’s tasting notes about as meaningful as a Beijing bus schedule.  Which tells me that a) presumably Beijing busses don’t run on time, b) these guys are tired of writing them (tasting notes, not bus schedules), and c) they might not read the right ones (tasting notes, again). Of course, translating sensual impressions into words is as tricky to get right as any other translation, perhaps even more so. » Weiterlesen…

Summer memories of Portugal: 2012 Defesa von Esporão

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That’s one of the beauties of wine: it can transport feelings and memories through time and space. In early October I’ve been to the Alentejo in Portugal where it was still summer, the golden sunlight bathing the beautiful roughness of the landscape. Of course, that trip was all about wine and food and the first stop was at Herdade de Esporão, the region’s most important wine producer. But instead of a wine tasting, we went first to their vegetable garden and then straight to the kitchen. » Weiterlesen…

Taste twice before you think: Rheingau Riesling from Anthony Hammond

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It’s really nice when people stay on one’s radar through several lives. I met Anthony Hammond when I was at sommelier school in Heidelberg, back in 1992, when our motley bunch of wine-crazy fulltime students went to every single tasting we could possibly fit in, geographically, financially and timewise. He worked for some wine merchant then and we kept running into each other, then lost touch and for a while I wondered what had become of that nice guy who is just as American as he is German. But the big plan hadn’t finished with us: In my next life, in Berlin (November, grey) and jobless, I walked past a wine shop and suddenly stopped in my tracks: I had just caught a glimpse of a familiar figure… you guessed it, Anthony. » Weiterlesen…

Lovely sweet stuff from Málaga: Rujaq Andalusí

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The sweeter the wine, the older it should be, as the sweetness over the years gradually recedes into the back of the taste spectrum – at least for me. However, that’s easier said than done, as my squirrel gene seems kind of underdeveloped. So it’s extremely nice to come accross a wine such as this Málaga from Dimobe where the ageing has been done at the winery. » Weiterlesen…

Bubbles from Domaine La Louvière

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Not that I’d need an excuse for a glass of bubbles (or two) at the start of the evening (full disclosure: I am a bubbles girl). But the festive season is upon us, and a steady stream of bubbles is more important than ever to get everybody into the mood, to celebrate love and friendship, and… well, just because life is too short not to have bubbles. » Weiterlesen…