What a nice evening with only bottles of Riesling. It was my mom’s birthday and a few friends came over for the occasion. Naturally, I seized the occasion to experiment a bit with the effect of different Riesling styles on our guests. Here are my quick notes:

2008 Von Den Terrassen Riesling, Weingut Castel Peter, Bad Dürkheim, Pfalz – Sleek and lean. Less on the riper side and thus a typical 08 I’d say. Good minerality, a bit lighter in weight as well but nonentheless a good introduciton to this estate I’ve never heard about. Also, a nice first wine for refreshing the palate. Read the rest of this entry »

Subtle peach and slight minerality in the nose, later also some herb aromas. Appears cool and slim on the palate with a young and rather crude acidity. Fruit only picks up slowly right now, needs some airing. Read the rest of this entry »

For many lovers of German Rieslings… err I mean for all folks of the trade that love German Riesling this is probably the event of the year.

All VDP estates are gathering in the Rheingoldhalle in Mainz and present their new collection to a public of journalists and professionals. The focus is on the entry and mid level wines since most of the top level wines are still bubbling in the cellars. Read the rest of this entry »

As every year many of Germany’s top winemakers were presenting their newest vintage at the VDP Weinbörse in Mainz. I was again lucky to attend and get a personal first look on what is a particular vintage compared to the last years. Read the rest of this entry »

In the very last minute I realized that I was about to miss the start of the Rheingau Gourmet Festival, a one week event comprising many mouth watering lunches, dinners and wine tastings all held in this epicurious region along the Rhine. Read the rest of this entry »

Domäne Mechtildshausen is a farm and restaurant estate not far from Wiesbaden and Mainz. I could resume its essence in a few words: they grow their own organic veggies, they raise their own Charolais beef and other animals, they serve all those fresh ingredients in their restaurant, and last but not least…they have a great wine list in this restaurant with emphasis on red Burgundies, but also lots of nice whites from Rheingau, Rheinhessen and Nahe. I can only recommend this place for its solid cuisine with deliciously fresh ingredients of high quality. But let’s get back to those nice wines. Read the rest of this entry »