Trink Magazine | St. Magdalener represents perhaps the most powerful and structured of the many Vernatsch expressions in Alto Adige and constitutes an important part of the region’s identity. By Simon Staffler
As a certified sommelier, Simon Staffler sniffs his way through the wine world - predominantly that of Italy – tasting, texting and teaching for Falstaff Magazine as well as many others. As a passionate cook he can never leave a good plate standing, and is willing to travel miles for a special wine or ingredient. A self-declared jack-of-all-trades, he fronted the band VINOROSSO for 10 years, has been known to add his two cents as a talk host on a local radio station, and has launched a beer brand with friends. Simon Staffler has been working for Wineline International since 2017. He lives in Merano downtown, Südtirol.
Those who go on the hunt for modern Württemberg may be surprised by what they find on the journey. In this stretch of southern Germany, many things work differently. Swabians have their own take on cool. Here you’ll meet a grower from the hip-hop scene who has the region’s traditional wine mug inked as a tattoo. You’ll bump into a start-up winery launched with crowdfunding. And you’ll land at the door of one of Germany’s hippest growers, 68-year-old Helmut Dolde of Linsenhofen. DOLDE Dolde wears a walrus mustache and, on the day of my visit, a cap someone gave him that says “Wine in…...
The view from the Gasthaus patio across the South Tyrolean valley is framed by lush vegetation and floral splendor. Three weeks ahead of schedule, nature has already reached peak blossom and seems literally bursting with fertility. Wherever you look, all that can grow, does. Bees buzz, butterflies flutter, and the inn is teeming long before even the first wave of spring tourists. The regional charcuterie board arrives with a bottle of Gewürztraminer, amplifying the unrelenting sensory euphoria of flowers, landscape, sunshine, and speck. Skeptics are the ones missing out because Gewürztraminer over the Alps has never been better. Back in Germany, where Gewürztraminer’s reputation…...
Jonas Dostert is relaxing in the inner courtyard of his family’s Southern Mosel estate in Nittel. The sun is shining, the grapes were harvested in late October. Dostert is one of the growers of note at the southern end of the Mosel, a stretch long known as Obermosel. It’s a name many young growers in particular have rejected, as part of an effort to separate themselves from the region’s poor image in the past. “Obermosel” conjures images of accommodating, appeasing wines, the very definition of compromise. Dostert has quite a different understanding of winegrowing: “What I do is different from what’s…...
The resurrected Zach. Bergweiler-Prüm Erben wines from Weingut Dr. Loosen offer a new definition of Mosel Riesling: one where the winemaker’s role is found in surrender, not forged by control.
Wine and hiking expert Ellen Wallace guides readers to the green heart of Alto Adige with stops at biodynamic winery Manincor and leading cooperative Kellerei Kaltern.