Heida: Pearl of the Alps
Heida is an old variety with a modern freshness planted in the Swiss Valais heights of the Visperterminen.
The Swisstory of Absinthe
Banned and beloved, feared and revered, one would assume the birth story of absinthe to be as spirited as its character. Yet its quite conventional…
José Vouillamoz on Swiss Wine Grapes
I’ve read about as widely on Swiss wines as an Anglophone can: the relevant chapters of Jason Wilson’s delicious Godforsaken Grapes. The late Sue Style’s…
3 Can’t-Miss Wines from Vulkanland Steiermark
In Vulkanland Steiermark — “volcanic Styria” — the name says it all. Some 1,500 hectares of vineyard are, for the most part, sited on the…
Completer: The Answer to a Prayer
By traditional measures, my first year of college was a waste. I spent a lot of it playing cards with a gang of liberal theologians…
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.
Germany · Austria · Rheingau · Rheinhessen
What is the Role of “Heimat” in Terroir?
For over a year, we’ve been living with a pandemic that has shut down more than just our senses of taste and smell. It has…
Germany · Franken · Pfalz · Rheinhessen
Drink More Scheu!
If there is an underdog in Germany’s largest winegrowing region, Rheinhessen, it is Scheurebe. Vinified sweet for many years, Scheurebe — pronounced SHOY-ray-beh — largely…
Konni + Evi: Rewriting Possibility in Saale-Unstrut
It’s hard to believe now, but Germany was once a divided country, and the East was a strange microcosm of icons of that era: Sandmännchen, Jungpioniere, and FKK-Kultur….
Scellebelle and Zweigelt
When Westphalia and Württemberg meet on the table good tastes are bound to happen.
Pfalz comes into its own
The Pfalz is Germany’s second-largest wine region (by volume) — and perhaps its biggest surprise. The south-of-the-Alps feel of abundance and harmony stems from geographic…
Ten Questions for Germany’s Newest Master of Wine
A fresh crop of Masters of Wine was announced late last month: Ten individuals who have grasped the holy grail of wine education. Among them is Moritz Nikolaus…