Master of Wine & Chef de Cuisine
Master of Wine & Chef de Cuisine
Never stop learning. Especially when you have the Master of Riesling, Olivier Zind-Humbrecht MW, taking you through an extraordinary tasting of Rieslings from 14 top growers in Alsace, with each grower showing off two of his or her Grand Cru Rieslings from different vintages. Learnings came fast and furious. Here are a few: 1) forget …
How much is the taste of wine influenced by man rather than terroir? Well, that depends…. Some would argue that sparkling wine’s style, for example, is created by man as the winemaker decides which wines and which quantities are included in the assemblage or blend. And yet all those complex elements and interactions of terroir …
The MW „origin“ system means you get „allocated“ the country you live in. So here is Anne Krebiehl MW – German born but living in the UK so considered to be „Origin UK“ – and me, considered to be „Origin Germany“, UK born but living in Germany. And here we both are in Alsace, which …
Asparagus, whether white or green, is one of those eagerly-awaited harbingers of spring, with the season continuing until late June. One does wonder what all the fuss is about as 93% of its composition is water – and that is even more than with wine where the water content is around 85%. No matter, there …
So when is a white wine golden yellow in colour? Three possible reasons: Oh, and a fourth reason – the wine could be oxidised, dead, no longer drinkable. I had feared the latter, but in fact with this Inama Soave Classico Vigneto du Lot, it was a bit of a combination of 1) and 3). …
Alsace rocks: despite the common belief that Gewürztraminer should be drunk young, a tasting of this highly aromatic grape variety in Alsace shows just how beautifully it can age thanks to its high natural tannins. Jean-Frédéric Hugel opened up a magnum of 1953 Gewürztraminer which was umami savoury with Parmesan biscuit notes and a creamy, …
When tasting one of the most famous wines in the world, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, it is important to make sure your jumper matches the label. By the way, the artist was Georg Baselitz, appropriately a German, as 1989 was of course the year in which the wall fell between East and West Germany. This was …
From one dormant volcano and one active one, both these wines show that typical saltiness and minerality associated with wines grown on volcanic soils. The Anydrous Assrytiko from Santorini comes from old ungrafted vines (woven into a basket shape, a bit like a bird’s nest to give protection from the strong winds and allow dew …
(if your name is Axel Neiss): 1) wind – plenty of it, ideal for dring the grapes after a bout of rain to avoid those pesky cryptogammic diseases; 2) elevation – height brings slopes and cooler temperatures – just the ticket when temperatures rise; 3) stoney soil rich in limestone – great for water retention …
As if Italy did not have enough indigenous grapes, there is now a new white wine star, rising from the ashes like Phoenix. Timorasso. From small beginnings, Walter Massa re-energised this fascinating grape variety so that today 300 hectares are planted in the Colli Tortonesi (which is, rather strangely, called Derthona on many wines labels, …
