Reviewing Germany - Tasting The Mosel

The Mosel wine region of Germany is along the river valley of the Mosel River from Koblenz to Luxemburg. The climate is continental with cold winters and warm summers. Over half of the vineyard area is planted to Riesling. Some of the vineyard area is on flatter sites producing lower quality wines often from other varieties.

Black Slate Riesling 2009 - $12
Clear, medium lemon yellow color. Clean, medium intense youthful aromas of pineapple with a touch of honey and canned vegetable. Off-dry, medium body, medium+ acidity, medium- alcohol with flavors of peach and pineapple with a medium+ length. Good/Drink now.

Dr Karl Christoffel Riesling 2010 - $7
Clear, pale lemon yellow color. Clean, medium- intense youthful aromas of lime and peach. Off-dry, light body, medium+ acidity, medium- alcohol with diluted flavors of green apple with a short length. Acceptable+

The region's reputation for quality comes from the historic Mittel Mosel where Riesling dominates the vineyards on steep, south-facing slopes on the famous blue Devonian and red slate soils. Many villages known for high quality Riesling are located here such as Bernkastel, Graach, Piesport and Wehlen. Much of their reputation comes from wine produced from the grapes of high quality single vineyards on the best part of the slope. Confusion, however, may occur when reading the labels where a vineyard name may follow the village name. Understand that some of the names are of high quality smaller single vineyard sites while some may be a huge grouping of vineyards with variable quality.

Grans-Fassian Piesporter Riesling Kabinett 2007 - $24
Clear, pale lemon yellow color. Clean, medium intense developing aromas of kerosene and peach. Off-dry, medium body, medium+ acidity, low alcohol with flavors of juicy peach, citrus, honey and some minerality with a long length. Very Good/Drink now.

Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken 2007 - $25
Clear, medium straw color. Clean, medium intense developing aromas of kerosene, peach and lime. Off-dry, light body, medium+ acidity, medium alcohol with flavors of green apple and lime with some minerality with a medium+ length. Very Good/Drink now.

Markus Molitor Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Kabinett 2008 - $15
Clear, pale lemon yellow color. Clean, medium- intense developing aromas of kerosene and peach. Medium dry, light body, medium acidity, low alcohol with flavors of peach and citrus with a medium- length. Acceptable+/ Drink now.

Dr Karl Christoffel Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese 2010 - $20
Clear, pale lemon yellow color. Clean, medium intense developing aromas of kerosene and citrus pith. Medium dry, light body, medium acidity, low alcohol with flavors of peach and orange and a bit of minerality with a medium length. Good/Drink now.

Monchhof Robert Eymael Urzig Wurzgarten Riesling Spatlese 2009 - $30
Clear, medium straw color. Clean, medium intense youthful aromas of citrus blossom, lime and a hint of kerosene. Medium sweet, medium+ acidity, low alcohol with an orange cream medium- length finish.

Eifel-Pfeiffer Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese 2010 - $20
Clear, medium lemon yellow color. Clean, medium- intense developing aromas of citrus blossom peach and lime. Medium sweet, medium body, medium+ acidity, low alcohol with fruity flavors of ripe pineapple and peach with a bit of sweet grape flavor and a long length. Good/Drink now or hold.

Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Beerenauslese 2006 - $30/ half bottle
Clear, medium gold color. Clean, medium intense fully developed aromas of nectarine, pineapple and marmalade. Sweet, medium+ acidity, low alcohol with pina colada flavors, a medium+ length with a slight mineral finish. Very good/ drink now or hold.

Lust Zinfandel 2007

My husband loves this wine so he purchased quite a few bottles at a recent Michael~David dinner that we had attended. Last night, I decided to open a bottle to serve with dinner. I was making a roasted southwestern pork tenderloin, sweet potato fries (w/ chipolte ketchup) and a salad consisting of baby lettuce (fresh from my garden) with strawberries, red bell peppers, red onions and walnuts tossed with a white balsamic-raspberry vinaigrette. This turned out to be a great pairing. It is a bold wine that really stood up to the strong chipolte seasoning while complementing the fruit flavors. I opened the bottle a 1/2 hour before I served it as I have found this wine to be more enjoyable when I do so. The Lust Zinfandel by Michael~David 2007 was a dark purple color with a ruby rim. It has intense aromas of very ripe mixed berries and baking spices-both allspice and ginger with hints of cedar. It has flavors of creme de cassis, milk chocolate and also more of the baking

Nocera - A Native Grape from Sicily

Nocera is a native grape from Sicily. It comes from the Messina province which is located in the northeast. Nocera is a quality red wine grape that is most known as a blender in the red wines of the Faro DOC. I had the opportunity to taste some pure versions (which according to Wine Searcher are rare) this week at a trade tasting held at Roma Restaurant in Houston. Wine production in the region dates back to the 14th Century BC, however, phylloxera decimated the vineyard area in 1881 leaving it at a fraction of its original size. The area boasts a Mediterranean climate with sunny days and coastal breezes, moderate rainfall, and mild winters, all ideal for grape growing. The Nocera grape is a bluish/black color and has a thick skin which allows for the production of structured wines with prominent tannins which are balanced by good acidity. High alcohol is common. Red wines produced from the grapes are an intense ruby color with purple highlights and aromas and flavors of dark fruits a

The Salta Tour 2012

Vine Connections and Pioneer Wine Company hosted a seminar and tasting event for Houston's wine trade and media at Backstreet Cafe yesterday. All but two of the wines were from the Salta Province of Argentina. Salta is the most northern wine region in Argentina lying close to the Bolivian border. The climate is very extreme due to the high altitude. Plantings start at 5,000 feet above sea level and climb to 9,000 feet, making these vineyards the highest in the world. The intense sunlight the area receives helps to create grapes with more anthocyanins, these are the color pigments which result in softer tannins, lower astringency and more intense flavor. The wines produced are extremely pure, concentrated and terroir specific. Torrontes Riojano which is considered the best of the three Torrontes clones is the most widely planted grape with plantings of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat increasing. The seminar started with a tasting of four Torrontes wines, three from diff

Wine Life - Houston

Search This Blog