Black and white drawing of a small boy holding a red balloon on an empty Paris street
· ·

Fresh, Frank and Fiercely Carnuntum

ByPaula Redes Sidore

Trink Magazine | Austria's winegrowing region of Carnuntum has seemingly been there from the beginning with an identity forever in flux. Paula Redes Sidore explores how growers are redefining what regionality means, together.

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here
Bottle of Furztrocken Riesling wine from German estate Achim Reis in the Mosel
· · ·

What’s German for Drier Than Dry? Furztrocken, of course

ByPaula Redes Sidore

The dark wit of Berlin. Dangerously low water levels in the Rhine River. Black bread. Germany does trocken like few others. And then there’s the wine. Despite its reputation as the land of Blue Nun, more than 60 percent of the wines made in Germany are dry. And within that 60 percent, there are discernible levels of dry, drier, and driest. So dry, in fact, that there’s a strangely specific word for it. (Of course there’s a word. It’s Germany. There’s always a word.) Furztrocken. Fart Dry. Literally. As difficult to grasp as I find a term like feinherb, it’s Kinderspiel when compared to furztrocken. Then again, mindset…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here
Woman posed stylishly on velvet chair smoking and drinking a martini. Cello player in background.
·

Delicious Whites under Northern Lights

ByPaula Redes Sidore

Liora Levi, high-profile sommelier, television personality, and president of ASI Norwegian Sommelier Association, came late to wine. In its own odd way, that only bolsters her bona fides as a daughter of the north. The countries to the north of the umlaut region can generally be viewed as latecomers to the joys of wine, and white wine in particular. But times change, and opinion makers like Levi have now helped the Nordics become prime drivers of the Riesling Revolution. It is a boom time for whites under the northern lights. As Levi explains in an interview with TRINK, the delayed…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here
Schlossböckelheimer Kupfergrube vineyard with volcanic melaphry soil in Germany's Nahe winegrowing region.
· ·

Nahe – Welcome to Germany’s Wild West

ByPaula Redes Sidore

Some say it lacks the historical cache of the Rheingau, the legendary vineyard names of the Mosel, or the easy charm of neighboring Rheinhessen. There are no convenient river boats to ferry you between wine villages, nor even particularly good train connections. No argument: the Nahe [NAHH-heh] Valley demands that you put in a bit of work to explore its more far-flung corners.  The reward for those efforts is some of the most objectively fascinating landscapes, geology, climate, and wines anywhere in Germany. In fact, things can get downright adventurous in Germany’s version of the (Wine) Wild West. From the…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here
It Takes Two: Heidi Mäkinen and Gernot Kollmann
· ·

It Takes Two: Heidi Mäkinen and Gernot Kollmann

ByPaula Redes Sidore

What do one of the Mosel’s oldest winemaking estates and a country with a fledgling wine-drinking culture have in common? The answer, as with most things in life, is Riesling. “German Riesling has become a synonym for white wine in Finland,”” says Heidi Mäkinen MW, Portfolio Manager for Viinitie Oy, one of that country’s largest importers of German wine. “Finns like the freshness and fruit, and Riesling is one of those wine words that’s incredibly easy to pronounce.” As Viinitie’s new portfolio manager, Mäkinen, for whom work and private life has little separation, has kicked off her holidays 2,000 kilometers south of her…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here
Letter to My Younger Somm Self
·

Letter to My Younger Somm Self

ByPaula Redes Sidore

Don’t let anyone tell you those rocks are a waste of time.  Twenty-five years from now, sitting in a Koblenz classroom on your first day of wine school, you will be grateful for each and every one of them. Because there in the heart of German wine country, those stones and their secrets —  though you don’t know it yet — will be the foundation keeping you steady among your more experienced classmates, those vintners’ sons and daughters who boast seven, ten, 15 generations in the business, and counting. All while you are still trying to locate the Mosel on…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here