Eva Fricke, and a stop into Terroir for a much needed trocken fix

A handful of Riesling grapes in the vineyards of Eva Fricke in the Rheingau.  September 2012

One of the the coolest parts about traveling for wine is going back and referencing some of the shit you learned weeks or months after you have returned from a trip.  When you are visiting 3 to 4 producers a day for a week straight, certain aspects begin to blend together.  For me the most rewarding part is the day you drink that same wine in a different country or setting and are able to look back at your notes and experiences.

Stopping into Terroir in Murray Hill this week, I found myself reaching in desperation for a bottle of Eva Fricke to satisfy my thirst for that salty acidity I got so used to in Trocken Riesling's tasted in Germany last September.

A pleasant surprise to find Riesling hero Paul Grieco pouring wines himself at the Murray Hill Terroir.   Paul is a cool dude, even when he forces me out of my comfort zone and denies me of any wine Italian.

We ordered a bottle of 2011 Eva Fricke Lorch (blend of two single vineyards), an amazing example of those salty minerally notes you can find in a finely made trocken Riesling.  This was actually the first Riesling I have tasted since September and at least I got back on track with style.

A lineup of Eva's wines that she brought to our dinner at Adler Wirstchaft in Hattenheim.

Eva Fricke was the cellarmaster at Leitz before starting her own line in 2006.  She has a fresh view on winemaking and is quite in touch with nature.  Fricke wines are made using mainly indigenous yeasts, some champagne yeasts if necessary but always neutral non aromatic.  The wines age on the lees and there is some considerable skin contact, at times up to 48 hours.

Eva finds that in the Rheingau, vineyards with more quartz will produce mineral driven wines, while the vineyards with grey slate have a rounder creamier characteristic in their wines.

Talia Baiocchi with Eva Fricke steady sippin' in the Rheingau.

Christina with a glowing glass of Riesling.  Photo: Brunellos Have More Fun 

 Tasting the 2011 Lorch in the vineyards with Eva Fricke.  Photo: Brunellos Have More Fun

A little Riesling video I came across from Stuart Pigott featuring Paul Grieco.

Riesling with Jens

Above, Jens from Weingut J. Bettenheimer in the Rheinhessen pours us a taste of his 2011 ''Illumino'' Riesling Trocken.  This single vineyard expression is full of peachy smokiness, which Jens says is a classic characteristic of spontaneous fermentation in wooden barrels.

I shot the above photo back in September with my Cannon Powershot.  It glitched out on me to produced this funky effect which I found again today browsing through some photos.

Above, some Silvaner grapes from one of the Bettenheimer vineyards.  

Team Germany 2012

A little edit from the September trip through the wine trail in Germany.

GERMANY! from croosadabilia on Vimeo.

Last days in the Mosel

Our last couple of days on the wine trail in Germany ended up in Mosel.  The landscapes here are unimaginable, one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited.  An important thing to note of course is the amount of very young, troken (dry) wines that are consumed here and not so much the sweeter styles.

Looking down the Willi Schaefer vineyards into the town of Graach, in The Mosel. These are some of the steepest vineyards in the world, this vineyard here lies on a slope of around 60°. 

 The Willi Shaefer wines were all so very focused that they carried one of the most individual styles of German Riesling.  The Grosses Gewachs (G.G.) pictured above was one of the very few expressions of these wines to give meaning to the quality level of the G.G. VDP.

Talia Baiocchi shuffling some grey slate in the Schaefer vineyards.  This grey slate pictured above dates back to over 300 million years ago and gives the wines that characteristic richness as well as a minerality that balances haroniously with the high acidity and residual sugar.

Dining at the Wein & Tafelhaus owned by Chef Alexander Oos and his wife in the Mosel was an all around flawless dinner. Wonderful wine list and excellent hospitality. The groups favorite dish of the week by far was this local baby deer with puree of sweet potato and wasabi foam.

 Wein & Tafelhaus 

Moselpromenade 4, 54349  

Trittenheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Our team Germany 2012 with Willi Schaefer second to left and our legendary driver Stefan second to right.

An amazing last tasting with the lovely Amei from Joh. Jos. Prum.  The wines from the Himmelreich vineyard showed an untouchable minerality and balance while the wines from the Sonnenuhr vineyards had a fuller body and riper fruit character.

What an amazing last day in the Mosel and then  followed by birthday adventures in Berlin...

To The Rheingau.... But first, freshen up!

What have you been sippin on today?

Alf Ewald, winemaker at Georg Muller Stiftung, 

discards of some Riesling that won't make it to the proper ripeness this season.  

See you in the Rheingau, with the beautiful 2011 Georg Muller, Hattenheimer Nussbrunnen Riesling... drinking quite swell, especially nice with the late warm weather here in the Rheingau.

Germany day 1, The Rheinhessen

 Arriving to the Wasem Weinhotel in Ingelheim (Rheinhessen), Germany.

Had a gorgeous first day cruising the Rheinhessen, even though there were a few kinks in the system.  Talia had a 3 to 4 hour flight delay, while Whitney didn't make it at all.  She eventually arrived the next day though and now everyone is here.  Matthew Walls and Christina Pickard both flying from London, Whitney Adams, Talia Baiocchi and myself from The States.

 Heading off for the Weingut Bettenheimer vineyards in Rheinhessen.

 The Gruner Silvaner Trocken 2011, very easy accessible wine.

 Up close and personal with Riesling grapes.  They are very delicious off the vines at the moment, quite a nice vintage for 2012 and harvest has just begun for some of the other varieties in the region.  

The Riesling grapes will still mature a bit longer.

 Loading up the Tractor.  The hottest way to cruise around the German wine trail.

 Still in the Bettenheimer vineyards checking out some Spätburgunder grapes with Jenz.  So far everyone ages their Pinot Noir in mostly new Barriques.  This has not been a huge hit with the five of us, as we all seem to be looking for a fresher, naturally elegant style of Pinot Noir from these lands.

 Self portrait with Pinot Noir still life.

 Next stop, meeting up with Weingut Winzerfamilie Flick. 

 Riesling with a view...

 Pre-dinner tapas for ya'self, and maybe some pretzle bread?

 Dinner at Domherrenhof in Essenheim.  

Rheinhessen Vitello Tonnato paired with the wines of Weingut Braunewell. 

That with a conclusion of Creme Brulee' ... who isnt into that shit!? my ideal dinner... Enough said.