20 minute read
Online wine tastings here to stay
Online wine tastings here to stay
Necessity is the mother of inven- Co-hosts or film clips provide variety. tion. This also applies to the Sometimes the entertainment value is increasingly popular world of also increased by cooking food live whilst online wine tastings. Before the corona hosting culinary tastings, or in combinapandemic, who would have believed tion with literary lectures and musical that wine lovers would one day have fun interludes. Numerous businesses or clubs meeting a wine producer for a tasting in also use it as an opportunity for a virtual, front of the computer screen? sociable evening with their employees or The German Wine Institute (DWI) members. believes that the online wine tastings are here to stay. Numerous businesses see Online wine it as a new and exciting opportunity to present their wines to many interested Due to the Covid restrictions, wine people simultaneously whilst giving news fairs have already moved online, such as from the cellar and vineyard. the DWI's wine and tourism fair “WeinAt the same time, wine lovers are Tour” or the Palatinate (Pfalz) wine fair grateful for the enjoyable infotainment “Wein am Dom” in April of this year, as offer - especially during the Covid lock- well as entire wine festivals which have downs. Particularly special for the par- also been celebrated online. ticipants is that they get very personal Since March, the DWI has been insights into winemaking and the varied running a monthly online wine seminar life of the winemakers. covering all 13 German wine-growing Thanks to better technology and regions. Three typical regional wines are with increasing experience, the presen- tasted and discussed with the particitations have become highly professional. pants in the German language.
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265 YEARS OF RIEDEL GLASS
The history of the Riedel family is just as animated as the history of Europe, and what’s more it is inseparably linked with it.
In 1756, Mozart is born, the first wine region in Portugal is registered and Casanova escapes from the Doge’s Palace in Venice. In this bygone age Maria Theresa ruled as Empress of the Austrian empire and in Europe there were signs of an impending storm. During the Seven Years’ War Austria-Hungary tried to win back Silesia and the battles in which the great powers were also involved shook the whole continent. In the following years governments across Europe forged ahead with agricultural modernisation and industrial development in order to get the economy moving again.
In 1756 Bohemia was a part of the Habsburg Monarchy. Johann Leopold Riedel started the story of this dynasty, which to this day remains inseparably connected with glass.
The Riedel company managed to withstand the end of the monarchy, the social upheavals of the newly established Czechoslovakia Republic, and the effects of the global economic crisis through skill and creativity.
After the Second World War the Riedel family was dispossessed, lost all their property in Bohemia, all their factories and the entirety of their private assets. Walter Riedel, eighth generation of the company, was imprisoned in Russia for ten years. The future prospects seemed to have evaporated. But the story played out differently thanks to the enormous courage and effort of Walter Riedel. It is his legacy that the bohemian Riedel tradition began anew, in Austria - Kufstein Tyrol. The rest is history…
11 generations of Riedels:
1st Generation: Even before Johann Leopold Riedel (third generation) had set up the first entrepreneurial glassworks thus establishing the tradition, his grandfather Johann Christoph Riedel (born in 1672), “Great grandfather Riedel”, and the first generation travelled around Europe as a glass merchant.
2nd Generation: Johann Carl Riedel (1701-1781) continued manufacturing and decorating hollow glassware.
3rd Generation: Johann Leopold Riedel (1726-1800) has gone down in history as the founder of the entrepreneurial dynasty. On May 17 1756 he put the first Waldglas works into operation.
4th Generation: Anton Leopold Riedel (1761-1821) expanded his father’s business, as well as consolidating and enlarging it. The product range was transformed. It was no longer focused on plate glass, but much more on luxury articles.
This led to the development of new and lucrative sectors: the production of hollow glass and refinement through surface finishing, and the production of chandelier crystal.
5th Generation: Franz Xaver Anton Riedel (1786-1844) was an engraver and glass cutter of considerable talent and craftsmanship.
He was able, for the first time in the history of glassmaking, to melt different colors of glass: two fluorescent colors – yellow and green. The two colours were named Anna Yellow and Anna Green after his daughter.
6th Generation: The son of his brother, Josef Riedel, was employed as an assistant at the age of 14. In 1840 at the age of 24 Josef married his cousin Anna, Franz Xaver Riedel’s daughter.
Josef Riedel the Elder (1816-1894) not only showed great talent, but he was also lucky to have lived at the start of the industrial age. He has gone down in history as the “Glass King of the Jizera Mountains”.
Continues over
Josef Riedel the Elder left the Waldglas works and shifted production to the valley. He took advantage of the newly opened train line in 1875. It provided access to the most important sales markets of the industrialized world and laid the foundations for further expansion of his business.
His first wife Anna died at the age of 36. His son, from his second marriage to Johanna Clementine Neuwinger, took the Riedel dynasty into its seventh generation.
7th Generation: Josef Anton Riedel the Younger (1862-1924) was a gifted chemist and extremely talented engineer.
As a mechanical engineer, he developed the finishing and automatization of the production of glass beads and registered numerous patents for this. ever, this plan was thwarted by the Russian occupying forces. In May 1945, the scientist Walter Riedel was arrested and conscripted. This ended the Bohemian Riedel family history. After the Second World War the family was dispossessed, lost all their property, all their factories and the entirety of their private assets.
Walter Riedel finally returned in 1955 from imprisonment.
In 1956, some 200 years after the founding of the first Waldglas works in Bohemia - the new Riedel story was started up in Kufstein, Austria. With the support of the Swarovski family, Walter Riedel and his son Claus took over the ailing Tirol glassworks. A hand-blown glass production firm – as it was before in Bohemia – was established.
Walter Riedel represents both the Bohemian past and the start into a new future in Austria.
8th Generation:
Walter Riedel (1895-1974) inherited his father’s talents. He brought about many technical developments in the glass industry and came up with numerous inventions, such as spinnable glass fibers, signal colors, reflectors, elaborate laboratory glasses and much more.
In 1944 the German Ministry of Aviation set up a secret project called “Tonne”, a ground-based system of air reconnaissance using radar. At the time the monitors used for this measured a maximum diameter of 38 cm, however Walter Riedel and his glass engineers were able to double both the dimensions, and as a result also the resolution. They produced a monitor with a diameter of 76 cm – a real global revelation at the time.
Walter Riedel recognised the potential of this invention and secured the rights to use the development for civil purposes. How-
9th Generation:
Claus Josef Riedel (1925-2004) He was a great visionary. Thanks to his considerable artistic talent and his extraordinary feel for form and proportion, he came up with a pioneering invention by defining the wine friendly wine glass. This revolutionary move defined him as the “father of the modern wineglass”.
Claus J. Riedel was the first in the history of glass who could determine the interplay between form, size and rim diameter of a glass for the optimal enjoyment of wine.
His glasses had a long stem and smooth, undecorated thin-blown bowls. In the 1950s and 1960s they were awarded numerous design prizes. In 1973 he created the pioneering innovation whose discovery was to once again turn the name Riedel into a leader in the world of glass: the first line dedicated to wine-enjoyment. They are
10th Generation: Georg Josef Riedel (born 1949) used his world vision to take Riedel glass to global success. In as early as 1979 he recognised the importance of the American market and founded a subsidiary. In 1986 he introduced the first machine-made glass based on wine varieties in history – Vinum!
With Vinum Riedel has been able to turn the philosophy of the functional wine glass developed by the company into something affordable and therefore also well-known around the world.
Georg Riedel took over the German Nachtmann company in 2004, laying the foundations for further growth. Today Riedel has a 97% export rates.
Georg Riedel, in his long career as a glassmaker and glass designer, has shaped many functional glasses, each specifically designed to enhance the enjoyment of the liquid flow.
As the leading mind behind varietal specific wine glasses, Riedel strongly believes that a finely tuned glass shape enhances the perception of all aromatic beverages. His latest creation - Riedel Winewings (2020) and Riedel Winewings SL(2021) – continues to push the boundaries of the conventional wine glass shape with its striking design.
The current generation
Maximilian Josef Riedel (born 1977) has been working for the company since 1997. At age 25, he became CEO of Riedel Crystal of America, and proved his talent for management, building up North America to become the largest export market for Riedel. In addition, Maximilian has also made an excellent name for himself across the globe as a designer of decanters and glasses.
In 2004 he showed his creative talent when he designed the “O” Series, consisting of stemless, varietal specific wine glasses. He designed the “first free” formed Riedel handmade decanter Cornetto which was the birth of a wide collection of “free formed” decanter designs. He has since been awarded numerous design awards. Maximilian Riedel was instrumental in developing the Riedel strategy for online sales, which have become the brand´s most important sales channel for “direct to consumer” business. On July 1 2013, Maximilian was handed the management of Tiroler Glashütte and its worldwide subsidiaries by Georg J. Riedel.
Since then he has been leading the company through challenging times with great finesse and success and meeting the requirements that range from sustainability to increasing the efficiency of production and logistics through to Covid-19.
Laetizia Riedel Röthlisberger (born 1974) is an attorney and sits on the family board. She is advising on legal matters for the family, the companies, the Riedel headquarter and the Riedel subsidiaries.
She specialises in business law, design protection and copyright. Laetisia, mother of three boys manages the worldwide brand names and rights of the Riedel Group.
By Stuart Peskett
Germany is home to some of the finest wines on the planet but its vinous charms have remained a secret to many, especially in the UK.
There are numerous reasons for this: the labels are often indecipherable (unless you speak the language); it’s not immediately obvious whether the wine will be dry or sweet, which deters some; and the flood of sub-standard German wine into the UK in the 1970s and 1980s (think Blue Nun, Hock and Liebfraumilch) tarnished its reputation, creating an impression that its wines were cheap and not particularly cheerful.
But people are finally starting to realise what Germany has to offer. It makes incredible Riesling in a range of styles, the best of which can age for decades; its Pinot Gris (aka Grauburgunder) is a world away from the vapid Pinot Grigio found elsewhere; and its Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder) is highly underrated, offering similar red-fruited elegance as its lauded neighbour in Burgundy but at a considerably cheaper price. Compared with the big bruisers of the wine world, German wines are at the lighter end of the spectrum, making them elegant, aromatic and food-friendly (they work wonderfully well with Asian cuisine, for example). The list of German IWSC award-winners gives an ideal snapshot of what the country is capable of. Trophy winner Ungsteiner Weilberg GG Riesling 2017 from Karl Schaefer is a textbook Riesling; Max Mann’s Pinot Blanc 2019 shows off the grape’s floral, fruity character; and Villa Wolf’s Library Release Wachenheimer Goldbächel Riesling 2012 is a perfect example of how this first-rate variety blossoms with age
The International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) is proud to set the international benchmark for quality, standing out in the crowded world of drinks competitions with over 50 years of experience and hundreds of global experts – including buyers, producers, distillers, sommeliers, distributors and influencers – judging wines and spirits.
Frei Körper Kultur Rot 2018 Rheinhessen Germany £22.50
Presented in a one litre bottle! An intensely “ stone, sandstone and clay. Crying out for German purple blend of sausage, hot
Pinot Noir, Sankt dogs (don’t for-
Laurent, Merlot and Portugieser from vines grown variously on lime“ get the fries!) or homemade burg ers. www.guestwines.com
Best German wines as rated by IWSC experts
A gingery cider nose with rounded notes of sap, honey and peach skin balanced with distinctive smokiness. Clearly defined, the citric palate is concentrated and spicy, with tannic grip and engaging undertones of English golden ale on the enduring finish. 13.3%
Pinot Blanc 2019 Max Mann
A supremely elegant nose of white flowers and orange zest with malty characters, focused mineral top notes and scant salinity. Fully realised palate displaying ripe stone fruits, apple, lime juice and delicate spice balanced by fresh acidity and yeasty undertones. 12%
Intent, confident and perfectly paced, nose shows the way with citrus and tropical notes then palate embraces in lavish, glowing ripe peach and mango richly balanced with Christmas cake and sparklers of acidity. Poised with handsome typicity. 13.3%
Sensational waxy petrol characteristics highlighting beautiful typicity. The palate is vibrant and fresh with intense minerality, kerosene and a streak of lime sharpness. 13.5%
Ripe exotic fruits revealing lifted aromatics and honey blossom. Textured and ripe with a savoury biscuity palate, dense dried apricot and peach richness with a spicy bite. 14%
Spätlese Riesling Reh Kendermann
Autumn baked apples with delicious spice weighs down fleshy body accented with ripe peach nose and cherry hints. Complex and rounded, traditional style. 9%
This wine has big dimensions and maturity with gorgeous frangipane fanning out alongside honeysuckle brushed red apple. Steady, weighty development marches towards lengthy finish. 13%
Forward ripe red apple on intense fruity palate with shimmers of fine maturity. The mouth is vibrant with gentle, mid-length finish. 14%
A gently complex nose opens out to crisp, fresh palate with good concentration of fleshy, stone fruit and generous ginger. Exquisite style with focus and character. 12.7%
Kleine Kapelle Pinot Grigio 2019 Peter Mertes KG Weinkellerei
A delicate nose of white stone fruit and passion fruit, showing beautiful typicity. Elegantly balanced displaying fresh savoury acidity and juicy fruit with an engaging finish. 12%
Confident candied lemon peel leads with succulent tropical fruits adding restrained weight to the palate. Well balanced with fine acidic backbone in elegant style. 12.3%
Charakter F. Alte Reben Thüngersheimer Johannisberg Riesling Spätlese 2018 Divino Nordheim Thüngersheim
Vibrant lemon-forward smoky citrus expresses against ripples of minerality and background of satisfying chalk texture. A crisp, compact wine with a smart, short finish. 14.2%
An alluringly floral nose of sweet apricot, waxy honey and hints of white truffle. Rich and full, with balanced acidity and a white pepper finish. 13%
Riesling 2019 Tesco
Ripples of big, pineapple and lush stone fruit marvellously balanced with gently gritty minerality and silky acacia honey. Intricate nose and good weight throughout. 11%
Ockfener Bockstein Alte Reben Riesling 2018 Weingut Reverchon
Clean citrus nose with tropical undertones and powerful yet reined in palate of fresh pink grapefruit, peach and quince. Delightful light florals and glittering acidity. Skilfully balanced with nice finish. 12.6%
IWSC: Trophy profile - Max Mann Pinot Blanc 2019
Max Mann winemaker Dominik Meyer
Riesling may make most of the headlines when it comes to German wine, but Pinot Blanc (aka Weissburgunder) is starting to make waves. It’s an aromatic, characterful variety that varies between elegant and mineral-tinged all the way to full, rich oakiness.
Pinot Blanc is taken very seriously in Germany, where it’s regarded as a high-class, food-friendly variety. One of its best exponents is Max Mann, a producer based in Rheinhessen, a region bordered by Rheingau to the north, Pfalz to the south and Nahe to the west.
Mann makes wines across all three regions, including Rheinhessen Riesling and Pinot Noir in Pfalz, but its the Pinot Blanc 2019 from the Nahe (pictured above) that has won an IWSC Trophy this year. Bottled under screwcap at a modest 12% abv, this is what the IWSC judges thought of it: “A supremely elegant nose of white flowers and orange zest with malty characters, focused mineral top notes and scant salinity. Fully realised palate displaying ripe stone fruits, apple, lime juice and delicate spice balanced by fresh acidity and yeasty undertones.”
Here, winemaker Dominik Meyer explains the Max Mann approach to winemaking, and why German wine should be on everyone’s lips.
Tell us about the history and background of Max Mann…
Max Mann was a wine trader/negociant based in Trier/Mosel. His company was taken over by the Moselland co-operative. The Max Mann range was created as an export range built on the value of its founder – a mid-tier priced range of modernly vinified authentic German varietals.
What is your winemaking philosophy?
To create modern, fresh and affordable wines, and to show the world the modern side of German wines: dry, elegant and extremely good value for money.
What is the best piece of advice you have been given and how did you use that in your winemaking?
Quality will prove itself every time. Focus on quality and it will be your best marketing tool.
How can people best enjoy your wine?
It works equally well on its own as a social drink or to accompany light dishes.
There are those who love Austrian wine, and those who haven’t yet discovered it – but everyone remembers the scandal of the 1980s that has affected this ancient winemaking country for a generation or more. It was discovered that bulk wine producers had been adding diethylene glycol (a component of antifreeze) to their wines in order to give them mouthfeel and sweetness. Austria is finally ridding itself of this reputation, which is a wonderful thing because it produces some of the world’s most sublime white wines.
Austria’s wine-growing regions hug the country’s eastern borders with the Czech Republic at the northern end to Slovenia in the south. The climate is continental, with hot summers and very cold winters; during the ripening season days are long, hot and dry, and nights are cold
– the holy grail for Austrian winemakers striving for acidity and fresh aromas. And acidity and freshness, and delicious bright fruit flavours, are what Austrian wine delivers, in a package that rarely comes in higher than about 12.5% ABV. Grüner Veltiner, which covers a spectrum from bone-dry and mineral to ripe and lusciously sweet, is Austria’s signature grape but its climate is perfect for Riesling, and there are also some excellent Pinot Noirs to be found.
Our judges’ descriptors perfectly summarise the delights on offer: “expressive”, “intense”, “poised”, “harmonious”, “exuberant”. Each one of these wines is a superb expression of what this unique terroir can produce. If you already love Austrian wine then you need no convincing. If you haven’t discovered it yet, this is where you start.
A generous example with a juicy, fruit-driven core. Notes of white lily, blossom and honeysuckle support the fresh apricot and citrus flavours. Characterful with great length and a sweet, peppery finish. 12.5%
Weingut Stift Klosterneuburg 2019
A sophisticated example with an expressive peach, apricot and green apple character. Great complexity with balanced acidity and a long, bright finish. 13%
Blauer Zweigelt 2019 Domäne Baumgartner
An intense medley of ripe black fruits, kirsch and sweet spices. Vibrant acidity on the palate with lifted herbal notes. 13.5%
Grüner Veltliner 2019 Lenz Moser
A poised offering with a core of peach, lime and blossom notes. The palate is balanced with great acidity and mouth-watering spice, which carries through onto the lingering finish. 12.5%
Ära Grüner Veltliner 2019 Peter Mertes KG Weinkellerei
A youthful and harmonious offering with a stone fruit core and bright, sherbet notes. The palate is light with refreshing zesty character and a touch of minerality. 13%
Fundstück Reserve Grüner Veltliner 2019 W. Baumgartner
A warming spiced ginger backbone encased in ribbons of lemon curd, candied apple and light stone fruit flavours. Delicious with a burst of citrus-fuelled acidity and a long finish. 13.5%
An exuberant example with rich tropical fruit and lemon curd notes on the nose. The palate has a solid, ripe, citrus character with good acidity and a creamy texture on the finish. 13.5%
A fresh, lemon-focused example with mineral notes and stone fruit. A touch of creaminess on the palate balances the bright acidity. 13.5%
A refined offering with an elegant mineral and smoke character. Notes of peach and lemon peel run throughout with great finesse and precision. A refreshing style. 13%
Selection Zweigelt 2019 Lenz Moser
Juicy strawberry, cherry and peach on the nose, with freshness and lift. The palate is driven by red fruit. Charming with some personality. 11.5%
Reserve Pinot Noir 2018 Weingut Zantho
A refined and complex example with a core of ripe forest berries and a touch of savoury minerality. Dark, vibrant and balanced. 13.5%
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