AI image of an umlaut. Two dots on a white wine label.

But for that Umlaut

ByDavid Schildknecht

The spelling of grape names can be fraught. Iconic viticulturalist Georg Scheu once delivered an address, accompanied by a poem, wittily satirizing those who would replace Sylvaner’s romance “y” with “i.” In 1940, that was risky. Scheu’s country had become a terror state, and those being spoofed weren’t known for their sense of humor. Pfalz vintner Rainer Lingenfelder long labeled his Sylvaner: “Ypsilon – Homage to Georg Scheu and his Rebellion against the ‘i’-dot Bureaucrats [i-Punkt Bürokraten]” — which gained hilarity in translation given the fatuous Nazi policy of enforcing “Germanic” spelling. (Even the “c”s in Cabinet and Bernkasteler Doctor…...

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Carnuntum winemaker Dorli Muhr holding a bottle of her Blaufränkish wine

Why Dorli Muhr Bet It All on Blaufränkisch

ByValerie Kathawala

Austrian wine splashed back into the headlines recently when four of its wineries were chosen by a leading U.S. wine publication for inclusion in their “Top 100” worldwide. Notably, three of the four made their names with red wines. What’s more — in a first for Austria — one is a woman. The woman in question, Dorli Muhr, has been a powerful catalyst for the rise of Austrian wine over the past three decades. But gaining international recognition for her own wines, particularly her strikingly finessed Blaufränkisch from a vineyard she was the first to champion, has been a long…...

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Red stone French church in foreground among vineyards with mountains in back.
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In Alsace

ByNina Caplan

The ancient injunction to keep your friends close and your enemies closer is all very well, but in Alsace it can be hard to tell the two apart. Control of the region has swung between Germany and France like a pendulum, and the Protestantism of the one and Catholicism of the other has caused generations of religious dissidents to flee west and east respectively, to halt by the great Vosges mountains and settle on the swathe of land beside the Rhine. Which, it turned out, might have been a problematic spot in political terms, but was an ideal place to…...

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Czech Wine Steps Out of the Shadows

Czech Wine Steps Out of the Shadows

ByLauren Johnson-Wünscher

With Milan Nestarec now a household name among natural wine drinkers, wine bar owners Standa Soukup and Bogdan Trojak of Prague, the Czech capital could justifiably pat themselves on the back and consider their job done. In their quest to champion Czech wine, they witnessed a humble, young winemaker rise to the top of the international natural wine scene. While the Czech wine boom can’t be attributed to any one person or establishment, there’s no denying the impact their establishment Veltlin has had on the buzz. Will these two help launch more meteoric successes? And can a region that was…...

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Dutch Wine Comes of Age

Dutch Wine Comes of Age

ByBart De Vries

This year, 2023, marks the 50th vintage of commercial winemaking in the Netherlands. The Apostelhoeve winery was the first to take up the gauntlet and plant vines in 1970. Even though the growth of Dutch wine production has accelerated, Apostelhoeve has retained its prominent position. Its wines are allocated to retailers, wholesalers, and restaurants, but only after a personal conversation with owner and winemaker Mathieu Hulst. In the slipstream of Apostelhoeve’s journey to success, a small but expanding — and increasingly interesting — Dutch wine sector is emerging. Apostelhoeve is located just a half-hour walk outside the historical center of…...

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German Lessons in the Finger Lakes
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German Lessons in the Finger Lakes

ByNaomi Thorner

Slopes tilting toward shimmering water; a long, cool growing season; and shallow slate soil — to a connoisseur of German wines, these features immediately evoke the storied Mosel region. Yet they also describe a much younger wine-growing area: New York State’s Finger Lakes, or FLX. Long dismissed as a producer of tourist-friendly sweet wines made from non-vinifera grapes, the Finger Lakes now give life to vintages that express grape and terroir with nuance and sophistication. These include wines created by German-born winemakers, such as Johannes Reinhardt at Kemmeter Wines and Peter Weis at Weis Vineyards, as well as those who trained…...

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