Pizza and Barbera

Tonight we tested once more the pairing ability of Italian wines and Italian food. Home-made pizza (Mozzarella cheese, anchovies, capers, herbs ... quite a difficult one to pair) and Elio Altare´s Barbera d´Alba 2008 was our favorite wine/food pairing.

Barbera d´Alba 2008 from viticoltore Elio Altare - good - €17,50 (Pub Klemo)

fairly purple red, cherries and sour cherries, black pepper on the nose, good acid structure, fruit forward on the palate, refreshing, nice typical Barbera style.

Celebration times ..

Today was a rather important day in my life. As the first student in Austria I´ve finished my Masters in Quality Viticulture and Marketing. My family and some friends celebrated this day with good food and even better wines. In this post I want to reward the most impressive wine of the day and I am glad and thankful it´s an Austrian!! (Let it be foreigner ... insider joke!!)

Sauvignon Blanc "Reipersberg" 2008 from Weingut Gschweicher - delicious

lychee pure on the nose, mango and passion fruit, ripe peaches, exotic fruit basket, bell pepper, hints of freshly grounded white pepper, multilayered and complex, very good and integrated acid structure, all flavors are mirrored on the palate, lingering, very gorgeous SB.

Stunning Traminers ...

Today we´ve tasted some really rare and highly rewarded Traminers. Traminer or Gewürztraminer is an astonishing variety as the wines show almost always a very prominent perfume of Rose petals, lychee, aniseed, minerality (depending on the soil grown), a bunch of exotic flavors and so on. Traminers are very versatile in style ... dry, off dry and even sweet ... always perfect companions to goose liver, spicy Asian food, noodles and not to forget Christmas delights. Find below my tasting notes of some really great wines.

1. Gewürztraminer 2008 from Weingut Lentsch (dry) - very good/delicious - €7,00

yellow gold, CO2 still visible, exploding fruit on the nose, Rose petals and lychee, very typical in style, dry on the palate, could do with more residual sugar, potential, as wine on it´s own a perfect Traminer.

2. Gewürztraminer "Wielitsch" 2008 from Weingut Tement (dry) - ok/good - €22,98 (Wein&Co)

golden yellow hue, hints of Rose petals, quite restrained on the nose, little bit of oak detectable but nicely integrated, dried apples and cinnamon, balanced but with good acid backbone, doesn´t show much fruit on the palate and bit short.

3. Traminer "von den alten Reben" 2006 form Weingut Schellmann (not stated - even when it´s not legal in Autria if the wine is a quality wine but !! ) - delicious - €27

golden hue, overwhelming perfume of roses, lychee, gingerbread and cinnamon, a touch of botrytis, powerful and sweet on the palate, lingering, extreme in every way, a wine not for a usual day. (extremely heavy bottle - 905g!!)

4. Muskat Ottonel 2008 from Weingut Pillinger 2008 (off dry) - ok/good - €3,40

This one was the pirate - as Muskat definitely a nice wine but in comparison to these bold Traminers ...

musky, not really fruit forward, a little bit harsh on the palate but in an easy-drinking style, simple good.

5. Traminer 07/08 from Rotes Haus am Nussberg (off dry) - good - about €20 (don´t remember exactly)

golden hue, hints of Rose petals, exotic but not exiting, rather flat on the palate with an aloholic finish.

6. Gewürztraminer "Spätlese" 2008 from Weingut Lentsch (sweet) - very good - €5,50

golden hue, powerful flavor, rose petals and lychee, dried fruits (dates and figs), nice sugar and acid balance, lingering.