Something's Weighing on my Mind...

While chatting with a friend online recently he commented that I had put on some weight from my wine tasting sessions. Thoughtfully, I put down the brownie I had been munching on as I digested this comment. We've often heard of the phrase "beer belly" being tossed around, but was it possible that wine could be full-bodied in more ways than one? Would today's wine lover become tomorrow's corpulent wino?

As it turns out, the calories in alcoholic beverages are the worst kind, high in energy while being low in nutritional value. If that wasn't bad enough, alcohol is also a poison, so the body naturally wants to get rid of it as fast as possible. This means putting aside other processes such as absorbing nutrients and burning fat.

It's a common misconception that beer contains more calories than wine, when in fact a bottle of wine (750ml) contains around 500 calories, nearly a third more than an equivalent amount of beer. However, the way beer and wine is consumed plays a part. Wine tends to be drunk slowly, and a glass may last the entire meal, while beer is drunk rapidly, and in social occasions which encourages binge drinking. Perversely, the higher alcohol content in wine restricts us from gulping it down like beer and so wine drinkers will end up putting on less weight than beer drinkers.

Exactly how much weight? Well, The Telegraph estimates that the average wine drinker consumes an extra 2000 calories a month, or put another way, the equivalent of eating 184 bags of potato chips a year. A person drinking five pints of beer a week would consume 44200 calories in alcohol a year, or 5 1/2 kilos of fat. Note that these aren't figures for excessive drinking, but well within recommended daily consumption guidelines. It's as innocuous as that glass of wine with dinner, or that jug of Tiger beer when watching football with your mates.

It looks as though even practicing moderation in drinking won't be enough to save us from those extra kilos. The hard truth is that those who consume alcohol regularly will need to balance the increased calorie intake with other activities, whether it be running or some other sport. Perhaps I should take up Wing Chun? Yes, it's certainly time to work in a regular exercise into my weekly schedule.

Just as soon as I finish my brownie.

The Year that Was

It's been a watershed year for wine in many ways. On this final day of 2011, I'll run through some of the major events that have happened in the wine world over the past 52 weeks.

Another vintage of the century for Bordeaux

After convincing everyone that 2009 was THE vintage to buy, Bordeaux winemakers had an uphill task when 2010 turned out to be just as good, if not better. Wine critics and journalists went to great lengths to explain the difference between the two vintages, citing higher acidity levels in 2010 and greater potential for longevity. It was the most drawn-out en primeur campaigns in recent years, and the longer it dragged on the more bad press it received and the less interest there was. In the end though, wine merchants hailed it as a success (Farr Vintners said it was their second biggest en primeur campaign ever next to 2009) but it left consumers with a bad taste in the mouth and growing skepticism toward the en primeur process. More damagingly, it cemented the perception in many people's minds that Bordeaux is a wine you buy for investment, not for drinking.

The Rise and Rise of Asia

Since Hong Kong abolished taxes on wine it has become the world's largest market for fine wine auctions. According to The Financial Times, the top four auction houses (Sotheby's, Acker Merrall & Condit, Zachys and Christie’s) derive 60-71% of their revenue from the city. As yet untouched by the economic plague ravaging Europe and the rest of the developed world, Asia is enjoying its fame like a newly discovered Hollywood star. For the moment, China has its eyes fixed on Bordeaux and Burgundy, buying not only wine but vineyards as well. French newspaper Sud-Ouest estimates that around 15 Bordeaux wineries are now owned by the Chinese, with the most recent purchase by Chinese actress Zhao Wei who acquired Château Monlot in St-Emillon. Perhaps the Chinese have found a way to circumvent the en primeur process? Why go through middlemen when you can control the source?

Wine as Nature intended?

If there was one event that ignited the current buzz around natural wines, it would have been the Natural Wine Fair held in London's Borough Market in May this year. Although there are no strict guidelines, natural wines are made with as little human intervention as possible. That means no insecticides, fertilisers, weedkillers, and as little sulphur as possible. This makes them more prone to bacterial spoilage, and less stable than normal wines. I've talked with some winemakers that argue that with proper sanitation and care in the winery, these are issues that can be overcome. The (admittedly few) natural wines I have tasted were rustic and wild, a far cry from the clean, polished notes of regular wine. Somewhat like an opera singer with a sore throat. With further experimentation and refinement, this philosophy may catch fire, and 2011 will be remembered as the year the spark was first lit.

Happy New Year to you all, and wishing you many exciting wine discoveries in 2012!

Wine Dinner with Rippon Vineyard and Pyramid Valley Vineyards

From left to right: Curtis Marsh, Mike Weersing and Nick Mills

I’ve talked briefly about the benefits of biodynamic winemaking before, and was thus delighted when Curtis Marsh from The Wandering Palate organised a dinner with two of New Zealand’s best-known and eloquent biodynamic winemakers, Nick Mills (Rippon Vineyard) and Mike Weersing (Pyramid Valley Vineyards). Among those present were some of Singapore’s most fanatical wine lovers, including Lisa Perotti-Brown MW (Wine Critic, Wine Advocate), Henry Hariyono (General Manager, Artisan Cellars), Mohamad Fazil (Operations Manager, Vintry), Ryan Gan (Sommelier, Resorts World) and Zachary Tay (Chef Sommelier, Les Amis).

Coincidentally, earlier this month there was a debate on the merits of biodynamics, with renowned viticulturist Richard Smart calling it “emotional black magic” while proponent Monty Waldin praised the model for being “uniquely self-sustaining”. The arguments for and against biodynamics are particular vocal because of its unusual sounding practices (such as the role of cosmic energy and lunar gravity in viticulture) and also because the father of biodynamics, Rudolf Steiner, was a bit of a quack who also believed that the human race is descended from Atlanteans.

Biodynamics is often confused with organic production, and for good reason. Both methods stress the importance of conservation and eschew the use of synthetic chemical fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides. A key difference is the use of special “preparations” in biodynamics, made from cow manure or various plants such as nettle, camomile and yarrow. The regulations for biodynamics are not set in stone and there is a fair bit of diversity in how winemakers apply their preparations in the vineyard. In the Rippon vineyards for example, seaweed is used as compost to supplement nutrients to the schist-based soils.

Nick and Mike stress that the reason they practice biodynamics stems from a respect for the earth and the life within. Says Nick, “If consumers buy the wine [because of the biodynamic label], then it’s a happy bonus, but the whole idea is that it enhances my land in a way that my family and I can look after it. So to have a badge on the back of the label, I don’t need that.” It’s an illuminating statement because most people in the wine trade have focused on what biodynamics can do for the wines rather than for the vineyard. Biodynamic wines are promoted as having more expression of origin (due to less intervention at the winery) and being healthier for consumption (as less agrochemicals are used). “It’s a new world now,” says Mike. “When we began, being biodynamic wasn’t a marketing advantage; it was a qualitative advantage you could say. It’s really changed, and the way that it’s changed is that it has more credibility now.”

About Rippon Vineyard
Located in Wanaka, Central Otago, the first vines were planted in 1974 by Lois and Rolfe Mills. The total area under vines is 15 ha with the majority planted with Pinot Noir and Riesling. As a pioneer winery of the region, Rippon has had a deep influence on other winemakers, particularly in its contribution to the understanding of Pinot Noir. It is also famous for its spectacular views of the Southern Alps. The wines are distributed in Singapore by Wine Exquisites.

About Pyramid Valley Vineyards
Pyramid Valley is located in Waikari, North Canterbury, roughly 85 km north of Christchurch. Winemakers Mike and Claudia Weersing purchased the property in 2000. It’s divided into four vineyards, named after the predominant weed species in each block. The wines are distributed in Singapore by Artisan Cellars.

Wine Education in Singapore

"It’s like the desert winds flowing through Egyptian ruins on a mid-summer’s night with a beautiful princess waiting open armed for me. My mind fills with poetry tasting the wine from barrel." With tasting notes such as these (and from a reputable critic, no less), it's no wonder that the wine drinking fraternity has attracted an unsavoury reputation for high-handedness and arrogance. There's even a term for it, "wine snob", a person who believes that his or her knowledge is superior to everyone else's because they drink far more expensive wine.

Counterintuitively, the more a person knows, the more modest the person becomes. Not because education improves character, but realising the scope of a subject is often a humbling experience. This is particularly so in the incredibly diverse field of wine studies. A knowledge of chemistry, plant biology, geology, microbiology, engineering, and sensory assessment is necessary in wine production, while economics, marketing and public policy studies assist in the understanding of wine as a consumer product. And of course, no study of wine would be complete without thorough coverage of its history and geography.

Source: www.thedrinksbusiness.com

Interest in wine education in Asia has seen a manifold increase, perhaps unsurprisingly seeing how seriously education is regarded in this region. The Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) saw a 200% jump in its Hong Kong and China business over the past year, with enrolment numbers matching those in the UK. Closer to home, the top three examination bodies are the WSET, the Society of Wine Educators and the Court of Master Sommeliers. The WSET courses provide a solid introduction to wine, and become progressively more complex at the higher levels where a deep understanding of the wine trade is required, as well as a keen tasting aptitude. The Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) course offered by the Society of Wine Educators provides a global coverage of wine styles with additional focus on US winemaking regions. Lastly the Certified Sommelier course from the Court of Master Sommeliers focuses on the sales and service of wine.

I recently visited Verre Wine Bar, a new hangout at Robertson Quay specialising in Bordeaux and Burgundy wines. The owner, Melvin Tan, is an opera singer as well as a wine lover (if you're lucky, you'll be able to catch him singing at the restaurant on weekends). When I was there for dinner on a slow weekday night, one of his staff was poring over a stack of wine books in preparation for a wine exam the next day. It's a situation mirrored in many restaurants in Singapore as managers realise the need for the specialised skills of a sommelier.

There are numerous local wine appreciation classes as well as some courses developed by WSQ. I have not included them here as they are not internationally recognised. I hear rumours that WSET may be opening up an office in Asia within the next two years, and of the Diploma course being offered locally, but at this point nothing is confirmed. It would be difficult to find people with the requisite academic credentials to tutor the Diploma classes. In the meantime, the following two institutes are your best bet if you are interested in taking up a wine course.  

Shatec Institutes
Website: http://www.shatec-cet.sg/cet-courses/lifestyle-workshops.html
Offers WSET Intermediate and Advanced courses

Winecraft Marketing & Services
Website: http://www.winecraftmktg.com/
Contact: hweepeng@winecraftmktg.com
Offers the Certified Specialist of Wine course

Party Wines

Scientists at CERN, the world’s largest physics lab, have clocked particles apparently travelling faster than the speed of light. If verified, this discovery would fundamentally change our knowledge of the way the universe works, even opening up the possibility of time travel.

I could have told them that time travel already exists. How else to explain why it is already near the end of the year, when it seems just yesterday that the wine world was abuzz discussing the launch of the en primeur campaign in Bordeaux? Somewhere in between the months of July and October, I must have inadvertently travelled into the future, and am now staring at a plethora of things to do before 2012 kicks his older brother into the dustbin of history.

One of those things on my list is to attend as many end-of-the-year parties as possible. I don’t mean those raucous, thump-thumping mass events where you drink too much cheap alcohol and wake up with a splitting headache, but rather smaller gatherings with friends and family. Granted, they still tend to be noisy, and I will once again wake up with a splitting headache, but there will be at least a guarantee of some really good drinks and heart-warming home cooked food.

Occasionally, people ask me what wines would be good to serve at a party. There are certain guidelines that will ensure that the wines go down well with the majority of the guests. Unless the crowd is open to experimentation, I would steer away from heavily perfumed varietals such as Gewurtztraminer or those that have niche appeal (such as Riesling). Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are popular choices for whites, while Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz are readily recognisable names for reds.

Young, fruity wines stand up better to a mix of dishes, and it is important to have an assortment of wines as some people will only drink red wines while others will only drink white. I am always delighted when the organiser has the foresight to use wine charms to identify the glasses, as it is only too easy to lose track of your glass when mingling around.

A sparkling wine is the best way to welcome your guests and whet their appetites. Try the Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut ($34.80, Carrefour), a bubbly from Penedès that is made using the traditional méthode champenoise. It comes in a classy and distinctively packaged black bottle. The nose expresses apple and pear notes, while the palate is fresh and rounded with a fine, creamy mousse. Alternatively, you could try the Two Hands Brilliant Disguise Barossa Valley Moscato 2010 ($36.00, The Straits Wine Company) which is off dry and has a slight spritz. The nose is reminiscent of fresh green grapes with floral accents. Sweetness on the palate is balanced by lively acidity, with notes of Granny Smith apples and Turkish Delight. At a mere 8% alcohol, your guests won’t find themselves tipsy before the food arrives.

During the party, the TerraVin Sauvignon Blanc 2008 ($35.00, Goddess Wines) from Marlborough works wonders with oily appetisers such as crispy spring rolls and deep fried prawn balls. Gooseberry and citrus notes dominate, with some mid palate weight due to a portion of the wine being aged in seasoned French oak. Displays zesty acidity and upfront fruit character. Red wine lovers can enjoy the St Hallett Gamekeeper’s Shiraz Grenache 2008 ($37.50, Culina), a big, bold wine from the Barossa region. The Shiraz contributes spicy aromas and body, while the Grenache gives savoury red berry fruit. There is a teasing, floral hint on the nose due to a small proportion of Touriga Nacional in the blend. A concentrated wine, with ripe tannins that can pair well with beef hor fun, chorizo or barbequed meats.

After the party is over, leaving you with a stack of dirty dishes and empty bottles, reward those who have stayed back to clean up with a bottle of Smith Woodhouse 10 Year Old Tawny Port ($78.00, Booze Wine Shop). Made from traditional Port varietals, this sweet, full-bodied fortified wine has notes of caramel, nuts and dried fruits that linger on the finish. An ideal wine for reminiscing with friends about the events of the past year.

The above article was first published in Appetite magazine in November 2011. 

Canada, More than Just Icewine

“Well integrated oak and expressive fruit”, commented my dining companion. “I could have mistaken this for a Burgundy.” In fact, it was a Canadian table wine brought in by Randy Dufour for a dinner featuring Inniskillin wines. Randy is the Export Director of Vincor, the parent company that owns Inniskillin, and the dinner was held at Santi on the 10^th of November. The event offered two rare tasting opportunities; icewines made from different grape varietals, and table wines from Canada.

Inniskillin is undoubtedly the winery that put “icewine” on everyone’s lips, both figuratively and literally. The grapes are picked in the cold winter months of December and January when the temperature drops to -8˚C and freezes the fruit. Leaving the grapes so long on the vine increases the risk of them being eaten by birds, infected by disease, or pelted by sudden hailstorms. When the winemaker decides that the weather is optimal for picking (generally around 2 or 3 am in the morning), the workers will receive a call and rush to don their waterproof gloves, rubber boots and every bit of clothing they have. Leaving the comfort of their warm beds for the chill and dampness of the vineyards is “not a lot of fun”, says Randy.

Speed is essential when making ice wine. The grapes must be pressed before they start to thaw. Pressing frozen grapes is akin to squeezing marbles, and the concentrated nectar that oozes out is very high in acidity and grape sugars. Randy notes that “Even though our icewines typically have twice the residual sugar of some of the great Sauternes, it has more than twice the acidity. It is that freshness and that vibrancy that makes icewine unique.” There is also no trace of botrytis (the beneficial fungus that concentrates sugars in the grape) in the production of icewine. Purity of fruit flavour is the essence of icewine.

Inniskillin makes single varietal icewine from three types of grapes. The thick skinned Vidal, practically unknown outside of Canada, is prized here for its winter hardiness and late ripening. Icewines made from this grape have ripe stone/tropical fruit characters (think yellow peaches, mango and apricots), high acidity and a full body. Riesling, a more familiar varietal, has a rich tradition of making sweet wines, especially in its native Germany. Riesling icewines are intensely floral, with notes of citrus fruit and lychee. Both Riesling and Vidal are white grapes, but Cabernet Franc, the final varietal, is a black grape and thus the flavour profile leans towards red berries and candy floss. It has a tangy sweetness unlike the full bodied, honeyed sweetness of the other two icewines.

Having a dinner with only dessert wines could quickly lead to a sugar coma, but fortunately the icewines were interspersed with some fine examples of dry Canadian table wines. Particularly enjoyable was the ‘Le Grand Clos’ Chardonnay 2008 from Le Clos Jordanne, another winery under the Vincor portfolio. Showing judicious use of oak, the cashew and vanilla undertones lifted and enhanced the fruit flavours of the wine. We also tasted a Pinot Noir from the same winery, and while it displayed varietal characteristics of raspberry and cherry, the alcohol was a bit too pronounced. Still, a laudable effort for a varietal that is notoriously difficult to handle. The table wines were specially brought in for this dinner as they are not distributed in Singapore.

Many thanks to Culina Pte Ltd for arranging the dinner at Santi.

German Wine Trip: Ahr and Jean Stodden

In 2009, wine writer Ch’ng Poh Tiong held a talk titled “Pinot Noir Wine Styles: The Traditional and the Generation NEXT” in conjunction with Wine for Asia. The forum showcased Pinot Noir from Old and New World, including examples from Burgundy, New Zealand and Italy among others. The wine that captured my attention was a Pinot Noir from Ahr, Germany. From the first sip, I marvelled at how delicate, perfumed and elegant the wine was.

Fast forward two years later, and I find myself outside Jean Stodden, producer of the wine I tasted at the forum that inspired me to seek out this little known part of Germany. Winemaker Alexander Stodden has become much busier since we last met, juggling between the demands of being a father and travelling to promote his wines. It’s a hectic schedule, but he is unperturbed as he shows us around the winery facilities. 

The vineyards of Jean Stodden cover around 6½ hectares planted mostly with Pinot Noir with some Riesling and Frühburgunder (an earlier ripening mutation of Pinot Noir). Alexandar is careful to select only clean and healthy fruit, employing up to six people to sort the grapes manually. He leaves the juice in contact with the skins for up to 24 days, so any rotten fruit would contaminate the whole batch and result in off-flavours. The must is micro-oxygenated during fermentation. This is a technique that involves running tiny bubbles of oxygen through the tank to encourage yeast activity and soften tannins. “I love working with air”, declares Alexander. “Wine needs oxygen for development”. The top line of wines are neither fined nor filtered. Alexander believes in letting the wines evolve naturally, stating that “everytime you work with a wine you slice away a little bit of the quality.”

Evolution and experimentation are key concepts for Alexander. "Don't let tradition limit you," he says. Since I last tasted them, the wines have added depth, tannin and body. In my opinion, it would be a shame to drink them young, as they are capable of developing much more interesting flavours and aromas with age. Alexander states that his aim is not to make wines that compete with Burgundy, as they are a different style of Pinot Noir, but simply to make the best expression of Pinot Noir in the world. His efforts have paid off; Gault Millau rates Jean Stodden as one of the top three producers of Pinot Noir in Germany. Most of the wine is consumed domestically, with the main export markets being the US and Japan. In Singapore, the wines are available from Magma.

German Wine Trip: Ahr and Meyer-Näkel

Deciding on our last destination for this wine trip took some time. Both Lady J and I were keen on visiting a region known for its red wines, but while she wanted to go to Baden, I was set on Ahr. Baden is by far the more well-known region with around 16,000 ha of vineyards. Its warm and sunny climate due to its location as the southernmost of Germany's vineyards make it ideal for the production of red wine.


The Ahr Valley in its sunny glory

Ahr on the other hand is virtually unknown outside of Germany. It is one of the smallest (around 550 ha of vineyards) and most northerly (50-51 degrees latitude) regions in the country. The majority of wines are red, with Pinot Noir, known locally as Spätburgunder, accounting for nearly two thirds of all plantings. One would think that the grapes would face difficulty in ripening being so far north, but the process is assisted by a combination of steep, south-facing slopes (angled towards the sun) and heat reflecting soils.

In the end, my carefully thought-out arguments and persuasive skills managed to convince Lady J to settle on Ahr (in truth, I just drove there while she was asleep in the car). Our first stop was Weingut Meyer-Näkel, founded in 1870 by the Meyer family. Its modern name was established through the marriage of Paula Meyer and Willibald Näkel in 1950. Current owner Werner Näkel is assisted in the winery by daughters Meike & Dörte Näkel while his wife Claudia helps out in the selling of wine.

I did not know much about Meyer-Näkel before visiting the winery, other than it was one of the famous names of Ahr. The wines of Ahr are notoriously difficult to obtain due to their limited production, which also ensures high prices. Werner tells us that last year his Grosses Gewächs wines were sold out the week that they were released.

We hopped into Werner's truck to take a drive around the vineyards. Imagine driving around on narrow terraces, just inches from the precipice with nothing to prevent the vehicle from tumbling down except rows and rows of vines. Werner has established a reputation as a great winemaker, but it should also be noted that he is a very skilled driver as well! The top sites of Meyer-Näkel are Pfarrwingert in Dernau, Sonnenberg in Neuenahr and Kräuterberg in Walporzheim. As Werner brings us through the vineyards, something nags at the back of my mind. After a few minutes I realise what it is; the fruiting zone, which is the area where the grapes grow, is immaculately clean. There are no leaves that may shade the fruit, preventing ripening and causing the wine to taste "green". This neatness is a distinct contrast to some of the vineyards of other winemakers we drive past, where the vines grow haphazardly and the plant's energy is wasted on foliage rather than producing fruit. Werner treats his vineyards as if he were coaching Olympic athletes, demanding the best performance and monitoring every aspect of their growth.


Meike Näkel shows us how it's done in the winery

This attention to detail carries over into the winery as well. Much of the work is done by hand, for example the process of "punching down" the must to extract colour and flavour. This is an extremely labour intensive operation, and a testament to the dedication and discipline of his team. You can almost taste the love in his wines, which are a dizzying swirl of aromas and lush, extravagant fruit. Ever the pioneer, Werner also produces wine in South Africa and Portugal.

Tasting notes:

Meyer-Näkel Spätburgunder Neuenahrer Sonnenberg Grosses Gewächs 2009 - The Sonnenberg (Sun hill) vineyard is the warmest spot in the Ahr valley. The wine displays varietal characteristics of raspberry and strawberry. A balanced wine with ripe fruit and fresh acidity. Lingering finish.

Meyer-Näkel Spätburgunder Dernauer Pfarrwingert Grosses Gewächs 2009 - The "priest" vineyard, named after the Catholic Church which still owns the land. Savoury red fruit, vibrant cherry character with chocolatey notes. A touch warming on the palate. A delight to drink now but this is a wine for keeping.

Meyer-Näkel Spätburgunder Walporzheimer Kräuterberg Grosses Gewächs 2009 - A floral, almost musky nose, very enticing. I feel as though Werner could bottle this and sell it as perfume. A delicate mélange of red fruits, herbs, forest floor and milk chocolate on the palate. Fine structure, with juicy acids and lush tannins forming a solid backbone.  Lady J commented that the wine was so fine it "brought a tear to her eyes".

Quinta da Carvalhosa Campo Ardosa - A joint venture between three German winemakers (Bernd Philippi, Berhard Breuer and Werner Näkel), this winery is located in the heart of the Douro region in Portugal and produces dry table wines. I forgot to notate down the vintage of this particular bottle. An exotic wine with rich black fruit, nuances of konbu (Japanese kelp) and an undercurrent of herbal notes. Pronounced tannins, but very well-integrated, giving structure and fleshing out the wine.

I did some research later on and found a company in Singapore that distributes Meyer-Näkel wines (hurrah!). They are available from Wein & Vin.

German Wine Trip: Mosel & Weingut Dr. Loosen

It's a bright sunny morning as we head off to the Mosel today, a distance of 90 km from Rheingau. I'm getting tired of the preset female voice on the GPS system and switch it to a male one. Lady J insinuates that it's because I refuse to take instructions from a woman.

The Mosel is Germany's fourth largest wine-growing region with around 9000 ha of vines predominantly planted with the Riesling grape. The extreme steepness of the slopes on which the vines are planted means that the traditional system of planting is on poles. This makes it easier for workers to navigate through the vineyard since they can move across rather than up and down. The soil tends to have a higher slate content than Rheingau. Saskia Prüm, winemaker at S.A. Prüm joked to us that German winemakers have as many words for slate as the Eskimos do for snow. Thus there is blue slate, red slate, grey slate, etc... all of which have a subtle influence on the style of the wine.

Besides its stunning wines, the Mosel is also home to Ernst Loosen, Germany's most dedicated wine ambassador and Decanter's chosen Man of the Year in 2005. When we met him, he had just returned from a trip to Malaysia where he visited the cabin crew of Malaysia Airlines and conducted a food and wine pairing of satay and Riesling. The man has restless energy, even during our sit-down tasting, where he alternated between getting the wines from his cellar, chatting with us and playing with his beautiful black dog, Diana.

Although his family had a tradition of winemaking, Erni almost chose archaeology as his vocation. The turning point came in 1986 when his father fell seriously ill and none of his brothers or sisters wanted to or were able to take over the reins. Erni had to choose between continuing his archaeology studies or manage the estate. Having made his fateful decision, history lost a dedicated researcher even as the world of wine gained a passionate advocate.

Dr. Loosen's top vineyards, of which there are six, are designated as Erste Lage according to a 1868 Prussian classification of Mosel vineyards. Unlike in Rheingau, this is an unofficial rating that is not recognised by German wine law. Erni throws up his hands when I ask him about the ongoing changes to the classification system, saying that "It should be simplified... it is already so difficult to explain it in the foreign market".

The Rieslings of Dr. Loosen, and of the Mosel in general, are very different from Rheingau Rieslings. The Mosel Rieslings have riper fruits like yellow peach and nectarine compared to the white peach and citrus notes of the latter. Conventional wisdom states that Rheingau produces Rieslings that have more body and richness, but I'm going to go out on a limb and take the opposite view. Certainly the cooler climate of the Mosel extends the growing season, meaning that the grapes have more time to slowly ripen on the vine and develop those exotic summer fruit characters.

I was completely blown away by the 2010 Dr. Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Grosses Gewächs Riesling. The vineyard gets its name (Sonnenuhr means sundial in German) from a large sundial in the middle of the vineyard. The sundial is missing the number 7 because as Ernie puts it, "At that time, the shadow is in the shade so you wouldn't be able to see it anyway!" The soil consists of pure blue slate with a very thin, rocky topsoil. The wine was astoundingly complex, with layers of stone fruit, white flowers and honeydew notes surrounding an electrifying stony minerality. And gosh, the finish! So intense that it made it difficult to tell whether I had swallowed the wine or not. 

The 2010 Dr. Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Grosses Gewächs "Alte Reben" Riesling is made a parcel of land containing the oldest vines of Dr. Loosen. The vineyard is comprised red volcanic and slate soils, which lends a slight note of earthiness to the wine. Alte Reben, which means old vines, has no common definition, but since the vineyards of Dr. Loosen are already very old to begin with, Erni reserves this term only for the very oldest vineyards which average over a hundred years.

For the 2.2 ha Erdener Prälat vineyard, the story goes that in 1066 the Bishop of Trier was kidnapped by robbers and held for ransom at a castle overlooking the Mosel vineyards. Unfortunately, the bishop didn't have too many friends, and no one was willing to fork out the cash to get him freed. Frustrated by the cost of feeding the bishop, the robbers threw him out of the castle, and he landed on the spot which is now known as the Prälat (bishop). Erni cheekily refers to this story as the reason why the vineyard makes "bloody good wine". The 2010 Erdener Prälat Grosses Gewächs "Alte Reben" Riesling has an enticingly aromatic, elegant nose of wet stone and a touch of spiciness. The palate was clean and precise with notes of melon and tropical fruit salad. This really is a wine that you'd want to lay down and track its evolution.

The 2006 Dr. Loosen Riesling Beerenauslese reveals Erni's marketing acumen. Faced with a large crop of botrytis-affected grapes and a market unwilling to pay premium prices for sweet wines, he decided to bottle the wine in 187.5ml sizes (quarter bottles). So instead of buying a full bottle of this rich, sweet wine, which would be near impossible to finish in one sitting, the smaller size allowed it to be comfortable savoured without any wastage. It turned out to be a hit, and sells especially well in airport duty free areas. The wine has intense aromas of honey, botrytis and freshly kneaded dough. Rich and concentrated fruit on the palate, but with feathery lightness due to the low 7% alcohol. It's a wine that can be opened and consumed at any time without risk of leaving a hangover.

Dr. Loosen wines are exported to 65 countries around the world, and in Singapore they are distributed by Hock Tong Bee Pte Ltd.

German Wine Trip: Rheingau Day 3

We received a pleasant surprise in the form of a phone call from Stefan Ress inviting us to visit his winery. We had made an enquiry to visit earlier but somehow the reply was lost, so we are extremely grateful that Stefan followed up on it. Balthasar Ress is one of the top estates of Rheingau, now in its fifth generation of family ownership with Christian Ress. The winery owns 45 ha of vineyards and produces around 350,000 bottles a year. It exports to various markets including North America, Scandanavia, Singapore, Japan and Malaysia. Stefan calls it "a small little globalised company".

We started off with a wine tasting, and quickly developed a headache trying to understand the complicated German wine classification system. In the Rheingau, producers are moving away from the 1971 Prädikat system and back to the traditional terroir-oriented grading. Officially, the system is only recognised in Rheingau, but other producers use similar terminology. In summary, if the wine is dry, and made from a vineyard that has been classified as a Erste Lage (Grand Cru), they can label it as a Erstes Gewächs (Rheingau only) or a Grosses Gewächs (rest of Germany). If the wine is made with residual sugar, then it will have the designation QmP, which stands for Qualitätswein mit Pradikät, and has six levels of ripeness from Kabinett to Trockenbeerenauslese. Many wine books will say that Kabinett wines are dry and that the QmP system is representative of ripeness at time of picking, not the sweetness of the wine. In practice, most of the wines that have the words Pradikätwein will be sweet, even at the Kabinett level. A good rule of thumb is to look at the alcohol level. If the alcohol is around 9% to 11%, that means that there is some residual sugar in it and it will taste sweet.

Balthasar Ress is one of the first wineries in the region to start picking grapes this year, but the last to finish. Accompanied by the friendly and energetic Stefan, we were able to taste grapes on the vine and observe how the pickers harvested. Each worker had two baskets, and healthy grapes were being sorted into one basket for the dry wines while bunches with botrytis (destined to become sweeter style wines) were placed into another basket. The vineyards looked very healthy. In recent times, producers in Germany have moved away from using chemicals in the vineyard to more environmentally friendly techniques. For example, Stefan pointed to a small brown capsule clipped every few rows. These capsules emit pheromones that confuse vineyard pests, preventing them from breeding and laying eggs.

Balthasar Ress stands as a model of innovation. They have a significant presence in the social media, and are constantly trying out new ideas such as their wineBANK, a personal wine storage facility that also doubles as a private tasting room.

Our next stop, the wine estate of Robert Weil, was undergoing extensive renovations to accommodate increased production. New winemaking facilities were being built as the current one had exceeded capacity. Robert Weil is one of the larger producers in Rheingau, with 80 ha under vine and an annual production of 600,000 bottles. Their top vineyards (Klosterberg, Gräfenberg and Turmberg) are located around the village of Kiederich. The picture below shows the soil difference in the three vineyards.

The design of the wine labels clearly indicates the style, varietal and vintage of the wine. Just like the wood panelled exteriors of the estate manor, the bottles have a beautiful aesthetic that make them visually appealing. This seems to be reflected in the quality of the wines, I feel that there is a clear precision and elegance in them. Wines from each vineyard have their own character; I found the Klosterberg quite fruity while the Turmberg had nervy acidity and a taut minerality, perhaps reflecting the higher percentage of slate in the soil. My favourite was the Gräfenberg wine, which had an abundance of white peach and floral notes with just the slightest hint of vanilla and richness.