Wannabe Wino Wine Blog

Wines that is! 😉 I rarely drink wine from Germany and it’s often a treat when I do to be exposed to some excellent Rieslings, (the wine that started my love affair with wine), and other fabulous white wines.  This time I even got to try some German Pinot Noirs!

Last weekend I attended the DC International Wine and Food Festival on a press pass.  This year, I only went for one day and I only stayed for the trade hours. I learned my lesson last year, it gets crowded as soon as the public comes in! However, this year, the place seemed incredibly crowded with just the trade and I only made it to 6 tables in 2 hours.  Probably because I’d go to an empty table and then the same group of about 8 folks from a store would show up behind me and push me out of the way. No matter where I went, even when I went to an entirely different room, this same group kept tailing me!!

I started at the table for Frances Rose Imports, an importer based in Germany.  They actually had two tables with a total of around 10 wines, and were looking for a distributor in the DC area. So, if you area  distributor, check out their selections, the wines were really tasty and well priced!

2007 Rotschiefer Baron Heyl Zu Hernsheim Riesling: Retails for between $25-$28. Lemon, honey, minerals, nice acidity.

2007 Baron Heyl Riesling: Retails in mid-$20s. Apricot, orange, very light nose, slight honey, slighly sweet, very nice minerality.

2007 Baron Heyl Riesling Spatlese: Lemon, minerals, honey, mandarin orange, nice acidity, on the sweeter side.

1999 Schwibinger Pinot Gris: Specializes in aged white wines. Retails for about $29. Pear, apple, very aromatic, honey, lots of tropical fruit.

2007 Thörie Pinot Noir: Cherry, floral, tart cherries, roses, red berries, earth, very clean flavors, austere.  Retails for $20, great QPR.

2007 August Ziegler Spatburgunder aka Pinot Noir: Oaky, butterscotch, raspberry, cherry, tannic.

All the following except the Auslese retail for under $20.

2006 Schwibinger Pinot Blanc: Perfumey, floral, lemon, clean, light, crisp, very nicely done.

2007 Schwibinger Riesling: floral, apricot, lemon, clean flavors, crisp.

2007 Thörie Riesling: Sweeter, honey, prickly on the tongue, citrus, lemon.

2005 Maikammerer Madelhöhe Gewurztraminer Spatlese: Lychee, almond, pineapple, mandarin, very nice.

2005 August Ziegler Riesling Auslese: Pear, apricot, nice acidity, orange, honeysuckle.  A dessert wine you could drink many glasses of.

Tasting all these lovely wines, many of which retail for fantastic prices, reminded me that I need to step outside of my CA comfort zone more often.  Bone dry Rieslings can be a thing of beauty and I should really drink more of them!

Filed under: DC International Wine and Food Festival, German |