Mittwoch, 29. April 2009

Boku Heim midweek tasting

The first Boku Heim midweek tasting after the Easter holiday focused on Riesling from Austria. If you note the difference between wine 1 to 4 and wine 5, you will see that the vineyard soil (primary rock 1 to 4 and loess: 5) is quite easily detectable in Austrian wines. Normally I do prefer Riesling from rocky soils as they are more mineral driven and are showing interesting flavors like stone fruits (peaches, apricot). On the other hand GVs from loess are really good too.


Note: All wines were tasted blind.  


1. Riesling „Zöbing“ 2008 from Weingut Hannes Hirsch - good - about €9,50

bit CO2 visible, bright yellow hue, lemon/lime flavors, with more O2 stone fruit detectable, touch of loess, lean aroma, good sugar/acid balance, citrus fruits dominating on the palate, easy drinking, middle length.


2. Riesling „Klassik“ 2008 from Weingut Gschweicher - good - €7

pale yellow hue, explosive nose, hints of SB aroma due to strong aroma profile, lemon/lime and some cold fermentation flavors, lean body, good acid structure with lower RS level than 1, mineral finish, summer terrace wine.


3. Riesling Smaragd „Ried Kirnberg“ 2007 from Weingut Sigl - very good 

golden hue, hints of lemon, ripe peaches, quite evolved nose, petrol, middle body, good acid/RS balance with good pressure on midpalate, good length, gets better every minute with more O2, quite lingering.


4. Urgesteins Riesling „Reipersberg“ from Weingut Gschweicher- very good - €9,50

pale golden hue, typical stone fruit flavors with more apricot than peaches, good acid structure, lingering, good.


5. Riesling Steinfeder „Terrassen“ 2008 from Domäne Wachau - good

bright yellow hue, prominent loess flavors, totally different than all the others but not unpleasant, very balanced but far on the softer side, overall on the broader side, loess driven on the palate.


6. Blaufränkisch „Lüss“ 2006 from Weingut Lentsch - very good 

dark red hue, sour cherries and cherries, maybe a hint of MLF flavor, vanilla and spices, dark chocolate on the palate, good length, mouth filling, oak very good integrated, lingering. 

Dienstag, 28. April 2009

Asparagus season ...

Asparagus season has started with full speed due to the high temperatures during the Easter holidays. Friends of my sister are the owners of an Asparagus farm in the Marchfeld region just east of Vienna. They are growing Asparagus on about 14 hectares and what makes them really special is the fact they have no stock. Each stem is picked by hand and sold directly afterwards. Another big advantage is that they are using crushed ice instead of ice water to shock the Asparagus. Means no water is absorbed and the Asparagus keeps it´s unbiased flavors.
If one doesn´t know how to cook Asparagus perfectly ... find some tips and tricks at  Spargel
We had our 3 different kinds of Asparagus (white, green, purple) just seared in olive oil with balsamic vinegar reduction ... easy, but delicious. 
The perfect wine match can be found in the "Spargelhaus" too. Isabella has some limited edition wines at hand.

Limited Edition "Asparagus" Pinot Blanc 2008 from Weingut Unger - good/very good 
nice fruitdriven nose with lemon/lime and underlying pear flavors, refreshing palate, nice acid structure, perfect match with the dish!

signs:















all different, all the same:















... and so healthy ;-)



















the perfect match: Pinot Blanc

















Mittwoch, 22. April 2009

Slow Food Burgenland














© Slow Food Burgenland

Slow Food Burgenland relaunched!!

I am proud to announce the Relaunch of the "Slow Food Burgenland" Convivium.
As good, sustainable food and wine are becoming much more important in a globalized world, I am glad that some old varieties and traditions are still alive in the Burgenland region.

Learn more about Slow Food:

Donnerstag, 16. April 2009

spring .. at last

Last week was the perfect weather for my first motorcylce pics trip this year. I got some nice images from all around the lake Neusiedl. Enjoy !

my bike (old but perfect for exploring vineyards):















"Mole West" in Neusiedl/See:















fruit trees:















that´s gonna happen if you plant your vines to close to the lake shore:















storks are back in town:













Wine of the month March 2009

Please find the wine of the month at the wine list

Mittwoch, 8. April 2009

terrace wine ...

As temperature is climbing steady towards 25 deg C I was busy to prepare our patio for the Easter weekend. A perfectly refreshing summer is this one ...

Sankt Laurent 2007 from Weingut Martin Prinz - good 
quite light in color with purple reflections, pure sour cherries on the nose, cherries and sour cherries on the palate, refreshing acid structure and with 12,5 %abv a perfect summer wine.

Freitag, 3. April 2009

Boku Heim tasting Midweek tasting

First day above 20 deg ... I love springtime!!! ... to celebrate this event in style we decided to start the BBQ for the first time this year accompanied by different beers and of course some wines. 


The more serious tasting was done before. Bernhard K. brought some special bottles for our midweek “Boku Heim tasting“ to celebrate his Bachelor degree. Congrats from my side!!


Tasting team for this time: Elmar, Bernhard K. and I.

Note: all wines and beers tasted blind!


1. Perwolff 2004 from Weingut Krutzler - very good

dark red hue with some purple reflections, fruity, dark cherries and blackberries, pro

minent tannin quite elegant and balanced, maybe a bit Cab, good acid structure, lingering, good length.


2. Blaufränkisch „Altenberg“ 2004 from Weingut Paul Achs - very good

darker red hue than 1, purple reflections, red berries, oak and blackberries on the nose, soft tannin with good structure, lingering.





































Maybe the more interesting tasting was the beer tasting. In this tasting we tried to answer the most complex Austrian question. Austrians are normally very profound connoiseurs regarding their favourite drink ... BEER. We are drinking about 120 liters per capita ... we should know our brand at least we always say we do. The question was: Are we able to recognise our favourite beer in a blind tasting??? Find below the most interesting results. 


1. Gösser Märzen

helles gold, schaumkrone, leichtes co2, süffig leicht herb, am Gaumen leicht süss.

known: Bernhard


2. Egger leicht

helles gelb, schöne CO2 entwicklung, herber als 1, lingering.

known: Bernhard


3. Schwechater

goldgelb, Schaumkrone, wenig Co2, frisch, herb, süffig, 

known: Bernhard


4. Wieselburger

goldgelb, viel Co2, soft, hefig, nicht herb, leicht süss.


5. Trumer

goldgelb, kein CO2, weich, süffig, süsse spürbar.

known: Bernhard


6. Hirter Morchel

dunkles braun, schaumrand, rauchig, malzig, malz am gaumen, langer Abgang.

best: Bernhard.


7. Paracelsus Zwickl

Hefetrüb, Schaumrand, trübes gelb, hefige Nase, cremig, Co2 spürbar.

known: Bernhard


8. Zipfer Urtyp

helles gold, Co2 sichtbar, schaumrand, weich, süss, rinnt, extrem geschliffen.


the contestants:

Donnerstag, 2. April 2009

EU News on Rosé production

New rules for the production of Rosé wines within the European Union.


article from: www.agrarnet.info


Neue Regeln zur Herstellung von Rosé-Wein

Neben der traditionellen Technik wird künftig bei der Erzeugung von Rosé-Weinen auch ein Verschnitt von Rot- und Weißwein erlaubt sein. Die Verbraucher müssen aber über die Methode informiert werden. Auf diese Verordnung, die am 1. April 2009 in Kraft treten sollen, einigten sich nun die EU-27.
Zurzeit ist ein Verschnitt von Rot- und Weißweinen zur Herstellung von Rosé-Weinen für "Tafelwein" in der EU verboten, von der internationalen Weinorganisation (OIV) aber eine zugelassene Methode. Drittländer können also Rot- und Weißweine vermischen und die so gewonnenen Rosé-Weine in die Union ausführen. Die 2007 beschlossene Reform des Weinsektors sieht vor, dass in Bezug auf die önologischen Verfahren künftig sehr viel stärker als bisher die Bestimmungen der OIV zugrunde gelegt werden. Da das Hauptziel der Reform die Steigerung der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit der europäischen Weine war, sollen die europäischen Erzeuger auch die gleichen Möglichkeiten erhalten wie die Erzeuger in Drittländern. Weine mit Herkunftsbezeichnung können sich auch weiterhin auf die traditionellen Methoden beschränken. 

Was die Information der Verbraucher betrifft dürfen zwei neue Angaben auf den Etiketten verwendet werden: "Rosé traditionnel" sowie "durch Vermischen gewonnener Rosé-Wein". Diese Begriffe können von den Erzeugern auf freiwilliger Basis verwendet werden. Außerdem können Mitgliedstaaten die Begriffe für die auf ihrem Hoheitsgebiet erzeugten Weine obligatorisch vorschreiben.