With a 2,000-year history of winemaking, Germany has enjoyed highs and lows in world esteem; but in recent years it's been enjoying a new worldwide appreciation
MICHAEL WELBECK
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| Ensinger Spring Water, a well-known German brand of mineral water, also put on show their many beverage products including the popular sports drink. |
Some years ago, a panel of authoratitive wine connoisseurs were invited to taste a wine that had been bottled more than four centuries before. One of them was Hugh Johnson, a prolific writer on all aspects of wine.
"Nothing had ever demonstrated to me more clearly that wine is indeed a living organism," he said of the occasion. "It was a moving event to drink history like this."
And then he added the line that explains the origin of this extraordinary wine, probably the oldest that anyone has drunk and enjoyed:
"What made it all the more moving was to have experienced a physical link with the golden age of German wine."
German wine: not at the top of anyone's list in recent years, apart from insiders like Johnson, Serena Sutcliffe of Sotheby's, Jancis Robinson and others who all seem to know something that the rest of us have overlooked: that German wines can be magnificent - and they can do things other wines can't.
It's odd, really, because the German vineyards are so far north you would think that conditions would be too cold to produce good, let alone great wine. But by planting the vines on steep hills facing south they were able to soak up every last drop of sun; and the fact that the grapes need such a long ripening time means that they have a fresh zing of acidity that combines with their sweetness to create the exciting flavours that make them unique.
These thoughts occurred while visiting the recent "Germany: Lifestyle & Travel" exhibition at the Centara Conference Centre, CentralWorld, a showcase of German technology, lifestyle and travel, and food and beverage products. At least two dozen German wineries were represented, mainly from the southern regions of Baden, Franken, Rheingau and Wurtemberg.
The wines were not top-drawer, expensive items, but quality products with prices mainly between 600 and 850 baht. They are available here from Rischa Import-Export company with offices in Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket and Samui.
Conducted by Baden's Wine Princess, Isabell Kindle, in scarlet and white with a gold filigree coronet, we went first to the booth of the Alde Gott winery to taste some wine of Germany's historic noble grape, riesling, which, at its best, says Jancis Robinson, "can claim to be the finest white grape variety in the world."
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| Representatives from German wineries showcasing their high-quality products at the recent ‘‘Germany: Lifestyle & Travel’’ exhibition at the Centara Conference Centre, CentralWorld. |
The name Alde Gott, incidentally, means "old God" and it comes from the dark times of the 17th century when German vineyards - and German life generally - were wrecked by the Thirty Years War. The story is that a handful of survivors crawled out of a plundered village, saw the vines were still standing and called out, "The old God still lives!"
Alde Gott Riesling (865 baht) was labelled Kabinett trocken, Kabinett being a level of ripeness and quality, and trocken meaning dry. But it was not the bone dry you associate with chablis, but quite rich and fruity. It was also elegant, with gentle fruit flavours of apricot and a touch of lemon. The grapes had been hand picked, gently pressed and matured in steel tanks to retain the full aroma and flavour, and underlying the flavour was a tingling freshness like a cool breeze across the hillside.
Right next to Old God were the wines of Weingut Huber from the foothills of the Black Forest mountains of southwest Germany. The owner and winemaker, Bernhard Huber, has just been named Winemaker of the Year by Gault Millau Germany. His citation was for his development of red wine, and 70 percent of the estate vines are pinot noir.
The German climate has always favoured white wines, with reds of lightish character being very much a minority. But the worldwide popularity of red wines, and the viticultural knowledge and technology available today have inspired German winemakers to proceed in this direction. Spatburgunder is the German pinot noir, and, since everyone loves pinot noir, this is the one that is doing exceptionally well.
Call it how you will, Spatburgunder or pinot noir was first planted in Malterdinger 700 years ago, introduced by the Cistercian monks of Burgundy. The land is on rocky, shell limestone and clay soil similar to that of the Cote d'Or. Malterdingerr Spatburgunder (1,050 baht) is matured in oak barriques and is a well balanced, smooth wine with pronounced berry fruit flavours and a touch of the forest floor that distinguishes pinot noir.
Mundelsheim Winery in Wurtemberg is spectacularly sited on a horseshoe bend in the river Neckar with steep, vine-clad hills descending to the river banks. Its Rozenberg Kabinett Riesling (655 baht) is perfect for summer evenings, with fresh, peachy flavours and an elegant dry finish.
Burg Ravensburg, near Heidelberg is another dramatic location, the vineyards rising on a hill that has a castle at its summit, and they have been making wine here for 750 years. The Triassic soil of the hillside, 240 million years old, is hard and rocky, and the roots of the vines have to fight to force their way down through the minerally-enhanced soil. Burg Ravensburg Riesling Trocken (845 baht) expresses this in the complexity of its aroma and flavour: it's a wine that reflects its place of birth, with the typical riesling balance of fullness and fresh acidity.
Grantschen Weine from Wurtenberg offer an interesting red wine with a French flavour, Cuvee du Patron (645 baht). With a blend of new crossings made from cabernet sauvignon, blau frankische and lemberger grapes, the company is aiming to make a deeper red wine with more colour, extract and tannins for oak ageing, and they are recommending it for lamb and venison.
On clay and sandstone soil in Heilbronn, Weingut Dratz-Able make a fresh and vigorous Sauvignon Blanc trocken (855). It has a flowery, peppery nose and fresh, slightly spicy green fruit flavours. It's labelled trocken or dry, but the dryness is underlined by a clean, citrus sweetness.
From the wine region of Eselberg, we found a different kind of beverage with a high mineral content, Ensinger Spring Water, which is high in calcium, magnesium and vitamins while being low in natural salt. Ensinger Sport is supplied to companies such as Benz, Porsche and Audi, and also football and other sports clubs because of its healthy mineral content.
And finally, with health and safety in mind, we tasted a non-alcoholic beer with a meaningful name, Bitburger Drive (65 baht/33cl bottle). It is made from standard beer ingredients, water, hops and barley, and looks and tastes like lager. The flavour may not be exciting, but it's fairly convincing, and while your friends are all drinking German wine, you know that if you stay with this, you can drive them home with impunity.
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