Category Archives: White wines

Les Charmes – simply charming Chardonnay

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My friend Debbie recently told me: “I can’t drink Chardonnay anymore, I am so sick and tired of the big, buttery flavors, they are just too rich!”

I knew that she loved the Chardonnay grape, and there was no reason to abandon it. I went on mission to find new wines for her that she would enjoy. To show her that not all the Chardonnay wines are created equal, and not all of them taste the same.

Browsing the local wine shop, I was seeking for crisp, clean Chardonnay made by my favorite Peter Lehmann in Barossa, Australia, but they didn’t have it. So my other choice was to introduce Debbie to white Burgundy. Most wine drinkers know that white wines from French Burgundy are always  100% Chardonnay, but Les Charmes, from Mâcon – Lugny made it easier just in case you didn’t, and stated the grape clearly on the label.

I always found it  interesting that many American wine drinkers, I met during my career, were mostly interested in “what’s in it, what percentage of blend, which grape”, while most European wine drinkers cared to know where the wine came from. I am sure the different approach comes from a long tradition of typical wine regions in the so called Old world. The “terroire”, Village, region or the Château (Bodega or Tenuta, whatever applies) are their guarantee of the quality of the wine. If one likes the reds of Tuscany, they wouldn’t expect to find many Pinot Noirs or let’s say Malbecs there.

Burgundy to me is the most fascinating wine region. For relatively small region (about 30 thousand hectares planted with vineyards) Burgundy has a higher number of appellations d’origine contrôlée (AOCs) than any other French region, and is often seen as the most terroir driven of the French wine regions. Small vineyards could often produce Chardonnay grapes with completely different taste profile than let’s say their neighbor, just half a mile down the road.

Vineyard in Côte de Nuits, Burgundy, France (Wikipedia, author = Stefan Bauer)

Some of the Grand Cru wines from Burgundy are out of this world, but could be also quite pricey. Les Charmes Chardonnay that happens to be a single vineyard wine, cost me $12 and my friend loved it! She said that in order to remember the name of this wine she is going to call it charming. I agree, charming it is.

Tasting notes:    
This very elegant, stainless steel fermented wine, offers a beautiful fruity aromas. On the palate it opens into bright and clean flavors of cantaloupe, with notes of white peach and citrus.

Great balance of fruit and acidity makes this pretty Chardonnay crisp and refreshing. Lovely, long finish. For its more than reasonable price, this wine is definitely a great value! Even if you happen to be a fan of bigger, oaky, buttery styles of Chardonnay, or – just like my friend Debbie, you look for something different, this wine is worth to try.

Bellini Orvieto Classico 2011

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On my mission to find a new, exciting, and – most importantly – affordable white wines, I browsed the isles of my favorite wine shop once again. Italian whites almost never disappointed me, so I was confident to grab a bottle of Bellini ORVIETO Classico 2011, although I never had it before.

Photo: Wikipedia

The zone of Orvieto Classico is located around Orvieto town itself, in Umbria, a very traditional and beautiful wine region in the central Italy.

The Orvieto Classico title is exclusively given to white wines from this region, which could be made in sweet or dry style, standard or higher-quality superiore versions.

As I wasn’t able to find any more detailed info about this particular producer, I have to assume that this delicious white wine was traditionally made from a blend of Procanico (Trebbiano Toscano) and Grechetto. By Italian law, both grapes must jointly account for at least 60% of the finished wine. If there is more Grechetto used in the blend,the wine will get more body and fruttines.
For the remaining 40% of the blend the winemaker is free to use any combination of other white grape varieties, found within the Viterbo province. It could be Malvasia Toscana, Drupeggio, Verdello and Canaiolo Bianco grapes.

Whatever the blend of Bellini Orvieto Classico was, I loved it. Clean, sunny yellow color and lovely lemony aroma was an inviting first impression. The wine was a light bodied, crisp and refreshing summer wine, a perfect company for my seafood dinner.

Although it showed a lot of fruit, it was still delicate with an acidity in perfect balance. Light, almost bubbly sensation on my tongue expressed the characteristic typical limestone and volcanic soils of Orvieto Classico region.

Very pleasant, pretty wine was such a steal for $ 8.99!  I will definitely buy it again. This is a lovely wine for hot summer, a great opportunity to try something new and exciting. My mouth is watering right now, when I am just writing about it.

Tasting new whites in Florida

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First of all, I have to apologize. I haven’t been very productive lately and didn’t keep up with my blog.  The reason was our big out of state move. I don’t know, it feels like the older I get, the harder the moving becomes.  We have moved so many times before, even over seas – but this time was especially hard. Probably also because of my physical condition and the fact, that we were moving from the north all the way down to Florida. Sounds exciting, right?

I am not going to bore you with the stories about never ending packing, missing stuff that is already packed, crashed down computer in the middle of it, throwing tuns of stuff away and giving to charity, still realizing we wouldn’t fit on the rented truck, then long tiring trip down south – to come to a house that needs to be deep cleaned and emptied of bunch of useless stuff, left behind by the previous owner. Wow. I just did, didn’t I?

I am still waiting for my new wine cellar /credenza to be delivered to our new home, but I did bring two of my small wine refrigerators. I was aware that the time I could use my natural basement as a cellar, is definitely over in Florida.  I also knew that I needed some refill, especially in white wines department.

So after we settled  a little, I paid another visit to the largest local wine shop Total Wines. See my blog about my first visit there. This time we came on lazy Sunday morning, when the store was almost empty and I randomly picked case of different white wines to explore and enjoy.

I will try to review all of them because it seems that so far I had a lucky hand. We loved them all. The latest that stood out for us was Château du Jaunay – Muscadet  Sèvre et Maine, Sur Lie. Lovely, crisp white from Loire Valley of central France perfectly accompanied our light summer dinner of spiced shrimp and sauteed green beans. We couldn’t put the bottle down. Full of lemony flavors, beautifully balanced with just right acidity, that leaves that teasing feeling on the tongue. What a pretty wine! Full of fruit and long, very elegant finish.

I am glad I picked this wine – I might go back for a case. This is just a perfect seafood wine, as most Muscadets are, but not all of them are created equally. This one was made with love and passion. That’s what I fell from that bottle. It made me smile. And lucky me, I have another one on hand before I would have to have another trip to the wine store.

If you are tired of Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio, give this wine a try. It will make you smile too! Summer is almost here!!!!

Oh, did I tell you I love our new backyard? I do, it’s like heaven on Earth! Well worth all of the trouble.

Txomin Etxaniz Txakoli 2010

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Produced by: Chueca family
Grape:85% Hondarrabi Zuri, 15% Hondarrabi Beltza
Region:  Txakoli de Guetaria

At the smallest appellation in Spain (today about 85 hectares – 124 acres) the Chueca family has made Txomin Etxaniz the benchmark Txakoli (pronounce Tchacoelee) of the region. Building on the long family tradition, the newest generation also made a significant investments into modern techniques and a careful viticultural research.

Txakoli, an oddly named wine, is a typical of the Basque County, Cantabria and northern Burgos. The main characteristics are that the wine is usually slightly sparkling, very dry white, with high acidity and low alcohol content. It is meant to be drank young, and doesn’t age well.

The family owns has 35 hectares of protected, sloped vineyards in Getaria, planted with 85% Hondarribi Zuri (white grape) and 15% Hondarribi Beltza (red grape), in the pergola system. The hills planted which the vineyards create a special microclimate, a result of the good exposure to the sun, and the protection offered from the north winds.

Grapes for this wine were harvested by hand from vines, located on high hillsides falling away dramatically to the Atlantic Ocean. Some of the  most beautiful locations for the winery I have seen, isn’t it? The pergola system helps to create ventilation for vines and grapes and reduce rot in this wet climate.

After the temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless steel tanks, the wine rests on its lees until bottling, so it carries in solution some of the carbonic result of fermentation. This wine is meant to be drunk young (maximum 1-2 after its release).

Tasting notes
This wine shows citrus aromas along with a crisp freshness of the ocean breeze.  On the palate you are hit with high acidity and strong lemony or lime flavors.

This is super dry, crisp wine that I enjoyed very much. Delicate sparks breaks on the tongue.  Feeling almost a saltiness of the sea.

Funny that the family it selves recommends to drink their wine with salted anchovies and tuna in oil. I didn’t try that, but paired with tortilla potata and jamon (which is cured Spanish ham, also salty). It was an excellent!

Dry - Off dry- Medium sweet – Sweet
Light – Medium – Full body
No oak - Aged in oak
Retail price: around $20.00

Ideal food pairing:

and many more…

How we traveled through the Spain… (Class I.)

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That September Wednesday was pouring rain when I was bringing all my stuff to the Spanish restaurant Costa del Sol. Great start, I thought. I specifically worried about carrying the beautiful map of Spain and not to get it wet. But somehow we managed and the first class could started.

We were still missing one couple – that came slightly later. They were trying to harvest their own grapes before the rain starts and came tired and upset. All that hard work whole year, and now this rain destroyed almost everything! What wasn’t taken care of by the weather, racoons finished. Oh well, they certainly could use to sit down and share some good wine!

Our first of total three Spanish wine classes started by talking a little bit about history of Spain and its wine making. Why the Spanish wine heritage goes back to at least 3,000 years, yet we really started to notice some Spanish production here in United States in the late 70-tees, beginning of 80-tees?

We talked briefly about the Spanish wine laws and requirements for D.O. (Denominacion de Origen), and what must and doesn’t have to be on the Spanish wine label. Much easier than perhaps in Bordeaux!

Did you know that Spain is the number 1 country in the world with the most land planted with vines? Before Italy and France? That there are only 2 D.O.C. so far registered throughout the Spain, but many new, exciting wine regions are being discovered recently?
After the introduction of the whole course, the slideshow was leading us through different native Spanish grape varieties, their specifics, about different types of soil, climates and conditions in which vines grow.
That brought us to the introduction of “liquid geography”. (I talked about it in more details at the first part of this blog).
(Stay tune if you are interested in tasting notes for each wine, I will be adding them as we go).

The very first wine we tasted was Txomin Extaniz Txakoli 2010, owned by the Chueca family. Txakoli. Probably some of the driest white wines I have tasted so far came from the smallest appellation on Spain, located at Getaria in the Bosque region.

Grapes for this wine grew on the high hillsides on top of the Atlantic Ocean. Great, quite unique, crisp white wine made from both  white and red variety of Hondarrabi. Fun coincidence was that Mila, our server, came from that same region herself and Txakoli was her favorite wine!

From there, we took a sharp turn all the way to the west peak of the Spain, Rias Baixas, where the vines also grow on top of the Atlantic Ocean. This region is mostly famous for Albariños, and I have chosen La Caña Albariño (new project of Jorge Ordoñez in cooperation with local growers).

Oro de Castilla, spectacular Verdejo, introduced us to Rueda, a region between Toro and Ribera del Duero. Are white wines produced in Rioja? Absolutely! Although Rioja white wines make just 10% of total production, Muga Blanco  represented a lovely blend of Viura and Malvasia from one of the most known regions of Spain.

Portal Blanco introduced us to the region of Terra Alta – on the eastern part of Spanish map. Terra Alta neighbors with another famous Spanish wine region, Priorat. This wine is made from Garnacha Blanca (I tasted this grape for the first time as well), Sauvignon Blanc, Macabeo and Viognier. Another successful white from our wine class portfolio.

From Terra Alta we “traveled” west to visit Madrid. Not the capitol, but the vineyards surrounding Madrid, that many Spaniards don’t even know about. Yet, it is a significant wine producing region with many valuable old Garnacha vines. We will later visit Madrid again for its red wines, this time we tasted Zestos Blanco, wine made from Spanish native grape variety Malvar.

To the south of Madrid is a region of La Mancha. Mainly internationally known for the story of the famous Spanish novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Although La Mancha is a windswept, battered plateau, with a very unusual sandy soils – it remains a symbol of the Spanish culture with its vineyards, sunflowers, mushrooms, oliveyards, windmills and Manchego cheese.

This large, flat region is comprised of five provinces. Highly agriculturally oriented, wine-production has been an essential part of life here for centuries; so much so that it is considered the largest vineyard on Earth.

I love red wines from La Mancha for their very distinguish characteristics that comes from its unique terroire. And yes, we will taste red wines from there in our other classes. But this time, we tasted Paso a Paso Verdejo, probably one of not many 100% Verdejo wines from this part of Spain. And, what is also interesting to note, probably one of the best priced Verdejo wine from all Spain.

To finish the line of white wines, we crowned it by a true jewel. It came from the Andalusian region of Spain, highly elevated vineyards overseeing hot Málaga. History of this beautiful city goes back 2,800 years, making it one of the oldest cities in the world. Not many people know that Málaga is a birthplace of famous Pablo Picasso, since he lived most of his productive life in France.n.

Photo: Jorge Ordonez & Co.

Botani, outstanding white wine (the only dry wine of the winery) is made from Moscadel De Alejandria, grape that is mainly used for production of raisins in this region.

This wine to me is one of the best miracles of winemaking – just like in Germany, where you can make delicious dry wines from sweet Riesling grapes. This project started in 2004 as a join venture between Jorge Ordoñez,  one of the most prominent importers of Spanish wine into the US, and the late Alois Kracher, whose son Gerhard succeeded him as technical director in 2008.

One of Botani’s dessert wines (made by the traditional drying of the grapes) Jorge Ordoñez, No.3 Viñas Viejas 2006 just recently won the regional price for the Best organic wine in the world by Decanter magazine! 2010 was the first vintage made by New Zealand’s Oenologist Alistair Gardner, who was invited to this project to oversee the dry wine production.

Barco de Piedra, Photo: Friederike Paetzold

The first wine class was finished with the first 2 reds – coming from the region of Ribera del Duero. Both wines were made from Tempranillo (aka Tinto Fino), yet both had completely different character.

The grapes for Vizcarra Roble grew in predominantly sand, clay, limestone and gravel soil, while Barco de Piedra’s vineyard is located in slightly lower altitude, with the soil composed of river stones on top with limestone subsoil. Both wines spent a very limited time in the oak – to showcase their true fruit character.

The Spanish tapas, prepared by Costa del Sol’s chef Javier matched perfect  our selected wines. Not a big fan of whites and still think that you didn’t miss much? Wait till we get to reds next week….
 

Avanthia Godello 2010

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Winery: Bodegas Avanthia
Winemaker: Alistair Gardner (New Zealand)
Region: D.O. Valdeorras (zone 1)
Grape: 100 % Godello

See other wine made by this Bodegas: Avanthia Mencía 2009

Just third vintage of this new project between the Bodegas Godeval and Jorge Ordoñez. I was lucky to taste all 3 vintages released so far, and this wine is truly exceptional and unique.

Avanthia Godello, made from native grape (that I believe only grows in the hills of Galicia, but I am not sure), is not comparable to anything I have ever tasted before. From the packaging (heavy bottom bottle with an elegant and very catchy label), it makes a statement on its own.

When I first tasted the 2009 vintage during my Spanish wine presentation this February, we tasted Avanthia after few other Spanish whites (all dry) – and surprisingly, it tasted almost sweet. But it’s far from it! The richness of the wine, the array of fruit pleasantly tricks the palate. When tasted on its own, it’s super fruity but completely dry wine. So tomorrow, on 2nd of our Spanish wine classes, I chose to taste this wine the first, just to see the difference.

The winemaker is Alistair Gardner, a man with quite a reputation in the wine world, who was a college professor of Oenology from New Zealand. He is also participating in another interesting Jorge’s project, Bodegas Botani in Málaga.

The grapes for this wine were sourced from two (about 35 years old) estate vineyards. Located in the mountains next to El Barco de Valdeorras in the province of Orense (Galicia) in Northwest Spain, these are some oldest Godello vines in the region. The grapes were hand harvested and carefully manipulated in small baskets, so the skin of the grapes wouldn’t bruise.

The fruit was then hand basket pressed and underwent fermentation in large (500-600L barrels from many different coopers. Avanthia Godello aged for 14 months in new barrels.

Tasting notes:
Pouring this  into your glass, it opens a lovely aroma of cantaloupe and pear, combined with wild flowers. On the palate it is rich, full bodied white, round and slightly spicy, with crisp acidity and minerality.  The unusual amount of fruit pronounced on the palate might trick some into feeling that this wine is sweet. It really isn’t.

Although this exceptional white aged in oak for more than a year, the amazing fruit flavors didn’t get overpowered by it. Just the opposite – the fruit plays the first violin! Sweet tropical fruit notes such as melon, pear, pineapple or peach are supported by just the touch of spicy nutmeg, cinnamon or allspice.

Perfectly balanced. This wine is a masterpiece that will age gracefully for a few more years. It’s so worth to try! Unlike some superior Burgundy, you wouldn’t pay over close to $100 for such an impressive piece of art.

Dry – Off dry- Medium sweet – Sweet
Light – Medium – Full body
No oak – Aged in oak
Retail price: under $30.00

Ideal food pairing:
I would really recommend to try this wine on its own first. It deserves the attention. Then, what ever you fell would work, it probably will. From seafood to poultry or creamy sauces, it worked with anything I tried it with, so far. Please share your most unusual food pairing for this wine! I once made a simple tapas – grilled eggplant, brushed with olive oil and topped with Spanish anchovy. The saltiness of the anchovy worked miracles with this wine.



Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur Lie 2009

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Winemaker: Marc Ollivier
Grape: Melon de Bourgogne
Region: Loire, France

I love this Muscadet! And I was thrilled to find this wine on the Boston Legal Seafood’s wine list. And, for a very reasonable markup! You can’t find better wine to accompany their selection of oysters. This is one of those “perfect matches”. Kudos to their sommelier!

This delicious, crisp white wine comes from one of the three “Muscadet” regional sub-appellations: Muscadet-Sèvre et Maine, officially established in 1936. Wikipedia informs that the grape variety used for Muscadet – Melon de Bourgogne, was initially planted in the region sometime in or before the 17th century.

Grapes for Ollivier’s Muscadet are sourced from vineyards over 40 years old. All the vineyards are from original stock: he is the only grower in the Muscadet who does not have a single clonal selectionin his vineyards.

Marc Ollivier is taking a very special approach when it comes to his wines. Unlike many in the region, who are speeding up their fermentation process in order to release their wines as soon as possible, Marc is not rushing. He is one of not many that harvests by hand (to assure that only perfectly ripe grapes will end up in the fermentation tanks).

He then only uses natural yeasts and wait for the nature to do its work and completes the fermentation naturally, interrupting wine as little as possible. Basically, Marc’s wine is being bottled usually about 4-5 months later than most of his competitors in Loire.

Letting the wine age on its natural yeast cells (must) until it is bottled, gives this already excellent wine, another dimension. The result is a white wine with unbelievable flavor profile, depth and characteristics. Marc’s approach might not be so important to the most wine consumers – until they get the chance to taste Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet against any other.

Tasting notes:
Lovely light golden color and amazing aroma of wild flowers and citrus fruit. On the palate this wine is mineral, crisp and fresh with hints of lemon, lime and aromatic violets. Light to medium in the body, it brings symphony of flavors to your palate.

Perfectly balanced acidity makes it perfect match for shellfish or other seafood. Long finish makes you long for more. Thanks to a quality vines, low yields and very special vinification process, this wine can age for decade or more. And that can’t be said about every Muscadet.

Dry – Off dry – Medium sweet – Sweet
Light – Medium – Full body
No oak – Aged in oak

Retail price: under $ 14.00

Ideal food pairing:

Oysters, oysters and oysters!!! Also, Seafood salad,  Shrimp Criolli, My Happy Tilapia,  Barquito de Anchoa and many more….

Burgans Albariño 2009

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Producer: Martín Códax
Winemaker: Luciano Amoedo Rodino
Grape:Albariño
Region: Rias Baixas

See other wines from this producer:
Martín Códax Albariño

Bodegas Martín Códax, founded in 1985, is located in the historical town of Cambados in Pontevedra. Here, in the very heart of the Salnés Valley, is the home of the Albariño grape. Bodegas Martín Códax takes its name from a 13th-century local troubadour.

Bodegas Martín Códax is a cooperative of 285 members. Unusual in the area, Códax only uses its own estate grapes, rather than buying them from local growers. The winemaker, Luciano Amoedo Rodino, was also the founder of the “Rías Baixas” Denomination of Origin (appellation), and is an eminent wine professional.They produce three different brands of white wines – Códax, Burgáns and Organistrum – and uses 100% Albariño.

Catalan winemaker Miguel Torres claims that Albariño is a cousin of Riesling. He believes that it was brought over to Spain by German Pilgrims, making their way to Santiago de Compostela. The local regulatory council disagree, but what everyone agrees upon is that the grape is one of Spain’s noble varietals.

This wine is a modern style Albariño, fully fermented in stainless steel tanks, under controlled cold temperatures. That guarantees to preserve all of the aromas, flavors and freshness so typical of this variety.

What’s also good to know: this wine is meant to be drank fresh, so I would look for the freshest vintage 2009-2010.

Tasting notes:
Lovely aroma of fresh citrus, tropical fruits that reminds me of sweet summer breeze from the ocean. On the palate this light golden wine taste slightly off dry (although I was told in the wine store that it’s dry), yet crisp with enough acidity.

Nicely balanced, full of citrus, lime and white peach flavors. Definitely good value and excellent alternative to let’s say Pinot Grigio!

Dry – Off dry - Medium sweet – Sweet
Light – Medium – Full body 
No oak – Aged in oak
Retail price: under $ 14.00

Ideal food pairing:
seafood dishes such as seafood salad,  Shrimp Criolli,  Angel hair pasta with spicy seafood, My happy tilapia and many more….

Giesen Sauvignon Blanc 2010

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Winemaker: Andrew Blake
Grape: Sauvignon Blanc
Region: Marlborough, New Zealand

Giesen Wines, established in 1981, is a family affair. Family owns 75 acres in Marlborough and about 360 acres are in production. Three brothers Theo, Alex and Marcel run the winery that is now almost entirely export business.

Due to the quality of their wines, Giesen became New Zealand’s sixth largest wine company and the only South Island company that ever achieved (category 3 status-which means that their sales exceeded 2 million liters of wine).

The brothers are involved in daily operations, and just a few years ago invested several million dollars into expanding and upgrading the winery, modernize the  equipment, expanding the storage and tank capacity. It allows them to increase the production to close to 4 million liters of wine in the near future.

Although the Sauvignon Blanc is the main grape in New Zealand,  Giesen also produces excellent Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Noir. 2010 Sauvignon Blanc was sourced from approximately 40 separate sites. As the different soils allows wine to ripen at different times, blending sites provides a considerable flavor profile.

That’s the secret why Giesen consistently delivers a distinctive style of wine with characteristic of Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs.

As each sites were harvested at its prime, the wine was fermented in stainless steel tanks to preserve the freshness and crispiness of the wine. Separate vineyard sites were blended together right before filtering and bottling.

When blended, these vineyards provide a distinctive style that displays both ripe, tropical fruit and the crisper, green and lively components that are characteristic of Marlborough.

Tasting notes:
Strong aroma of green grapefruit, lemon and green herbs. On the palate this is a zesty, crisp wine with hints of lime, citrus, sweet green gooseberries, and peppers.

Ripe fruit translated into grapefruit flavors feels to some almost sweet, but this is a bone dry wine with well balanced acidity.

A great summer wine, a world class Marlborough’s Sauvignon Blanc at its best, yet more than reasonably priced.

Dry – Off dry – Medium sweet – Sweet
Light – Medium – Full body
No oak – Aged in oak
Retail price: about $ 13.00

Ideal food pairing:

Seafood salad, Greek salad,  Grilled summer salad, Grilled trout, Fish and rice pilaf, and many more

Weingut Groiss Grüner Veltliner 2009

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Producer: Ing. Herbert Groiss
Grape: Grüner Veltliner
Region: Wagram, Austria

The charm of Grüner Veltliner wines is still under appreciated here in America. This light, crisp, fresh zesty wine is one of the most versatile wines when it comes to pairing with the food.

Completely delicious on its own – for those hot summer nights, when you feel like sipping something light and refreshing on your porch, while watching stars.Despite all those lovely fruity flavors in the wine, complexity, character and balance, most of the great Grüner Veltliners are both light on alcohol and  your pocket.

Weingut Groiss Grüner Veltliner reviewed today, became my new spring-summer favorite. I keep coming back to my local wine shop, buying at least 2-3 bottles at the time. It’s a perfect wine when you feel just like having 1 glass with your dinner.  It comes in 1L bottle with a screw cap (which is 25% extra wine compare to regular size wine bottle) for $ 9.99.

And, what is important to add, if you open a bottle and don’t finish it right away, put your screw cap back on with no fear. Keep the wine in the fridge, it will stay the same the next day, the following one and the day after. It says something about the quality of this wine, doesn’t it?

Very young, dynamic and modern winery of Herbert Groiss  is located in Austrian wine growing district of Wagram. Vines are planted on the south-facing slopes of Wagram hills, with great soil, exposed to warm air and cool nights. This micro climate provides an ideal condition for an optimal grape ripening and unique character of Herbert’s wines.

Besides Grüner Veltliner, the winery also produces Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris for their white wines, and Zweigelt and Cabernet Sauvignon for reds.

Tasting notes:
This zesty white opens with charming aroma of lemony flavors, wild flowers and white peach aromas. On the palate this light to medium body wine is crisp, refreshing, with hints of green apple, lime, peach.
Complexity of ripe fruit flavors is greatly balanced with acidity. This is a very charming wine – don’t miss the chance to surprise your friends and bring it to summer picnics! Super value!
Dry – Off dry – Medium sweet – Sweet
Light – Medium – Full body
No oak – Aged in oak
Retail price: about $ 10.00 (per 1 L!)                                                              
Ideal food pairing:
Light summer salads such as Greek Salad with Feta,  Light quinoa salad, Angel hair pasta with spicy seafood, but also dishes like Italian turkey thighs with roasted veggies or Aromatic chicken with limes and oranges