The Ghost in the Glass
The resurrected Zach. Bergweiler-Prüm Erben wines from Weingut Dr. Loosen offer a new definition of Mosel Riesling: one where the winemaker’s role is found in surrender, not forged by control.
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Tasting Article · Alsace · France · Trends
A Pinot Noir Awakens in Alsace
What does Alsace’s new red cru signal for Pinot Noir?
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How Burgundersekt Is Usurping Riesling’s Sparkling Crown
10 sparkling secrets of the sekt generation.
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Riesling Looks East
Riesling is Poland's second most popular grape. Its lure is proving irresistible not only in Zielona Góra and Lower Silesia but also the cooler Lublin region in eastern Poland.
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Germany · Essay · Mosel · Tasting Article
What’s German for Drier Than Dry? Furztrocken, of course
The dark wit of Berlin. Dangerously low water levels in the Rhine River. Black bread. Germany does trocken like few others. And then there’s the wine. Despite its reputation as the land of Blue Nun, more than 60 percent of the wines made in Germany are dry. And within that 60 percent, there are discernible levels of dry, drier, and driest. So dry, in fact, that there’s a strangely specific word for it. (Of course there’s a word. It’s Germany. There’s always a word.) Furztrocken. Fart Dry. Literally. As difficult to grasp as I find a term like feinherb, it’s Kinderspiel when compared to furztrocken. Then again, mindset…...
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Germany · Baden · Pfalz · Rheinhessen · Tasting Article
On the Way to German Chardonnay 2.0
German Chardonnay may be the most thrilling wine for our moment.
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Epokale: A New Gewürtztraminer for the Ages
Digging deep with six vintages of the mine-aged iconic Gewürtztraminer Epokale from Cantina Tramin.
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Wine Returns to Weinheim
A handful of Weinheim visionaries are reshaping the future of German wine in the country's largest winegrowing region with lessons from the past.
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The Insider’s Guide to Württemberg Riesling
What do you do when you have world-class Riesling terroirs — including some of Germany’s highest, coolest vineyards, extraordinary old vines and massale selections, and a growing cadre of hyper-talented producers who bring imagination and dedication to it all — but the world still thinks of you as a place for, well, something else? This is the predicament of Württemberg’s growers. Over the past decade, they’ve made a strong argument that Riesling should be front and center when we consider the wines of this southwestern German region. Although not everyone believes a narrowed focus benefits Württemberg’s identity (the region’s top…...
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4 Faces of Alto Adige’s Iconic Vorberg
Trink Magazine | A highflying adventure in 4 vintages of Cantina Terlano's reknowned Vorberg wine. By Paula Redes Sidore
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Returning Historic Varieties to Germany’s Vineyards
This is a story for the wine romantics among us who dream of bygone varieties, who hunker down to listen to the old stone terraces telling stories of yesteryear, of those with a weak spot for growers and wines committed to character. It is in this world of nostalgia and nerds that this story is set. Enter Ulrich “Uli” Martin, a viticulturist from Gundheim in Rheinhessen. “Such a reliable companion!” he says. “Honest, direct, and amiable. You sense it immediately.” This high praise, however, is not aimed at his best friend, at least not in the traditional sense. Rather, at a grape…...
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PIWI’s Big Wine Adventure
Trink Magazine | Are PIWIs or grape hybrids our viticultural future as the climate crisis makes winegrowing more, not less, challenging? By Christoph Raffelt
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Sober Culture
What does one drink, when one doesn’t drink? Isabella Steiner opts for an oat milk latte. On the sun-kissed, hipster corner of Berlin known as Paul-Lincke-Ufer, a line for almond croissants forms from a crowd that looks more house party than home office. Steiner takes her spot, her poodle-mix by her side. Steiner and her business partner, Katja Kauf, manage Nüchtern Berlin, a platform for “Sober Culture — Made in Germany.” It appears to tap into something even deeper than the global wellness trend. “The selection of non-alcoholic alternatives [in Germany] rose sharply in 2020,” says 32-year-old Steiner. “This year they…...
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The Many Faces of Kalterersee
Kalterersee is Alto Adige-Südtirol’s oldest DOC zone, and the most fragrant and floral expression of Vernatsch in the region.
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In the Sign of Subtlety
Pinot Blanc is neither a distinctive cépage nor a particular grape variety – at least, not from the viewpoint of ampelography or genetics. And what there is of pure Pinot Blanc worldwide is nearly all rendered in German-speaking growing regions where it is typically known as Weissburgunder.
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St. Magdalener: The Beating Heart of Alto Adige
Trink Magazine | St. Magdalener represents perhaps the most powerful and structured of the many Vernatsch expressions in Alto Adige and constitutes an important part of the region’s identity. By Simon Staffler
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In the Vinschgau: Small Growers, New Heights
Trink Magazine | With forests, glaciers, and vineyards that soar above 1,300 elevation, the Vinschgau remains a bastion of true cool climate wines. By Valerie Kathawala
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Sekt: The Chequered History
For the longest time, Sekt was a dirty word. It stood for bottles of inexpensive, easy fizz with obnoxious plastic corks to be found on the street, next to the debris of spent fireworks, on New Year’s Day. Leftovers from high jinks and cheap thrills the night before. But that was then. Today, Sekt’s star is once again on the rise. We cannot even say that it is returning to its former glory because the story of German Sekt today is unprecedented and, quite literally, effervescent. It was the 20th century that destroyed with consummate efficiency what was once so promising, so frivolous,…...
