Know your étiquette! Kamptal, Austria
Wine writer and educator Ed Merrison of Vininspo! takes a look behind the label of a prominent European wine to help you decipher clues as to what to expect when you open a bottle. This episode is a follow-up to our introduction to Grüner Veltliner. That snapshot came courtesy of the Wachau region; this time we go to the nearby Kamptal Valley and one of Austrian wine’s most revered ambassadors, Willi Bründlmayer. The wine is the family’s single-site bottling from the Lamm vineyard in Kammern.
Know your étiquette! Grüner Veltliner
Wine writer and educator Ed Merrison of Vininspo! takes a look behind the label of a prominent European wine to help you decipher clues as to what to expect when you open a bottle. This episode focuses on the Grüner Veltliner grape, the signature variety of Austria. We travel to the Wachau Valley to try a single-vineyard wine and see why this variety’s global popularity is on the rise.
Know your étiquette! Wachau Federspiel Riesling
Austria has a very rich wine-growing heritage, and it has made incredible strides in spreading its story over the past few decades. Domäne Wachau is one of the estates that has helped get the message out. Here, I pick up a bottle of Domäne Wachau’s Riesling from the Bruck vineyard to help you decipher the not-so-hidden symbols on a $40-bottle of single-site wine from this special, and highly picturesque, region.
Know your étiquette! Manzanilla sherry
After our high-speed chase through the streets of Jerez de la Frontera, it’s time to chill by the coast to visit Fino’s dry-sherry sibling: Manzanilla.
This lightly fortified, ultra-refreshing wine has a lot in common with Fino. Both are “biologically aged” - by which we mean they mature under a veil of flor that protects them from evolving oxidatively. The difference is that the maturation process for Manzanilla takes place exclusively in the town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
Once again, Valdespino is the model - this time its Deliciosa bottling - and once again this is a wine intended for drinking upon release. A versatile aperitif and food wine, it’s mercifully easy to find in Australia, and very well priced.
Know your étiquette: Fino sherry
¡Viva España and it’s truly unique vino! We’re off to Andalucía and the vineyards of Jerez today to look at Fino.
Buckle up because it’s a pretty fast ride. Sorry about that - there’s just so much that’s unusual about crafting dry #sherry that it’s hard to cut a long story short. I’ll do a less breathless follow-up on Fino’s sibling Manzanilla soon that should help some of this info stick.
But for now I’d leave you in the capable hand’s of Valdespino, a member of the prestigious Grandes Pagos de España family of winegrowers seeking to highlight the singularity of Spain’s scattered gems.
Know your étiquette: Fantasienamen and the Rheingau
We go a little off-piste this week, with a look at something that sits outside the boundaries of the typically prescriptive German labelling laws. Fantasienamen - fantasy names - are what the Germans call fancifully titled cuvées. Now, what’s in the bottle here might be a dry Riesling lover’s fantasy, but there’s nothing weird about it. In fact, this is a fine example of what the best vineyards of the prestigious Rheingau region conjure from this grape variety.
It comes from one of the country’s pace-setters with site-specific dry Riesling, the Georg Breuer estate in Rüdesheim. And Theresa Breuer happens to be a wonderful person with talent to burn.
Know your étiquette! Dr Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Grosses Gewächs
Wine writer and educator Ed Merrison of Vininspo! takes a look behind the label of a prominent European wine to help you decipher clues as to what to expect when you open a bottle. Having discussed the VDP and its Grosses Gewächs classification in somewhat abstract terms, this episode looks at something concrete, or should we say slaty? It’s Dr Loosen’s 2021 Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling GG.
Know your étiquette: Côtes-du-Rhône Villages
The Rhône Valley is home to some of France’s most important appellation contrôlée wines, both in terms of prestige (think northern Syrah crus such as Côte Rôtie and Hermitage, and southern Grenache-based crus such as Châteauneuf-du-Pape) and production.
Côtes-du-Rhône can be a little uneven in quality, but find a good one and you’re onto a winner in terms of value and drinkability. Australian drinkers are au fait with the concept thanks to the rich heritage here of Shiraz and so-called GSM blends, as well as the current strides we’re enjoying with stupendous varietal Grenache.
We take a Rhône overview with the help of a tasty Côte-du-Rhône Villages wine from one of the region’s icons, Paul Jaboulet Aîné.
Know your étiquette! Grosse Lage and VDP Grosses Gewächs
Wine writer and educator Ed Merrison of Vininspo! takes a look behind the label of a prominent European wine to help you decipher clues as to what to expect when you open a bottle. This episode follows on from our overview on Germany’s VDP to look at the meaning of Grosses Gewächs. The ultimate single-vineyard dry wine from this group’s members, these are well worth seeking out!
Know your étiquette! Gemischter Satz
In this edition from the Know Your Étiquette series, wine writer and educator Ed Merrison of Vininspo! takes a look behind the label of another prominent European wine to help you decipher clues as to what to expect when you open a bottle. This is a snapshot of Gemischter Satz, a traditional co-fermented field blend from Austria. A lovely wine from Ingrid Groiss is our illustrative example.
Know your étiquette! Rioja Reserva
With Jerez in Andalucía, Rioja is Spain’s oldest Denominación de Origen dating back to 1925. It shares with Calalunya’s Priorat the distinction of being the only Denominación de Origen Calificada. For many, it’s name is interchangeable with the term Spanish red wine.
There’s no doubt that its number one status has been challenged and that it’s had to respond to criticism of certain aspects of tradition.
Telmo Rodríguez is one of those special producers moving things forward - here and elsewhere in Spain - by being sensitive, skilful and intelligent in looking back.
Here, though, is a chance to peer behind the label to get a basic handle on the region via a very tasty 2014.
Know your étiquette! Premier Cru Chablis
We’re off to France today to visit something that would be hugely welcome, I’d imagine, on any table this (or any!) Christmas.
Chablis in northwest Burgundy is a region, a wine and a style unto itself, really. A version of cool-grown Chardonnay known its mineral purity, grown on famous limestone soils rich in marine fossils. Those fossils live on in the notions of brine, seaspray, rockpool and oyster shell the wines seem to conjure - and in our desire (or mine at least) to devour seafood while savouring the majesty of this great Chardonnay.
Know your étiquette! Nahe Riesling Spätlese
Wine writer and educator Ed Merrison of Vininspo! takes a look behind the label of a prominent European wine to help you decipher clues as to what to expect when you open a bottle. This episode focuses on Spätlese Riesling from the Nahe in Germany, specifically Dönnhoff’s wine from the Kirschheck vineyard in Norheim.
Know your étiquette! Mosel Spätlese
Wine writer and educator Ed Merrison of Vininspo! takes a look behind the label of a prominent European wine to help you decipher clues as to what to expect when you open a bottle. German labels can scare the heck out of people; what a pity if they put you off these delicious wines! This episode focuses on Dr Loosen’s Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese from the Mosel Valley.