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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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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Unlocking Rieslingsekt’s Potential

Unlocking Rieslingsekt’s Potential

ByNicole Wolbers

Riesling is admired for its complexity, longevity, and ability to reflect its terroir. The same is slowly becoming true in the sparkling wine sector, where bubble enthusiasts are discovering what aged Rieslingsekt can offer.  In the world of German wines, Riesling is the undisputed star. Still wines gained their historical reputation as early as the 15th century, while the 18th and 19th centuries witnessed the rise of traditional method sekt. Over time, large companies monopolized the production of cheap, tank-fermented sparkling wine, until smaller, individual wineries were finally allowed to produce and sell their sparkling wines in the early 1980s. This…...

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A bumblebee pollinating flowers in a regenerative vineyard in Alto Adige
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Rooted and Regenerative

BySara Emilia Nässén

It starts with the soil. “I am passionate about the microbial world under our feet, and the key role it plays in the vine’s adaptation to climate change,” says agronomist Martina Broggio, a sustainable viticulture consultant in northern Italy, Tuscany, Marche, and Puglia. Since 2018, Broggio has been helping wineries in Alto Adige move in a regenerative direction. Regenerative Viticulture (RV) requires a significant paradigm shift within vineyard management, where soil is understood as a living environment rather than as a container for growing grapes. It envisions an ecosystem in which all parts of the vineyard, including roots and bacteria,…...

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Swiss R and D Chases Winning PIWIs

Swiss R and D Chases Winning PIWIs

ByBart De Vries

With a third generation of fungus-resistant hybrid wine grapes in development, are we poised for a breakthrough in the spread of so-called PIWIs? Will the quest for an alternative to disease-prone Pinot Noir finally bear fruit? Swiss researchers, breeders, nurseries, and winemakers are at the forefront of this effort. For an increasing number of vintners, traditional grape growing with seven to 12 rounds of spraying annually has become unsustainable. For some, organic farmingisn’t the answer. Because organic agents work superficially and wash off with rain,they must be applied more frequently. This requires more labor and more passes through the vineyard,…...

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Cans with a Plan
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Cans with a Plan

ByValerie Kathawala

Djuce first entered my periphery late last year at the New York City iteration of Karakterre’s natural wine fair. Amid a cheerful invasion of producers from what has winningly been dubbed “the Austro-Hipsterian Empire,” I narrowed my focus to taste at some touchstones of Austrian natural wine — Judith Beck, Zillinger, Heinrich, Meinklang, Nittnaus, Weninger. Hurrying between offerings of electric-amped Grüner Veltliner and ethereal Blaufränkisch, I brushed by a small table stacked with slim, colorful cans and a paper sign that read “Djuce.”  I paused just long enough to register an internal eye roll at what I assumed was the bro-culture spelling and reflexive ecoism of yet…...

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