Inside the Konzer Tälchen
Konzer Tälchen, photo credit Valerie Kathawala
Konzer Talchen is where the Saar keeps its cool.
Similar Posts
Terroir Trocken
The photos that German astronaut Alexander Gerst sent back from the International Space Station during summer 2018 were deeply shocking: Germany was no longer green, but brown. The only visible green in the entirety of many of the wine regions was in fact the vines. RIP cool climate? While it was common knowledge that the summer of 2018 had been exceptionally warm, few people realize it was also the warmest ever recorded. The Average Growing Season Temperature (AVGST) registered at Geisenheim/Rheingau in 2018 was 17.8° Celsius, or 0.9° (1.6° on the Fahrenheit scale) above the previous record year, 1947. However, most were…...
Rotling Outlaws
The sun blazes. The air shimmers. On the horizon four figures throw long shadows across the dry, crumbling ground. They are headed toward a city. Doors swing open. The four step from light into dark, their throats dusty and dry. Behind a deserted bar stands a man. He pushes four full glasses over to them. Out of the glasses sloshes a wine as red as the setting sun. If you aren’t thirsty by now, you should at least be hearing the melody of a harmonica. This is how the opening scene of a revival—the Rotling revival—could begin. The four men…...
When Wines Play the Lang Game in Austria
”In the past, nature held very little meaning for me,” Kremstal winegrower Markus Lang admits when asked to remember the first impressions of his vineyards. Fifteen years ago, he came to the parcels on Austria’s Steiner Schreck as the Virgin Mary to her child: naive and fully unprepared. He inherited the vineyard from his great uncle, whose winemaking reputation preceded him… for wines to be avoided at all costs. “But opening the gate to the vineyard for the first time, I was struck by a feeling that I belonged there,” he recalls. “So I got to work. And it was a…...
Berlin’s Gulasch: A Stirring of Home
Luisa Weiss's recipe (and pairing) for a heartwarming bowl of gulasch and Gemütlichkeit in Germany's capital city.
Rheingau – Past, Present, (And Future?) Greatness
The Rheingau. A small, splendidly historic region of aristocratic estates and superb terroir awaiting an energizing charge. The steady ship in Germany’s often storm-tossed seas, navigating a course of admirable quality through the centuries. Its large estates set global benchmarks; its noble mien, iconic landscapes, and heralded vineyards have always set it apart. In recent times, however, the Rheingau’s identity has become somewhat obscured by the dominance of large, in some cases impersonal estates and global warming has diminished its long-held prominence as one of the few German wine regions capable of achieving consistent ripeness. If it is often described as “underachieving,” the word does hint at…...
Germany · Alto Adige · Austria
How Austrian Biodynamic Growers Put Individuality First, Together
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…...