Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

We interrupt your summer vacations to bring you the Newsletter of the Wide World of Wine According to Carpe Vinum and the Tasting Announcement to Which It Refers! This week we scour the wide world of wine and settle down in an unusual place. Or places rather: Germany and Austria. How are these places unusual? Well, Germany is a place that has spawned Kraftwerk and Austria is a place that has spawned Governor Schwartznegger. Coincidence? Hm. Well, yes. And totally irrelevant.

So I guess the most unusual thing about Germany is that it’s a colder-weather growing region best suited for white wine grapes like Riesling. Wines made of Riesling do make up the majority of what our market sees from Germany. I know, I know. Many of you have already puckered up at the thought of Riesling, as so much of it we’ve seen is so cloyingly sweet that it has caused diabetic shock in laboratory rats. Well, this is not necessarily true with all German wines and it’s all as simple as knowing German wine laws and reading the label . . . which is also about as simple as performing calculus on an abacus.

The important thing to know about German wine laws and the labeling is they attempt to determine and indicate the style of the contents therein. Sound simple? Good! The German wines are graded by the natural sugar content of the grapes at harvest. I believe the idea was to indicate ripeness of the grapes at harvest and therefore the quality of the vineyards because, naturally, the best vineyards would be the ones where the grapes receive the optimal ripeness. This is not necessarily so, but it does indicate the sugar content of the harvested grapes and then the possible sweetness of the finished wine. But this is also not necessarily so, as fermentation can reduce the sugar levels in relation to the alcohol levels. Confused yet? Good!

So the designations in the German wine laws are as follows from lowest sugar levels to the highest: Tafelwein, Landwein, QbA, Kabinett, Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese, and Eiswein. Furthermore, the addition of “Trocken” would mean “dry” but doesn’t necessarily make a dry wine, but makes a drier wine depending on the beginning sugar levels and the finished sugar levels in relation to the acidity of the finished wine. Heck, at this point even I don’t know what I’m talking about. So in a nutshell, Rieslings are not all sweet, and German Rieslings are considered the finest in the world. So don’t be afraid, or we’ll study more German wine laws. And listen to Kraftwerk. And nobody wants that do they?

So with all that talk about German wine laws we hardly have space left for Austria, so let’s get Austria in a nutshell. Austria is, of course, further South from Germany, and thus warmer. Warmer means a better chance for the warmer-weather grapes, so there’s a better chance for red grapes. Also, Austria shares its southern border with Northeastern Italy, so the red wine styles are similar to the Italian wines of that region (closest to Friuli), although with remarkably different grapes. This means lighter reds with varieties of Zweigelt and Blaufrankisch. The hallmark of Austrian wines, however, would have to be the dry, crisp, and complex white wine, Gruner Veltliner.

They’re all delicious crowd pleasers! We’ve got two reds, a Blaufrankisch and the Park Cuvee, which is a blend of Zweigelt and Blaufrankisch. Then there are two Rieslings, two Gruner Veltliners and even a Rose of Pinot Noir. We continue with the light and lively summer tastings, and this is a wonderful stop on the world tour!

So Friday, August 4th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Germany & Austria!!!
Hopler 2004 Gruner Veltliner, Burgenland, Austria
Pazen 2004 Riesling Spatlese, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany
Villa Wolf 2004 Rose de Pinot Noir, Pfalz, Germany
Peter Schandl 2003 Blaufrankisch, Burgenland, Austria
Graf Trauttmannsdorff 2001 Park Classic Cuvee Blaufrankisch & Zweigelt), Burgenland, Austria

More Germany & Austria!!!
Sighard Donabaum 2003 Gruner Veltliner Smaragd Atzberg, Wauchau, Austria
Von Buhl 2003 Riesling Kabinet “Amand”, Pfalz, Germany
A stellar deal at $10 for the First 5, $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours.
Hope to see you here!

Seize the Wine!

Next Friday tasting is North-Central Spain! (Rioja, Navarra, Campo de Borja, Etc.)

M