June 2021
Over the past year, we’ve grown accustomed to keeping our heads down, focused on placing one foot in front of the other. Now we can look up and shift our focus, from tree back to forest.
Reestablishing equilibrium and redefining the balance between responsibilities to ourselves and to others has led to a long-needed reevaluation of the status quo. We’ve seen it play out in many realms, and wine is finally, thankfully among them.
In this volume, our authors take us on that challenging journey of rediscovery as they confront their own preconceptions. Lauren Johnson comes to terms with an element of racism in a winemaking philosophy she revered. Stuart Pigott warns of the stark reality of heat and drought in a country that, only decades ago, struggled to reliably ripen wine grapes. Ronald Merlino continues his journey along Beethoven’s footpaths to uncover the interplay of music and some quintessential Austrian wines — and the ways in which they amplify our understanding of the composer’s greatest works.
You’ll also find Ellen Wallace’s story of a fascinating Swiss nature park that’s now home to 80 wineries working in symbiosis with nature and human need, as well as Nils Kevin Puls’ fresh look at the timeless appeal of working non-vintage among four top Austrian growers, and expert picks for orange wines from the umlaut zone. From South Tyrol, Simon Staffler reports insights gleaned in the final installment of his three-part investigation of Vernatsch. Liv Fleischhacker explores lessons three Berlin wine retailers learned from their pandemic experiences.
Last but definitely not least, we present a practical and a theoretical introduction to the world of Kabinett trocken. It is a style both loved and little understood. And who better than David Schildknecht and Jérôme Hainz to elucidate?
As we head into summer, we thank you, our readers, for your remarkable engagement and support for our first six volumes of TRINK. We will now pause publication until autumn, allowing us to refresh our focus, as well as the look, feel, and function of the magazine.
As ever, we welcome your feedback and suggestions. Drop us a line [email protected]
Happy reading!
Paula Redes Sidore, Bad Honnef
Valerie Kathawala, New York
From last Wednesday night into Thursday morning, 148 liters/square meter of rain fell on the Ahr. In a normal July, the region gets about 80 liters/square meter — in the entire month. This immense volume…...
In the first movement of this piece, we looked at the origins of Ludwig van Beethoven’s interest in wine and the critical role this played in shaping the composer’s musical career. Here, we trace his path through…...
Over the last decade, Berlin has established itself as a wine city. No small feat, since little quality wine is made within a five-hour driving radius. But in the early 2010s the natural wine movement…...
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…...
In a Swiss park, a footpath leads from Leuk, a village straddling the Rhone, up to Varen, which is perched on a cliff. The trail is steep and strewn with pebbles in early summer. But…...
Skin-contact white wines may have their revolutionary roots in Georgia, Slovenia, and Friuli, but the umlaut zone also stakes a strong claim for orange expressions. Austria was an early and highly successful adopter (think Tschida and…...
It was biodynamic wine that helped me to find my footing in Europe. Yet, as a Black American woman living in Europe, Rudolf Steiner's interests and views present a complicated and troubling legacy.
Truth be told, I relish the fact that the phrase “kabinett trocken” feels like an oxymoron to so many people. For all reasonable drinkers who have come to reflexively associate the word “Kabinett” with an…...
For centuries, the grape variety Vernatsch has been both flagship and albatross around the neck of Italy’s northern region of Alto Adige-Südtirol. In this final installment of his three-part series, Simon Staffler looks closely at…...
Confession time: Which wine and food pairings make your eyes roll faster than a teenager’s? Champagne and strawberries? Pizza and Lambrusco? Muscadet and oysters? In southern Germany, Silvaner and white asparagus are regional marketing 101…....
It’s an unfortunate paradox: the very climatic conditions that leave us thirsting for lightweight, refreshing and soul-satisfying dry wines render these hard to achieve. Yet, rather than leading the way in surmounting this viticultural challenge,…...
Miau! from Martin Gojer and Marion Untersulzner of Weingut Pranzegg in Bozen, South Tyrol could not be more “critter,” but is it also more? By Daniel and Liliana Schönberger
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