Three Ways to Pine for Zirbenschnaps
The scent of pine trees is a time machine, a brusque mix of barbed, balsamic beauty. I have a million pine memories. One good whiff…
Roter Veltliner: Comeback of a Diva?
Though its name suggests otherwise, Roter Veltliner isn’t a red wine grape at all. Yet at maturity the grapes do take on a scarlet hue….
Are the British Getting a Taste for Umlauts?
We British are not the world’s most noted linguists, but that doesn’t seem to put off some of us from drinking “German-speaking” wines. That said,…
3 Can’t-Miss Austrian Sparkling Wines
Austrian sparkling wines are filled with adventure, from serious Winzersekt (Austria’s answer to grower Champagne) to the refreshing fizz of pét-nat, a style the country was…
Eat & TRINK | Alpkäse and Kamptal Riesling
12/14/2020 Eat & TRINK | Alpkäse and Kamptal Riesling By Ursula Heinzelmann The entirely spontaneous, yet infinitely harmonious tinkling of cow bells. The crunching…
Germany · Alto Adige · Austria · Switzerland
He Who Controls the Spice Controls the Universe
Picture yourself at a German holiday market (if such things were happening in 2020) — a mug of glühwein in hand and the scent of…
Alto Adige · Essay · Germany
Sektlaune is a Sparkling State of Mind
Sekt embodies free spirit, hedonism, even — in its blatant disregard for rules — punk. The limitless maximization of lust for life and the unadulterated…
It Takes Two: Eva Fricke and Jenna Fields
March 25, 2024 Update: Eva Fricke and the German Wine Collection no longer together. Apparently, the tango takes even more complex footwork than either party…
Not According to Plan: Sektgut Christmann & Kauffmann
Champagne roots and Riesling blood: an interview with Pfalz’s newest sektgut Christmann & Kauffmann.
Sekt: The Chequered History
For the longest time, Sekt was a dirty word. It stood for bottles of inexpensive, easy fizz with obnoxious plastic corks to be found on the street,…
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…
Balance with a Bit of an Accent
“Free your mind and the rest will follow.” Coming from one of the co-owners of Germany’s oldest wine trading houses, one might suspect a quote…