Tastings in
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Sofia & Bruce with wines tasted.

Wineries Visited in  France & Germany

Hugel & Fils, Riquewihr, France
A family-owned business that has been producing wine since 1639, it is currently managed by Etienne Hugel, the 12^th generation to manage this firm. It was Etienne who tasted with us.

2007 Gentil - This blended wine from Alsace's 4 noble grapes -- Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer and Muscat -- is Hugel's entry-level wine and widely available in our market. Very approachable and flavorful.

2007 Riesling - Like most Alsatian Rieslings this is soft and dry.

2005 Pinot Gris, Traditional - Rich, balanced flavors with a fine finish.

2004 Pinot Gris, Jubilee - Richer than the Traditional with more concentrated flavors.

2004 Riesling, Jubilee - Fruity on the nose with a slight mineral edge.

2000 Riesling, Selection de Grains Nobles - The best of the Hugel wines tasted, with deep flavors and a balanced sweetness.

All of the Hugel wines are produced from their own vineyards or vineyards under long-term contracts. Therefore, they have full control of the vineyards that are the source of their 110,000 cases. The term Traditional is used to differentiate wines produced from a stricter selection of grapes. Jubilee wines are 100% estate grown and the Selection de Grains Nobles are very late-harvest wines with a considerable amount of sweetness.

Pierre Sparr et Ses Fils, Sigolsheim, France
Sparr is a family-run wine business established in 1680 and continuously run by family members. The brothers Pierre and Bernard are currently managing the company's affairs.

2006 Riesling Reserve - Refreshing with a very light sweetness and minerality.

2006 Pinot Gris Reserve - Refined flavors with a lingering finish.

2004 Pinot Gris, Mambourg Grand Cru - The Mambourg vineyard is considered a Grand Cru for its exceptional fruit and is located just behind the winery. It has a bold flavor, plenty of legs and elegant finish.

2004 Gewürztraminer, Mambourg Grand Cru - One of the spiciest Alsatian Gewürztraminers I've had, yet it is not overly aggressive.

2005 Gewürztraminer, Vendages Tardives - This late-harvest wine had a rich sweetness and would make an outstanding dessert wine.

F.E.Trimbach, Ribeauville, France
This well-known firm was started in 1626 and has remained in family hands ever since. With a production of 1.3 million bottles, 25% of which are shipped to the United States, this is one of the larger firms producing quality wines. There is a sign behind the tasting bar that reads "Say no to oak; Help put fruit back in wine." I could not agree more, which is why I like Alsatian wine so much.

2006 Pinot Blanc - With good fruit and light flavors this is a perfect starter.

2006 Riesling - A very fruit-driven wine with light flavors, yet balanced.

2006 Riesling Reserve - Made with grapes from 45-year-old vines, it is balanced with mild acidity and a finish that lingers.

2004 Riesling, Cuvée Frederic Emile - One of my favorite wines, this one needs some more time in the bottle.

2003 Cuvée M, Riesling (sold in France only) - Similar to the 2006 Riesling, but with some minerality.

2003 Pinot Noir - Flowery nose and brilliant color, but the flavors are weak.

2001 Pinot Gris Reserve Personnelle - The Personnelle label is only produced in special vintages with the grapes chosen from the best vineyards. This soft, balanced wine is very delicate with a hint of sweetness.

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Domaine Weinbach, Kayersberg, France
A relatively young producer, it is also one of the top producers in all of France. Founded in 1898 by the Faller brothers, but based on vineyards established in 1612 by Capuchin monks, this small property produces only estate-grown wines from about 69 acres of the best vineyards in Alsace. They can usually produce only 13,000 cases. The wine is expensive and rare, but each bottle is as good as any Alsace can produce. The property is currently run by Colette Faller and her two daughters, Laurence and Catherine. It was Catherine who hosted our tasting. Laurence is the winemaker.

2007 Muscat Reserve - A balanced wine with light sweetness and minerality.

2007 Riesling Schlossberg - In 1975 the Schlossberg vineyard was declared to be a Grand Cru vineyard. This delicate Riesling had great fruit flavors and a hint of minerals.

2007 Riesling Schlossberg, Cuvée St. Catherine - With this wine we toasted our host Catherine. This is a very dry Riesling with deep rich fruit.

2007 Riesling Schlossberg, Cuvée St. Catherine "L'inedit" - Selected from the best of the vineyard with half being a late harvest, this sweet yet balanced wine had a lingering finish and was elegantly subtle.

2006 Pinot Gris, Cuvée St. Catherine - Gentle and smooth with a lingering finish, this is how a Pinot Gris should taste.

2006 Pinot Gris Altenbourg - With high residual sugar this sweet, balanced wine was the perfect lead into the great Gewürztraminers.

2006 Gewürztraminer, Cuvée Laurence - Possibly the finest Gewürztraminer I've ever had came from Weinbach some years ago, so this was the beginning of a special part of the tasting. With a subtle nose the full spice flavors were in evidence.

2004 Gewürztraminer, Mambourg, Cuvée Laurence - Age only improves these wines. Rich, sweet and balanced, this is a wine to age longer and remember even longer.

2004 Riesling Schlossberg, Vendage Tardive - What legs! The richness of this wine could be seen but the taste showed off the wonderful flavors.

2005 Gewürztraminer, Furstentum, Vendage Tardive - Late-harvest Gewürztraminer is as good as it gets. Rich sweetness with soft spices - we could have had this wine all afternoon!

2002 Pinot Gris Altenbourg, Selections de Grains Nobles - What a conclusion to one of the finest tastings I've ever had. Loaded with residual sugar this late, late harvest wine is delicate and powerful at the same time. How do they do it?

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Weingut Wwe. Dr. H Thanisch, Bernkastel-Kues, Germany
The Thanisch family founded this winery in 1636 and has passed it down generation after generation. The Wwe. at the beginning of their name, means widow in German, and the business has been run by women for 4 generations since the death of Dr. Thanisch, the current owner's grandfather. Sofia Thanisch owns about 14 acres of vineyards and has long-term contracts on a wide variety of other vineyards throughout the Mosel region. All are planted only with the great Riesling grape. I chose to visit this winery because I wanted to learn more about the great Doctor vineyards. We tasted with Sofia Thanisch.

2007 Riesling, Spätlese Trocken - Yes, Spatlese and dry. This was a fascinating wine which was sweet, but dry at the same time. You always learn something new at a winery.

2007 Riesling - Their basic white wine which was soft and gentle.

2007 Riesling, Badstube, Kabinett - The Badstube vineyard surrounds the Doctor vineyard and produces a sweet yet delicate wine at 9.0% alcohol!

2007 Riesling, Doctor, Kabinett - Blended with some Spatlese to add to the sweetness of the beginning level of pradikit wine.

2007 Riesling, Doctor, Spätlese - Sweeter and even more balanced with acidity.

2004 Riesling, Doctor, Spätlese - Now we are getting into the more interesting aged wines. With mineral notes along with the sweetness, the alcohol level at 7.5% makes a terrific wine.

2006 Riesling, Doctor, Spätlese - Sweetness and a concentrated finish with years left to age.

2001 Riesling, Doctor, Auslese - Is it the age or the vintage that makes this so special? A slight mineral taste, but outstanding.

1991 Riesling, Doctor, Auslese - Vibrant after 16 years with an understated flavor and delightful sweetness.

2006 Riesling, Badstube, Beerenauslese - The perfume aroma reached us before the glass was in hand. Rich flavors were delightful, and it was worth just looking at the glass for the color of the wine and the legs.

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The following wines were tasted at my son's home in London:

Louis Jadot, 2003 Meursault, Burgundy
TMV, 2006 Syrah, Swartland, South Africa
Domaine Saint Andres de Figuear, 2005 Côte de Provence
At our "Welcome to London dinner" my son and daughter-in-law first opened the Meursault, a family favorite, which was very intense. The TMV is partially owned by George Austin, a friend of my son's. This soft, lightly spiced wine was perfect with dinner. As a finale, and to have an opportunity to get caught up on what he was doing, we sat up late and had the Côte de Provence. This is one of his current favorites and is a blend of Mourvedre, Grenache and Cinsault. Relatively light considering the blend, it offers a pleasant sipping wine at the end of the evening.

La Jota, 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain
It's nice to have friends that keep good wine and are willing to share it, but it is even better when they are in London and bring a fine bottle of wine for dinner all the way from Winston-Salem. I haven't had a La Jota in several years and never one this old, but it has stood the test of time. With rich flavors subtly presented, this was brought to share with the sommelier at the Greyhound Restaurant, but since the sommalier wasn't working that night, we saved it for our dinner at my son's home.

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Frankfurter Hof Hotel, The French Restaurant, Frankfurt, Germany
When I was in the service and stationed near Frankfurt, this old-line hotel was far beyond my budget, so this was my chance and it was worth waiting for. I don't often let a sommelier pick the wines for the evening, but this time I did allow him to suggest wines and they were very good.

Schloss Reinhartshausen, Sekt, Rheingau
Yes, I had picked a sekt from the wine list when the sommelier suggested this one at the same price; it was an outstanding wine. This is one of the best producers on the Rhine River and I was not aware that they made sparkling wines. The sekt was dry and flavorful and just what we wanted on our first night on the continent.

Leitz, 2002 Riesling, Spätlese, Rheingau
Since we would be driving to Alsace the next day then staying on the Mosel, I was interested in having a Rhine wine with dinner, but all of the Rhine wines on the list were Trocken (dry) and I didn't come to Germany for dry wines. I asked the sommelier if he had any that were sweeter and he said, "let me think, yes I have something interesting." I had not heard of Leitz before, but it turned out to be wonderful. With 6 years of age and from a great vintage, it had a delicious sweetness yet was balanced with acidity so that it was perfect with our dinner. At 8.5% alcohol it was actually refreshing.

Weingut Fritz Rothenbach, 2006 Huxelrebe, Oestricher Klosterberg Beernauslese, Rheingau
Once again I asked the sommelier to pick a dessert wine for us and he brought three to choose from. I picked the Huxelrebe since it was a grape I've heard of but never had. The BA wine was perfect for a late-harvest wine with light fruit and very delicate flavors. The sweetness was rich yet balanced. What a finish to a wonderful dinner.

Restaurant Bartholdi, Colmar, France
On the recommendation of Catherine Faller of Domaine Weinbach, we went to this restaurant for dinner after our visit to her vineyard. Named after the designer of the Statue of Liberty who was born in Colmar, it was as pleasant as she described. I had the Choucroute Garni and we sat in their courtyard under grape vines for our dinner.

Domaine Weinbach, 2002 Riesling, Schlossberg
Since we had such a wonderful tasting at the Domaine it seemed appropriate to have this Riesling with dinner. Riesling was the best wine to go with my sauerkraut dinner since it is generally used in the cooking (but probably not a Weinbach). It was great to have a whole bottle of Weinbach wine after sampling so many of her wines that afternoon.

The Greyhound, London (see Restaurant Reviews)
While the sommelier, Mark van der Goot, was not at the restaurant the night our friends brought the La Jota, we did dine there another evening, but unfortunately he was off again. While we had several wines at the Greyhound, one was so special it really stands alone.

Nicolas Joly, 2002 Savennieres, Coulée de Serrant, Loire Valley
This is one of the world's best wines and the finest example of a Chenin Blanc. I had never had this wine before and when I saw it on the list it was a must-have. The color was deep golden, and the body was viscous like a dessert wine but very dry. Layers of flavors and complexity were present making this a great wine by itself, but even better with food. Isn't it nice to be at a good restaurant with creative wine lists?

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Numero Uno,139 Northcote Road, London
This neighborhood, upscale restaurant, offers really good Italian food with a diverse wine list. We visited the Osteria Antica Bologna restaurant several times, but it doesn't have a very impressive wine list by comparison. This was our farewell dinner and unfortunately took place on the day that it was announced that Lehman Brothers was closing (my son is an investment banker and knows many Lehman employees). We started with a simple Greco di Tufo, from southern Italy, which was very pleasant. Then my son offered to buy a bottle of wine, and I could not say no.

Antinori, 2005 Tignanello, Tuscany, IGT
This blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon (usually 80-20) is one of Antinori's top wines and deservedly so. The wine offered both deep powerful flavors with a softness that was just incredible. After two weeks of wining in Europe, this was a great way to end the trip.

One other experience during the trip was my birthday gift from my son. He took me to a retail shop called The Sampler for a wine tasting. In addition to having a fine selection of wines for sale, they have about 80 wines housed in a cabinet with nitrogen to preserve the wine. The cabinet has machines that accept a house credit card which acts like a debit card, and as you select a taste of wine, it deducts the amount from your balance. Three different sized tastes are offered. These were the wines I sampled:

• Chateau du Val de Merce, 2007 Petit Chablis
• Wild Earth, 2008 Riesling, Central Otage
• Sokol Blosser, "Meditranx" Pinot Noir, Oregon
• Castello Y'Gay, 1998 Grand Reserva, Rioja
• Chave, 2001 Hermitage, Rhone Valley
• Gaja, 1988 Barolo, Spress (WOW! Tasted twice because this was the best wine of the day)
• Dr. Loosen, 1998 Urziger Wurzgarthen, Auslese, Mosel

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