Imagine a wine that is the result of a blend of the best barrel of red wines from five different winemakers and a port from the the best casks of vintage Port from the exceptional 2017 vintage. The Vale do Douro was an unknown river valley ‘somewhere in western Europe’, when João Ferreira Álvares Ribeiro, Jorge Roquette, Dirk van der Niepoort, Cristiano van Zeller & Vito Olazabal teamed up in 2003 as the ‘Douro Boys’. They wanted to make their native wine region better known in general, to introduce their red wines to the world at large, and to reposition the Port wines on the market. They have accomplished all of this. Today, the Douro Valley figures as an indispensible section on any sophisticated wine list. To celebrate their fifteenth anniversary, each of the five estates Quinta do Vallado, Quinta do Crasto, Niepoort, Quinta Vale D. Maria and Quinta do Vale Meão has sacrificed its best barrel of red wine and their best cask of vintage Port from the exceptional 2017 … [Read more...]
New book about Wine in Austria to be launched in December
A new book called Wine in Austria: the History was unveiled recently during this year's edition of the Austrian wine Summit. This is the first time that an academically substantiated and comprehensive volume on the history of viticulture in Austria from prehistoric times to this present day will be published. The book includes an individual chapter devoted to the life and work of Dr Friedrich Zweigelt.More than two and a half years of work went into creating the 500-page book, which was commissioned by Willi Klinger and came to fruition under the academic aegis of Professor Dr Karl Vocelka. It will be published by Brandstätter Verlag in December. Mr Klinger said: “More than thirty authors worked to research and write about the long and rich history of Austrian wine in all its facets in this handsome volume. Grape varieties, cultivation and cellar techniques, the role of wine in religion and traditions, the emergence of the Austrian winegrowing regions and the successful … [Read more...]
Three Sauvignon Blancs from the master of minerality Hannes Sabathi
Hannes Sabathi, the congenial winegrower from the Südsteiermark loves the distinctive mineral interplay of different soils in wine and is completely dedicated to the vinification of these sophisticated expressions. He realised at a young age that for him the truth about wine lay in the soil. Since then, the terroir fanatic has worked without compromise to vinify wines from various sites in a way that faithfully expresses their contrastive character. The wines of Hannes Sabathi can always be recognised by their clarity, depth and precise personifications of the soil. Hannes Sabathi is frequently called ‘the Sabathi with the roots’. This, of course, stems from the visual appearance of the labels, but it conceals a much deeper truth. Hannes Sabathi loves the soil! In his vineyards, he has dug many holes and investigated the soils, in order to better understand the interaction of soil and grape variety. ‘It is from the soil that a wine gets its unmistakable character. This … [Read more...]
Stuart Pigott appointed Riesling ambassador for Gut Hermannsberg
When Stuart Pigott visited Gut Hermannsberg 35 years ago, then Staatliche Weinbaudomäne Niederhausen-Schloßböckelheim or Nahe State Domaine, for the first time he recorded that moment in his diary. On Thursday 26th April 1984 he noted “I’ll never forget my very first sip of Kupfergrube, I was totally amazed and fascinated." Since then he has devoted himself to studying Rieslings, but those from the Nahe have always had a special place in his heart. After many adventures in the world of wine, the last of which was as Contributing Editor for James Suckling, one of the world’s most influential wine critics, Pigott is returning to Germany to live out at least a part of his fascination for Riesling in the beautiful and dramatic Nahe Valley. This decision has a great deal to do with the fact that this year Gut Hermannsberg celebrates an important anniversary. 10 years ago the estate, founded in 1902 by the Prussian State, was purchased by Jens Reidel and Christine Dinse. As a result … [Read more...]
New winemakers for Three Brothers Winery
Just two weeks before harvest began for the 2018 vintage, Kim White has joined the production team at Three Brothers Wineries and Estates as head winemaker. Paige Vinson was also appointed as assistant winemaker. The change came after winemaker Aaron Roisen announced he had accepted a new position at Dr. Frank Winery. White’s love of science and the ability to be creative are what attracted her to the wine industry and she enthusiastically describes her work as the best of both worlds. She has an impressive resume including harvest experience in Washington State, Australia and France. Before joining the Three Brother’s team as Head Winemaker, White was the Assistant Winemaker at Sheldrake Point Winery. “We’re thrilled to have Kim join our team. The professionalism and passion she shows for her craft are second to none,” says Erica Paolicelli, Co-owner. “She’s enthusiastic and ready to make her mark in our region”. Joining White in the cellar is Paige Vinson, who after … [Read more...]
Niepoort’s 1863 port decanter sells for 100,000 Euros
A decanter by Lalique containing Niepoort's port wine from 1863 has been auctioned by renowned wine auction house Acker, Merrall & Condit in Hong Kong for more than 100,000 euros on 3 November. It was one of five precious decanters that contained the last few drops of this award-winning score that is not only rare but has scored 100 from US wine critic James Suckling and Jancis Robinson gave it 20 points out of 20. The wine comes from the 1863 harvest. Franciscus Marius Niepoort filled the great vintage in wooden casks and laid it down to rest it in Niepoort’s maturing cellar in Vila Nova de Gaia, where the wine was used for blending the famous Niepoort tawnies. More than forty years later, Dirk Niepoort’s grandfather Eduardo Niepoort transferred the wine that remained into glass demijohns, vessels with a capacity of between eight and eleven litres. Nine demijohns were – as it is noted in Niepoort’s cellar book – filled with the rare vintage on 18 September 1905. The … [Read more...]
New Belgian winery Valke Vleug knows ‘cool things happen on the edge’
After studying engineering Pieter Raeymaekers went to New Zealand to work with winemakers because he did not want to start work immediately. That was in 2005 and the experience had a huge impact on his professional and personal life. Today, 13 years later, he is fulfilling his dream as he is the winemaker of a new winery Valke Vleug that is set to fully open next year in time for the 2019 vintage. On land that was used to grow asparagus, Pieter, Johan Stoffels and Jan Van Lancker are betting that they can produce quality Belgian wine at their Valke Vleug estate in Liezele near Puurs in Little Brabant. The three have joined forces to pursue their passion for wine and introduce a new concept that aims to not only produce around 23,000 bottles of Belgian wine but also to introduce wines from cold climates. With the motto Cool Things Happen on the Edge they say that this is the first such project in Belgium since they will not only produce wine but also sell wines from … [Read more...]
The wine battle: biodynamic vs natural wines
Around 10 years ago, I sat for a five session course on wine tasting. The sommelier who was organising the wine course presented us with a range of natural wines, a few excellent, most foul. The scope was not to convince us about the merits or not of natural wine but rather to allow us to spot the defects in a wine whether it was natural or not. Move 10 years and in 2018, most restaurants and wine bars worth their salt are offering many natural wines and biodynamic wines on their wine lists. But have we reached peak natural wine? What’s the difference when it comes to taste with biodynamic wines? Can they be both? And has there been improvement in natural wines. These were the questions we tried to explore at a wine tasting club I am a member of. Together with a friend, we selected 10 wines from philosophical European winemakers who in one way or another have a vision and who translate their vision into their wines. This was an atypical wine tasting moving where we compared … [Read more...]
Bon Bon sommelier Antoine Lehebel to represent Belgium in Best Sommelier competition
Antoine Lehebel, sommelier of Brussels restaurant Bon Bon will be representing Belgium in the 15th edition of the most prestigious sommelier competition in the world. The Best Sommelier in the World competition takes place in Antwerp in March 2019. Lehebel has already been crowned the best sommelier in Belgium in 2014. Born in 1982, he has vast experience having worked in Longon at Rasoi Vineet bhatia (1 Michelin star) and at three Michelin star restaurant Les Pres d'Eugenie in France. He has also worked at Michel Chabran and Charlemagne (both 1 Michelin star) before moving to Belgium in 2013 to work at Villa Lorraine. He moved to the two Michelin starred Bon Bon in May 2018 to work with one of Belgium's best chefs Christophe Hardiquest. The restaurant has a 19.5 score in Gault & Millau and has two stars. The sommelier has diplomas from WSET as well as Advanced Sommelier from the Court of Master Sommelier. He took part in the competition that was help in Argentina in 2016 … [Read more...]
Going, going, gone: 15,000 euros for a bottle of Riesling
The last bottle in the estate cellar of the Schlossböckelheimer Kupfergrube Trockenbeerenauslese 1921 vintage has been sold for a record EUR 14,992 becoming the most expensive German riesling ever sold. This was the last bottle of the wine that remained in the Rarities Cellar of Gut Hermannsberg, a bottle that that is not only historical but also comes from an exceptional vintage. vintage. The neck of the bottle is decorated with a banderol, where one can read the ornamental script: Presented as a celebratory libation to honour the President of Germany, General Field Marshall von Hindenburg, at the liberation festivities in Cologne, on 21 March 1926. Bidding on the wine opened at 350 Euros, and ultimately found a new owner for 14,992 Euros. Estate GM and cellar master Karsten Peter could barely believe it: ‘That is an unbelievably high price, even for a one-of-a-kind item’. And this coming from the man who set a record price last year with his 2015 TBA which sold for 10,600 … [Read more...]