What I Learned
Luxembourg, a small nation, has a long official name: The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. With its eastern border set along the Moselle River, Luxembourg, like its riparian neighbors in the tri-border area, France and Germany, is also known for its wines.
What I Learned
The area around the Nahe River, a tributary to the Rhine, is one of Germany’s 13 wine regions. It roughly begins at Bad Sobernheim, and ends at Bingen on the Rhine, just where the Mittel Rhein starts to narrow dramatically. Along the relatively short length of the Nahe River, there is a great deal of variety in the soil composition. In addition to the slate and red sandstone, not uncommon in this western part of Germany, there is porphyry, quartz and melaphyr (a type of basalt).
What I Learned
The Traisental DAC (Districtus Austriae Controllatus) is in Lower Austria (Niederoesterreich), south of the Danube river and its Wachau and Kremstal wine regions. Vineyards are on either side of the Traisen river valley. It boasts three claims to fame: the smallest, the oldest, and the newest!
What I Learned:
Switzerland’s Ticino canton ranks as the fourth most important wine growing canton in Switzerland. The area of Monte San Giorgio, a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Property, is particularly favored for growing grapes because of its microclimate, its hydrological characteristics, and especially its geology. From glacier sediment to marine sediment to clay, from limestone to bituminous schist to sandstone, the diverse nature of its soil results in ideal conditions for cultivating green grapes (mainly in the alkaline soils), and red grapes (primarily in the acidic soils.) In total, approximately 500,000 liters of wine comes from the Monte San Giorgio area alone each year.
What I Learned
The Monferrato wine district lies within Italy’s Piedmont wine region. The DOC system recognizes various unique varietals and some interesting wine production techniques. The wines from here are not only high quality overall, but also closely related to the land and the history of this district.
What I Learned
Riesling is without a doubt the iconic wine of Germany. According to the Deutsches Weininstitut, German vineyards supply approximately 50 per cent of the Riesling worldwide! The Riesling grape does particularly well in the German climate: It will ripen more slowly than many other varietals, and obtain optimal sugar levels in the cool, and often overcast German summers. German winters in the grape-producing regions tend to be cold with some snow, but rarely frigid, and relatively short – thus providing an ideal dormant period for the vines. Every German wine region grows this varietal. But the Mosel and the Pfalz, consistently harvest the most of it. In fact, Riesling currently represents 20 percent of all wine produced in the Pfalz.
What I Learned
Alsace’s Haut-Rhin (upper Rhine) area’s interesting geological history resulted in some great terroirs. It was initially born of volcanic activity. Once spent, the volcanic mountains collapsed on themselves, and an ancient sea covered the area. Then two roughly parallel mountain chains arose (the Vosges in France, and the Black Forest range in Germany), and the ancient Rhine river poured through the resulting valley. As the river receded to its current banks, it exposed the slopes of the Vosges. The soil here is incredibly complex, thanks to this geological history, and it results in minerally, and complex wines.
What I Learned
Port is a fortified wine with its own appellation. It became known as Port because it was stored and shipped from the Portuguese town of Porto. The wine itself comes from the upper Douro region. These basic facts weave a fascinating tale of the history of Port.
Port wine begins in the upper Douro River valley. This grape growing area was one of the first in the world to be demarcated. Currently, the appellation regulations permit some 100 varietals for port production. After the harvest and some fermentation, aguardente, a brandy-like substance (but certainly not one that brandy drinkers would appreciate), is added to the wine to stop fermentation.
What I Learned
The Bas Rhin department, in the far, northeastern corner of France, can lay claim to several Grands Crus of Alsace. Many of the better-known ones begin around Barr, and continue south. These are the Zotzenberg of Mittelbergheim (which produces Sylvaner Grand Cru wine, unusual in Alsace); the Kastelberg, Wiebelsberg and Moenchberg Grands Crus of Andlau; the Muenchberg of Nothalten and the Winzenberg of Blienschwiller; Frankstein of Dambach la Ville, and the Praelatenberg of Orschwiller/Kintzheim, the southern-most Grands Crus in the entire Bas Rhin department. However, the northern area of this department has several of its own. The Grands Crus in the Bas Rhin department from Marlenheim in the north to Bergbieten in the south are: the Steinklotz of Marlenheim, Dahlenheim’s Engelberg, the Altenbergs of Wolxheim and Bergbieten, and Molsheim’s Bruderthal.
What I Learned
Within Baden’s Ortenau wine district, there are several distinct wine areas. One of these is known as Rebland (literally, grape-land), located just south of the famous spa town of Baden-Baden, and north of Buhlertal. The steep hills offer a nice western and sometimes southerly exposure. These hills, which protect the grape-bearing slopes from too much wind, and the relatively mild and sunny climate, make this one of the best areas for growing grapes in Germany.
