A snapshot of the German South

When talking about German wine, the first thing that comes to mind is often the elegant Riesling from Mosel or Rheingau. But actually there are a lot of hidden gems in the southern regions of Pfalz and Baden. I was delighted to see a few for myself during a recent trip there.

Riesling, the flagship of German wine, is grown in the south but it tends to be the less sweet kinds because of the warmer weather. Acidity is not as high as in Mosel and hence doesn’t need the sugar to balance it. However, there is more than just Riesling here. The mild climate allows red grape varieties to flourish, the most notable being Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder), although Merlot and Cabinet Sauvignon are also grown.

I was with a group of sommeliers and journalists from Hong Kong and China. We visited eight wineries in three days, including:


Weingut Albert Glas, Essingen, Pfalz

A family winery established in 1950 and run by three generations. Grandson Dominik Glas is the one in charge of this 15ha vineyard located in Pfalz—considered the ‘Tuscany’ of Germany because of its mild climate. With a small production and limited resources, Dominik realised he should not spread himself too thin to cover all export markets so he focuses only on one, China. Bravo Dominik!

I like his wines because he clearly made them with the consumer in mind. Secco Passionfruit (a sparkling wine with...erh... passionfruit flavour, a surprisingly refreshing wine dismissed by wine snobs but loved by young consumers); Just Rosé ‘Black Label’ 2013 (a QbA category wine made with 100% Merlot and loaded with red fruits —and fun, according to Dominik.)

And don’t think Dominik only makes half-serious wines! We had the privilege to try his Cuveé Red ‘Grand Reserve’ 2011, a new, not yet named, wine. It is a blend of Pinot Noir, Merlot and Dornfelder with ample black fruits supporting the vanilla and cinnamon from the new oak, while the tannin from Dornfelder provides the structure for ageing. Only two barrels (600 bottles were made).

We were later taken in the back of his truck to the vineyard for a tasting of his eiswein with a view, and then treated to a homemade lunch by his parents. Their enthusiasm is visible everywhere. I wish them the best of luck in China!

Weingut Salwey, Oberrotweil, Baden
Another family winery also founded in 1950, the vineyard is located at Kaiserstuhl (Emperor’s Chair), a range hills of volcanic origins about 600m high. Owner Konrad Salwey first took us to the terraced vineyards via a steep and winding road where we were rewarded with a panoramic view and Konrad's explanation of the geography and soil type in the area, before returning to the cellar to taste samples from tank and barrel.

The best and the most typical grapes in Baden are the Pinot family. We tried tank samples of Pinot Gris (Grauburgunder) from different soils and it was just amazing how different they were. Loess lime soil, being more fertile, gives a more ripe fruit aroma while volcanic soil contributes a mineral character. This shows how much impact soil has on wine. We also tasted Pinot Noir from different vintages to see how weather affected the wine. Thanks Konrad for a very educational morning.

Lunch, beautifully presented, was prepared on a make-shift table by a renowned chef, another well-thought-out bit of hospitality from Konrad.

Weingut Dr. Heger, Ihringen, Baden 

Yet another family winery, now in its third generation, run by Joachim Heger. The vineyards are located at Ihringer Winklerberg and Ackharrer Schlossberg, considered the warmest vineyard areas in Germany. The ripeness of fruit in the wine is elegantly supported by the structure so the wine feels balanced rather than heavy.

Winemaker Markus Mleinek showed us the cellar and I was surprised to learn that the German oak barrels are not toasted. The purpose of toasting is to remove harsh wood tannins but it will, at

Winemaker Markus and owner Joachim

the same time, impart toasted aromas (vanilla, cinnamon, coffee, etc depending on the level of toasting). German winemakers don’t want the toasted aroma (particularly in their Riesling) so the barrels are instead steamed to take out the harsh wood tannins. I learn something new every day!

We tasted 10 wines, including all colours of pinots (Weissburgunder, Grauburgunder and Spätburgunder). I particularly liked the 2012 Dr Heger Ihringer Winklerberg Weissburgunder

VPD Erste Lage for its creamy mouthfeel (the result of lees stirring or battonage) and the mineral, slightly savoury taste (from the volcanic rock the vines are grown on). The Mimus Spätburgunder is in memory of Joachim’s father Wolfgang, whose nickname was Mimus and who passed away in 2004. The 2011 we tasted, also from the Ihringer Winklerberg vineyard, had intense black fruit and well integrated spices from the 18 months ageing in French barrique, yet a mineral touch on palate. An elegant wine that combined the best of Old and New worlds.

Dr Heger is available from Schmidt Vinothek.


Riesling no doubt is the king of wine in Germany, but don’t overlook other equally interesting wines!

White pepper Syrah

The intense white pepper from the Craggy Range Syrah that I tasted in their cellar at Gimblett Gravels back in 2008 was so pronounced that I finally understood why Syrah is so often characterised as smelling of white pepper. Since then, I have always kept an eye out for Gimblett Gravels Syrahs and they have not disappointed.

This distinctive aroma can be attributed to the combination of the gravelly soil and the climate—free draining, warm days and cool nights. It is more akin to the Northern Rhone style than the full-bodied, jammy Shiraz from warmer regions. However, being New Zealand, the wine is more vibrant than Hermitage. To me, it is a perfect combination of climate, soil and winemaking technique.

At last year Gimblett Gravels Annual Vintage Selection tasting, Tony Bish, Chairman of  the Gimblett Gravels Winegowers Association, presented 12 wines—eight red blends and four Syrahs independently selected by Andrew Caillard MW—that best represented the vintage and the region. I was particularly impressed by the William Murdoch and Vidal Legacy Series. A couple of attendees remarked "... Gimblett Gravels is a fresh spring for me", and "...it was exciting to taste so many promising Syrahs from the region". I couldn’t agree more.

If anyone is scratching his head about how to identify white pepper in Syrah, get a Gimblett Gravels Syrah and you’ll never forget it. It is my favourite Syrah!

Once dismissed by sheep farmers as useless land, the Gimblett Gravels Wine Growing District is an 800ha vineyard area strictly determined by the gravelly soils laid down by the old Ngaruroro River in the Hawke’s Bay area of of New Zealand’s North Island. Believed to be the first designation for a winegrowing district outside Europe, it is now home to around 30 vineyards and is quickly gaining fame in the wine world.

Not to be outdone by the district's Syrahs are its Bordeaux blends. They have the structure of a cool climate region but again with a New World fruit forwardness that many have described as elegant and sophisticated. Although some of the wines at the tasting were too young to drink, they nevertheless had concentration and ageing potential. Asked if the wines were released too early, Tony agreed but said the wines have been kept for two years and most wineries cannot afford to store them for longer because they need the space and the cash for the new vintage. He hopes consumers can cellar the wines for a while to realise their full potential. Well, I suppose we have to be a little patient.

The wines we tasted were:

Blended reds (Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon dominant):
Babich The Patriarch, available from Watson’s Wine
Craggy Range Te Kahu, available from Montrose
Esk Valley Winemakers Reserve Merlot Malbec Cabernet, available from Summergate
Mills Reef Elspeth Cabernet Merlot, available from Northeast
Newton Forrest Stony Corner, available from Kerry Wines
Sacred Hill Brokenstone, available from Jebsen
Sacred Hill Helmsman, available from Jebsen
Trinity Hill The Gimblett, available from ABS Asia

Syrah:
Squawking Magpie Stoned Crow
Vidal Legacy Series, available from Asia Euro
Villa Maria Reserve, available from Summergate
William Murdoch, available from Vintage International

ProWein's super efficiency vs Vinitaly's chaotic charm

This year, I had the chance to visit two of the major international wine fairs: ProWein in Düsseldorf, Germany and Vinitaly in Verona, Italy. These two fairs are only two weeks apart and are considered by some as head-on competitors. But are they?

Massive Vinitaly!

In terms of size, both are huge. ProWein took up nine halls while Vinitaly had a whopping 18. Both required at least a 10 minute focused (ie, not distracted by wine) and brisk walk to get from one end to another, so make sure you wear comfortable shoes. In terms of numbers, ProWein had about 4,700 exhibitors and over 44,000 trade visitors in three days while Vinitaly featured around 4,200 exhibitors and a startling 140,000 visitors (both consumer and trade) over four days.

ProWein certainly has much more of an international focus. Wine producers from some 50 countries in all five continents, ranging from China and Uruguay to Slovenia and England, were present, and visitors were certainly international with a significant number of Asian faces. Most exhibitors were grouped by country and region whereas WSET had three booths strategically located in different sections. In contrast, Vinitaly’s exhibitors were at least 90% home grown and visitors were largely European.

So, from the above observations, ProWein and Vinitaly are not truly direct competitors. Which fair you choose to exhibit at or visit depends on what you are looking for.

Wines from Turkey and Switzerland

For me the highlights of both fairs were the many opportunities to taste off-the-beaten-track wines. At ProWein around 50% of the space was dedicated to France, Italy and Spain but I only tried wines from two Italian and one Spanish exhibitor. I was far more attracted by the pavilions of Switzerland, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, England and Uruguay. I had two full days there but could have done with another two just for these lesser-known wine regions. At Vinitaly, we moved mostly in a group following a fixed programme but I was lucky to have some time to myself wandering the Piedmont hall. There I discovered Erbaluce, a white wine with vibrant character, and Vespolina, a minor relative of Nebbiolo that is spicy and tannic. Both come from the Alto Piedmont region. Again I would have loved to have two extra days just to explore all the native Italian varieties!

Wines of South Africa self-tasting booth at ProWein

ProWein was well organised and efficient in everything from entrance access to taking breaks. Apart from on-site restaurants there were various mobile catering vans selling hot dogs and sausages all day long. The visitor pass also included free public transportation to and from the fair. Inside I particular liked the self-service tasting area where a few hundred bottles of premium wine (over €10 per bottle) were lined up for visitors to taste. And some individual countries, including South Africa and Hungary, had their own self-service areas. This is a very good concept, especially in allowing the media and educators to get an overview of the wines on offer, and also for comparing and contrasting the many different styles of wine that can be made from a single variety, such as Chenin Blanc from South Africa or Furmint from Hungary.

Vinitaly, in comparison, was somewhat more chaotic. We were in a group led by Vinitaly staff but, even so, entrance to the venue was not always straightforward. Restaurants opened late even though there were queues of people waiting, and they ran out of food if you were too late. It seemed that most people were driving, so you can imagine the traffic around the venue. Although I don’t mind sharing a fair with consumers, their number was overwhelming, especially on the first day (I later found out that the first day, the Sunday, was indeed the ‘official’ consumer day). I was tasting and writing notes at one booth when a group of loud ladies came by, sat at the table and started ordering wine as if they were in a bar. The lady I was talking to went to serve them, and eventually I just walked away without tasting any more from that booth. By early afternoon groups of half-drunk teenagers were everywhere and some had to be taken out by ambulance.

The attitude of exhibitors at the two fairs was also very different. At Vinitaly, perhaps because it largely caters for local visitors and perhaps also because of the language barrier, I found most exhibitors not very inviting. The gates opened at 9:30 but by 10:30 some exhibitors were still not ready. As I walked around, most of them (both big and small) did not seem to want to make eye contact let alone invite me to try their wine, so I ended up doing more walking than tasting, although, having said that, once I was welcomed to a booth, exhibitors were all enthusiastic. In contrast, the exhibitors at ProWein clearly had more international experience, and tastings were always conducted in a professional and efficient manner.

So which is better? ProWein Düsseldorf is an international platform bringing together wine producers and buyers from all over the world, whereas Vinitaly Verona is about showcasing Italian wines to largely European buyers (although they are gearing up to attract more international exhibitors). Sp, if your heart is with Italy, Vinitaly is definitely a fair not be missed but if you want to have a bit of everything, and especially if you are on the lookout for wines from smaller regions, you won’t be disappointed with ProWein. And both fairs are starting to venture beyond their home turf. ProWine has expanded to Shanghai (ProWine CHINA), aiming to bring international wine producers to Chinese buyers, while Vinitaly has organised shows in several major international cities including New York, Moscow, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Chengdu, helping Italian wine producers develop new markets. Yet their essential characters still remain the same: ProWein caters for international wine producers while Vinitaly largely serves Italian wine producers.

As for me, I enjoyed both, mainly because as I was able to try lots of wines that are not available in Hong Kong. I loved the well-organised ProWein and the very well-planned and efficient itinerary arranged by my host, Wines of Germany. Vinitaly could certainly borrow some efficiency from ProWein but our host, Vinitaly International, made up for it with additional programmes, especially OperaWine featuring 100 top Italian producers (although at just two hours long it was way too short), and the various fabulous dinners. Allegrini, with its welcoming laser show and stunning outdoor audio-visual presentation, was something I shall never forget.

Thank you both Wines of Germany and Vinitaly International for providing such wonderful learning and experience.

Impressive dinners and evenings at Vinitaly

Italian wine... hidden gems

I always love Italian wine so naturally will not want to miss any tasting opportunities. The most memorable recently was the Vino Veritas portfolio tasting at Colour Living.

The venue is a lifestyle store featuring stylish kitchen and bathroom pieces as home furnishings. I think it’s a pretty cool setting for wine tasting. People will remember it and hopefully remember the wine as well. A few guests certainly will—they were playing with an over-sized bathtub on display, and water suddenly came out...

VinoVeritas is an Italian wine importer founded by Michael Palij MW, who selects the wines personally and recently moved to Hong Kong. There were 17 wines for tasting and I was impressed by the selection—all good quality, very reasonably priced and not short of hidden gems.

I particularly like Vigneti Massa (Walter Massa) from Colli Tortonesi, a five-generation winery in Piedmont. Its ‘Costa del Vento’ white wine made from indigenous Timorasso is concentrated with lively acidity and a savoury palate that could probably age for a few years. According to Jancis Robinson’s Wine Grapes, Timorasso used to be the most praised white variety in Piedmont until it was taken over by the more productive Cortese (used in Gavi) when vineyards were replanted after phylloxera in the early 20th century. It is only in the last few decades that a handful of producers, notably Walter Massa, have started replanting and have doubled its vineyard area from 6ha in 2000. Timorasso, in Jancis’s words, is a "rare, high-quality Piedmontese earning renewed recognition".

Walter Massa also makes red wine. His ‘Bigolla’ Colli Tortonesi Barbera DOC 2003 is still young with generous black fruits and an opulent mouthfeel, very different from the typical Barbera on the market. Apparently, Walter met Michael some time ago at a restaurant and insisted Michael try some of his wine. Michael was impressed and the rest is history. We are lucky to have Walter's wines in Hong Kong.

Ten days later I moved east from Piedmont to Friuli where Roberto Cioaca from Heritage Wines treated us to an intimate lunch at the Piedmontese restaurant La Piola with the winemaker/owner from Masùt da Rive, another family winery with four generations of history, now run by the brothers Fabrizio and Marco Gallo. They inherit and preserve the values of their father, and only make wines that truly respect the environment and express the land. By the way, ‘Masùt’ is the family nickname and ‘da Rive’ means on the hill. They sensibly did not use the family name Gallo on the label to avoid stepping on the US Gallo family’s turf.

Back to the wines, the Ribolla Gialla, an indigenous grape from the region, is refreshing with a crisp acidity and creamy mouthfeel—a pleasant summer drink and a steal at less than $200. Friulano, another native grape which Fabrizio describes as a young cousin of Sauvignon Blanc, indeed has the shadow of Sauvignon Blanc but minus the pungent herbaceousness, which makes it more suitable for pairing with food such as crispy dishes or white meat and less tiring when drunk alone. By the way, it is also known as Sauvignon Vert or Sauvignonasse, a descendant of Sauvignon Blanc.

Masùt da Rive also has other wines, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Nero (aka Pinot Noir), both not particularly the cup of tea of Ali Nicol, publisher of Wine Times HK, who was also at the tasting. Nevertheless, at the end, Ali was happily drinking both. Guess that says something about the wine!

Walter Massa is available from VinoVeritas.
Masùt da Rive is available from Heritage Wines.