Vinocamp Session – gereifte Exoten

Welche Vinocamp Session lockt einen früh am Morgen des ersten Veranstaltungstags? Klar: Wenn es was Aussergewöhnliches zu probieren gibt, dann gibt es keine Alternativen mehr. Joachim Kaiser, seines Zeichens Biologe und Weinberater, jedoch vor allem Weinliebhaber und -Sammler, lud zu einer Probe-Session mit “gereiften Exoten” aus seinem privaten Keller ein. Dabei handelte es sich um Weine, bei denen so manch einem beim Lesen der Etiketten schon die Nackenhaare zu Berge stehen. Read the rest of this entry »

Restaurant Aqua*** in Wolfsburg – Fine dining with factory view

The Northern German city of Wolfsburg could also be called “German Motown” as it is mainly known for having the Volkswagen headquarters and consists of plenty of Volkswagen factory buildings. In recent years though, the car company has invested in building an attraction park and visitor centre for car lovers, including a luxury hotel of the Ritz-Carlton brand. The hotel facility is nestled in between the visitor center and from its windows one can overview a harbour basin and the impressive Volkwagen factory with its century-old smokestacks. I’d call it industrial romanticism. More important for food travelers though is the hotel’s own fine dining Restaurant Aqua, where Chef Sven Elverfeld has built a reputation for being one of Germany’s top chefs.

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All-Rhône Reds Blind-Tasting

Last thursday we were about 10 wine-buddies gathering at our generous host Nick‘s home for a blind-tasting of red Rhône wines. This time there were absolutely no limits as all reds from all-over the Rhône-region were permitted, drastically differentiating it from our last tasting at Nick’s when only Southern Rhône reds were allowed, as well as from the last blind tasting at my place where boundaries were set by the Syrah varietal, originally stemming from that area but now being planted all over Planet Wine.

This means that each of the 12 bottles we popped that night could be anything from Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage to Côtes du Ventoux and Châteauneuf-Du-Pape, hence also mixing single-varietal wines with those that represent cuvées. As you can see, with each blind-tasting we are slowly encircling what both Rhône and Syrah have to offer. Are we gonna grasp the essence of it tonight? Dream on, dreamer.. Read the rest of this entry »

Southern Rhône Blind Tasting

Last week it got as good as it can get for a wine geek. Not only did our hosts Eva and Nick cook a delicious dinner, but they also complotted a superb blind tasting of “Southern Rhône Reds” for us. But there was even more to come since after that “official program”, we indulged 2 extra bottles and the surprise effect wasn’t small.
Here are the wines in the order they were tasted. We only uncovered the bottles in the end after our verdicts.

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