As if I wasn’t behind enough on my ramblings here on 1WD (I’ve still got several Sicily updates to share with you, after all!), I’m going to put myself even further behind! Overachiever here!
Here’s the skinny: it’s going to be light on the feature content here on 1WD (though I expect to keep up, for the most part, on the weekly mini-reviews), probably throughout February.
The reason is that I’m smack-dab in the middle of a book contract, and the pace is Ludicrous Speed through at least the first week of March. Ostensibly, this is actually good news. I’m not sure how much I’m at legal liberty to divulge with respect to the book, so I’m uncharacteristically erring on the side of caution.
What I can tell you is that it’s a wine book, and it’s targeted mostly at the beginner end fo the wine drinking spectrum, which is exactly the kind of wine book that I’ve kept asking over the years, as each one was released, if the world needed yet another beginner-oriented wine book. But the publishers have done their homework, and see a market need for the particular type of book in which I now find myself enthralled; and we both saw a fit in terms of voice and style.
So… I’m excited, and am now frantically typing my little wine-stained fingers off, and hope to share more details with all of you in the (very) near future (and get back to writing my usual freakish features and market screeds on these virtual pages).
Cheers!
I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes in a “mini-review” format.
They are meant to be quirky, fun, and (mostly) easily-digestible reviews of (mostly) currently available wines (click here for the skinny on how to read them), and are presented links to help you find them, so that you can try them out for yourself. Cheers!
- 2017 Buchegger Moosburgerin Reserve Riesling (Kremstal): Apples, apricots, and an aggressive attitude. $36 A-
- 2017 Weingut Stadt Krems Grillenparz Riesling Erste OTW Lage Reserve (Kremstal): Austere, glassy-eyed gazes seldom come with this much soulful depth behind them. $44 A-
- 2017 Weingut Nigl Ried Hochacker “1OTW Privat” Riesling (Kremstal): Dig lemons? I think I just found your new church, and it’s portable! $NA A-
- 2017 Weingut Franz & Andrea Proidl Ried Hochacker 1OTW Riesling Reserve (Kremstal): Baking your lemons, ripening your mandarins, and blowing your mind. $NA A-
- 2017 Weingut Winzer Krems ‘Kremser Pfaffenberg’ Riesling Reserve (Kremstal): The armor around this buffed-up quince specimen is juuuust starting to crack. $NA A-
- NV Le Colture Fagher Brut Spumante (Prosecco di Valdobbiadene): Tropical notes to make it friendly, almonds to show that things are gonna turn serious any minute now. $16 B+
- 2017 Dry Creek Vineyard Heritage Vines Zinfandel (Sonoma County): The juicy, chewy traditional lives on, in affordable fashion. $19 B+
- 2017 Dutton-Goldfield Freestone Hill Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley): A veritable funhouse ride that’s long, dark, and full of the unexpected; buckle up! $72 A-
- 2017 Dutton-Goldfield Docker Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir (Mendocino County): Comes in pairs – red & black currants; peat and herbs; depth and liveliness. $68 A-
- 2016 Anaba Bismark Vineyard Syrah (Moon Mountain District): What’s an oaky indiscretion or two when that white pepper is soooooooo good? $48 A-
Sure, this is impressive, but…
In the Austrian region of Krems, they know a thing or two (or two dozen) about winemaking; few wine-growing areas have its kind of historical depth, even when measured by European standards. Grape production in Krems dates back to the 3rd Century AD (during the reign of Probus); mentions of specific vineyards can be fond as far back as the 11th Century; and Krems itself officially became a town in 1305 partly because of the reputation of its vineyards.
Unfortunately, that impressively lengthy resume timeline doesn’t mean that they know how to properly combine cinema and map rooms in Krems, as I learned during a masterclass tasting held at Winzer Krems, the Kremstal’s long-standing co-op.
…can it do *this*??
First of all, they have “4D” theater at Winzer Krems (that combines audio, 3D visual, and tactile/aromatic effects), the kind that most of us have encountered only at science academy museum spots in U.S. major cities. At first blush, that format seems a natural fit for a mini wine movie; in practice, it’s a bit disappointing in terms of translating what’s in an on-screen glass of vino. Winzer Krems also has an impressive map room, which shows the Kremstal in impressively sized detail.
Somehow, despite having both of those elements, they amazingly and inexplicably do not offer a recreation of the greatest map room scene in the history of cinema. Sorry, my Austrian friends, but it’s a very, very difficult thing for us cinema buffs to blithely gloss over such an egregious oversight. Fortunately, Kremstal has an ace up its sleeve: it offers some of the country’s better examples of Grüner Veltliner Reserve…
Read the rest of this stuff »
I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes in a “mini-review” format.
They are meant to be quirky, fun, and (mostly) easily-digestible reviews of (mostly) currently available wines (click here for the skinny on how to read them), and are presented links to help you find them, so that you can try them out for yourself. Cheers!
- NV Quinta do Vallado 10 Year Old Tawny Port (Portugal): Freshly-baked caramel-coated pecan pie, anyone? $35 A-
- 2014 Bodegas Alejandro Fernandez Tinto Pesquera Crianza (Ribera del Duero): Showing much of its age, but also a good amount of it’s wisdom. $35 B+
- NV Drusian Spumante Brut Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Superiore (Veneto): A sprinkle of almond, and a whole heap of fun. $18 B
- 2015 Enrico Serafino Monclivio Barolo (Piedmont): Earthy, leathery, rose-petal-y, dark-sour-cherry-y… $45 A-
- 2018 Donnafugata ‘SurSur’ Grillo (Sicily): The white flowers will sway in the sea breeze, and the crowds will be pleased. $20 B+
- 2017 Donnafugata Floramundi (Cerasuolo di Vittoria): Succulent, wild, floral, and, dar we say it, frisky. $29 B+
- 2016 Viticultori Associati Canicatti ‘Centuno’ Nero d’Avola (Sicily): Enough leather and tobacco to fill an old, stylish European bar. $14 B
- 2018 Viticoltori Canicatti Brillo ‘Bio’ (Sicily): Organically good for the Earth, tastily good for your mouth. $NA B
- 2017 The Hilt Estate Pinot Noir (Sta Rita Hills): You have reached strawberry and rhubarb Central, and this is your stop. $45 A-
- 2017 The Hilt Chardonnay (Santa Barbara County): Apricots, flowers, and a lovely, smiling face. $45 A-
