Eve's Wine 101

Bubbly with #ClinkDifferent

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The latest educational wine tasting event from Clink Different “celebrated all things sparkling from Germany and Bordeaux (with) a virtual tasting of Crémant de Bordeaux and German Sekt.” We were greeted in the Zoom presentation by Cecile Ha from the Bordeaux Council. Ha shared that both Germany and Bordeaux created white, red and sparkling wines, benefitted from a young generation of both male and female winemakers, and both are also well known for healthy tourism in their respective wine regions. Ha then introduced our host for the event, New York Sommelier and Martha Stewart Living wine expert Sarah Tracey.

Tracey shared that all of the four sparkling wines we were to taste “checked off all of the boxes” in being delicious, fun and affordable. She had presented a food pairing for each sparkler which I will share in our tasting notes below. For this tasting I enlisted help from local pals and Friends Who Like Wine in The Glass founders Vashti and Stephen Roebuck.

The Bubbles

Celene NV Cuvee Amethyste

60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc. Region/AOC: Crémant de Bordeaux. SRP: $12. Importer: Fine Wine and Good Spirits.

From Tracey: Bordeaux Crémant AOC can be made with both white and red Bordeaux grapes, they spend 12 months in traditional aging methods and there are 214 growers in the appellation. This example was a Blanc de Noir, meaning a white wine from red grapes, and should be drunk within one to two years of bottling. Aromas and flavors: yellow plums, persimmon, honeysuckle. Suggested pairing: green olives, oysters, something salty/briny and creamy.

From our group: We found the choice of red Bordeaux grapes unique, but the flavor was all sparkling with no hint of red fruit: apple, French toast, sweet Meyer lemon, white peach and wet pebbles. A steal and a conversation starter for $12.

 

Markus Molitor NV Riesling Sekt

100% Riesling. Region/AOC: Mosel. SRP: $19. Importer: Banville Wine Merchants.

From Tracey: Sekt is the word for sparkling in German and there are different quality levels. In the 1800s German winemakers traveled to France to learn how to make sparkling wine. The Mosel region is known for Riesling, is the oldest, has very steep inclines and red volcanic slate soil. Aromas and flavors: Pear, peach, white pepper and nectarine. Suggested pairing: Prosciutto due to its fat and saltiness, working well against the acidity in the wine.

From our group: Cantaloupe melon, biscuit, cool asphalt and milk aromas, with flavors of peach, Red Delicious apple, sweet creamed corn and a nicely carbonated 7 Up. I’d totally buy this one for $19.

 

Calvet 2018 Brut Rose

100% Cabernet Franc. Region/AOC: Crémant de Bordeaux. SRP: $18. Importer: Monsieur Touton.

From Tracey: 31% of Crémant de Bordeaux are Rose wines, with over 100 wine growers planting specifically for Rose Crémant. There has been a 13% increase in the past 10 years making Rose. The grapes for this wine were manually harvested and manually pressed. Aromas and flavors: Raspberry, wild strawberry and tannins. Suggested pairing: milk chocolate with 40% to 50% cacao, the tannins in both make the pairing work. Also goes well with Prosciutto.

From our group: Very pretty rose gold color with bubbles racing their way to the top of my glass. On the nose there was icy peach, cantaloupe melon, red berries and wet river rock; followed by flavors of freshly sliced peaches, more melon including Honeydew, sweet ripe pears and an interesting minerality that played on my palate for a long finish.

 

Raumland Cuvee Marie-Luise Brut 2013

100% Pinot Noir. Region/AOC: Rheinhessen. SRP: $46. Importer: German Wine Collection.

From Tracey: This wine is made by “The Pope of Sekt”, has a cooling influence from the climate as well as chalky soil. This was the “premium” wine in the line-up. Aromas and flavors: fresh, minerality, saltiness. Suggested pairing: Drunken Goat cheese and any other “zingy” cheeses.

From our group: Green apple, cheese toast, almond cookie, white peach, Hawaiian ginger flower, citrus oil and hints of crisp slate. This was the favorite amongst the people in the Zoom tasting.

 

Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.

From Carl Kanowsky: OUR GERMAN ODYSSEY Part One

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Imagine tasting and visiting where German wine is made.  What did you conjure?  Everything sweet and simple?  A people cold and distant?  A place beautiful in pictures but not drawing you to explore?

The Mosel from JJ Prum's Porch - 07-23-2013Well, I now know firsthand that none of those pre-conceptions jibes with reality.

My family and I recently took a whirlwind tour of Germany, going from Bonn and Cologne (what a Cathedral!) to Nuremberg and Dresden (haunting images of the Nazi past, with hope for the future) and finishing in Berlin (an international, cosmopolitan city that is still trying to define itself with Hitler on one hand contrasting with the many things Germany has to be proud of).  We also made a quick stop at the Nurburgring (the home of the German Grand Prix) so Ted, our oldest, could attempt to set a track record in an Aston Martin.  Close but the record still stands.

But ever since my wine awakening, I can’t visit any country without also delving into its fermentation story.  And that’s what we did when we went to the wine region along the Mosel River.

Steep Mosel slopes - 07-23-2013

We tasted at three weinguts (German for wineries).  Took us two days.  (First piece of advice, tasting on the Mosel is serious business – treat it that way and the winemakers will respond.  The tastings can easily consume three hours – plan accordingly.)

In the next three columns, you’ll read about our adventures along the Mosel, why we now respect and enjoy Riesling, and our new friends in southwestern Germany.

Likely you’ve read about how the vines along the Mosel are planted on steep slopes and are planted only on the southern exposure to capture as much sun as possible.  You may even have seen pictures.  But until you actually visit, you have no idea.

Frau Prum and Carl's son, Scott

Frau Prum and Carl’s son, Scott

Maybe we’re too soft in California.  You’d never see vines on slopes with a 30% or greater gradient.  But take a look at these pictures.  The Germans plant where goats fear to tread.

Our first visit was to Joh. Jos. Prum.  Frau Amei Prum, wife of Manfred Prum, owner and winemaker, lead our tasting.  First question, dear reader.  How many high-end, expensive wineries have you visited, only to be hosted by one of the owners?  If you’re like me, the answer is never.

Frau Prum explained all things German wine to us while plying us with increasing delicious examples.

I wanted to know who picked the grapes and how the hell they did it without multiple deaths and serious injuries.

Contrary to old folk tales, it’s not middle-aged German women who do the picking.  Now, it’s Polish women (I forgot to ask their age).  But how in the world do they get up and down those slopes without tumbling?
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How to Climb the Vines - Mosel - 07-23-2013They get to use the German version of an E-ticket ride.  See the rail going up the slope in this picture?  The pickers jump onto this sled and traverse up the hillside.  Now this may take the ordeal out of getting to the top but you still wouldn’t catch me vying to help with the harvest.

The harvest starts at the bottom of the hill and the pickers work their way up.  Harvest takes between four to five weeks to complete.  Except, of course, for picking the grapes for Prum’s Eiswein.

In making the wine, Prum does not add any sugar or commercial yeast.  So, how do you make sure that fermentation occurs when and how you want it, I asked?  “We use only what yeast comes with the grapes.  So what happens, happens,” she replied.

Also going against tradition in California, no oak is used – only steel.  She explained that Prum has been making wine since 1911 (they just celebrated their 100th anniversary), so I guess I won’t question success.

We learned all of this before we even began tasting.  This was not only a treat for the senses but also an in-depth education on Mosel wine making.  I’ll talk about the wines Frau Prum offered in my next column.