For a wine writer, a day of Prowein, the big annual wine fair in Düsseldorf, can be a problem. What to see, whom to visit, where to go? So many choices, so many producers and events, so many halls to wander. But, with sound research beforehand, a handy app and some invitations from wine lover-friends and Twitter contacts, a day fills up quickly …
My tour of the Prowein halls on Sunday March 24th turned out to centre around unknown grape varieties, the indigenous grapes of different countries, very often rescued by dedicated individuals and very hard to come by for the consumer. It was a great theme for a day like this!
Wines from Wine Grapes
At mid-day, after a quick rendezvous with the delicious sparkling wines from Trentino (something I want to pay more attention to if another occasion arises), I joined Jose Vouillamoz and Julia Harding, co-authors with Jancis Robinson of Wine Grapes, the big grape bible that has been published last year, for a discovery tour of six very rare but very interesting varietals. Together, the two authors led a tasting that took us to tiny areas of production across the world, from Switzerland to China and from mainland Greece to the Austrian Thermenregion.
Three of the wines were poured out by their makers: the Germanier Petite Arvine 2011 from Valais, Switzerland, by Gilles Besse; the Johanneshof Rheinisch Spiegel Zierfandler 2011 from the Thermenregion in Austria, by Michael Rheinisch; and the Limnionia 2008 from the area of Tyrnavos in Thessalia, Greece, by Christos Zafirakis.
Only tiny amounts of these wines are made, because very few hectares of vine are in production. Take for example the Limniona, rescued by Zafirikas from extinction and now made it into a lovely and characteristic wine. 2008 was his first commercial vintage, and at the moment he is the only one who makes a varietal wine from limniona. The wine has smoky aromas, lots of cherry fruit, nice tannins, and a very fresh impression. Limniona is also blended with other grapes, syrah for example.
Chinese Cabernet
For me it was not the first time to taste a Chinese wine, but it was my first encounter with a wine from the Cabernet Gernischt, planted in China at the end of the 19th century. Chateau Changy-Castel makes an acceptable red wine of this grape, that was unmasked recently as really being carmenère (details of course to be found in Wine Grapes). After a great Lagrein by Tenutae Lageder from Süd Tirol we finished with an intriguing wine from one of the oldest wine countries in the world, Georgia: Vinoterra Kisi 2010 from the Kakheti region (kisi being the grape variety). A wine made in qvevris, large clay vessels, orange in colour (hence the term ‘orange wines’), absolutely unique in taste and smell. Aromas of dried apricots, ripe apples, caramel and fudge; with a big tannic structure because of the long maceration on the skins (6 months) and a super long finish. Only 50 hectares remain of this grape.
Portugal: lots more unknown varieties
After tasting these wines that are absolutely not for the big audiences that Prowein commands, I made my way to more commercial areas. About those, I will write later this week. But at 2 o’clock, it was time again to dig into more unknown and exotic grapes, like those of Portugal. German sommelier Thomas Sommer was presenting ‘Portugals Weine in der sterne Küche von Heute’. In English: Portuguese wines in star kitchens of today. In a little over 40 minutes, we tasted 7 wines of high quality indigenous grapes. Over 250 different ones are officially registered in Portugal, but there are many more. Although international varieties like merlot and chardonnay are available in the country, almost all wines are made from a blend of grapes that are found nowhere else in the world. Varieties like alvarinho, antao vaz, castelão, touriga nacional and tinta roriz passed our palates, while Thomas also came up with mouth-watering food combinations to go with the wines. Some people had real difficulties with the fact that the recipes where only in words… Wines of Portugal, the overall promoting body, was present with lots of information material, a big stand and several events. Portuguese wines are upcoming, and like Thomas Sommer mentioned: for a star restaurant of today NOT to have a Portuguese wine on the wine list is a bad idea; a situation rather different from 10 years ago. My favourite wine at this tasting: the 2011 Alvarinho Deu La Deu from Adegga de Moncão, a lively and full-bodied Vinho Verde, with notes of apricot, tropical fruits and rhubarb. Thomas’ food suggestion: carpaccio of scallops with thin strips of mango.
More unknown and exciting varieties were waiting for me later that afternoon. I will present them soon!
