The Jewish State was proclaimed in 1948; the Federal Republic of Germany founded a year later. There was a pregnant pause when many wondered if West Germany would acknowledge the past. In 1951, Chancellor Konrad Adenauer acknowledged Germany’s “unspeakable crimes toward Jewish people.” The spell of silence was broken, and Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and Adenauer began the long, painful, still unfinished journey toward healing. In the decades since, the people of Germany and Israel have followed their lead, with financial and cultural exchanges that each serve as a profound demonstration of human transcendence. It’s clear we have much…
Kathleen Willcox has been writing about the business and culture of wine and food for more years than she’d care to reveal. Her work appears regularly in Wine Enthusiast, Wine Searcher, SevenFifty Daily, The Vintner Project, and many other publications. She co-authored the book "Hudson Valley Wine: A History of Taste & Terroir" (2017).
Dear Readers, Exactly one year ago today, with trembling fingers — we were fairly convinced that either no one would notice or everyone would and honestly weren’t sure which was more terrifying — we sent TRINK Vol. 01 out into the world. It was the culmination of months of planning, cajoling, researching, writing; of (often overlapping!) very late nights and wincingly early mornings, in some ways going far beyond our comfort zones while in others staying squarely within them. It was always with one overarching goal: to bring people around the world closer to German-speaking wines. Deepening an understanding of the traditions, innovations,…...
Riesling is admired for its complexity, longevity, and ability to reflect its terroir. The same is slowly becoming true in the sparkling wine sector, where bubble enthusiasts are discovering what aged Rieslingsekt can offer. In the world of German wines, Riesling is the undisputed star. Still wines gained their historical reputation as early as the 15th century, while the 18th and 19th centuries witnessed the rise of traditional method sekt. Over time, large companies monopolized the production of cheap, tank-fermented sparkling wine, until smaller, individual wineries were finally allowed to produce and sell their sparkling wines in the early 1980s. This…...
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…...
Words are like viruses. They appear in culture and may lie dormant then suddenly they are everywhere, swirling about, adapting to their hosts, mutating to survive. In the wine world, this process can happen fast. "Purity," it turns out, is anything but pure.
Why does biodynamics matter? Respekt-BIODYN is the ongoing effort of 25 growers from German-speaking wine regions to answer that question. Though there are many forms of holistic farming that benefit people, planet, vines and wines, this tight-knit Austria-based group believes that a shared commitment to viewing the teachings of philosopher and agricultural reformer Rudolf Steiner as a springboard for exchange, cooperation, shared learning, and support helps cultivate a sense of individuality that, ultimately, translates into more profound terroir expression and higher quality in their wines. Biodynamic Origins “The first 12 winemakers started in 2005,” explains the group’s leader, Michael Goëss-Enzenberg…...
