I recently attended the Terry Theise German/Austrian tasting. Terry is one of the finest importers around given the quality of his portfolio and his sense of focus. It’s easy to get distracted when importing wine. There is so much good wine in the world- Why limit yourself to one country? The answer- do what you do and do it better than anyone else.
Terry doesn’t import from one country, he imports from 3. He imports the best selection of German Wines, the best selection of grower Champagnes, and one of the best assortments of Austrian wine. By most importers standards this is a very narrow scope and one that I appreciate.
I didn’t get to spend enough time at the tasting but I came away with a few thoughts.
1) I need to drink more German Wine
2) 2011 is a terrific vintage in Germany. The wines are consistent, approachable, and lovely.
3) 2010 was a weird vintage, high acid and high sugar. Some producers thrived others faltered.
4) Riesling Tattoos are awesome!
2 Producers I loved-
1) von Winning, Pfalz – This was my first time tasting through these wines and I was thoroughly impressed. The wines are balanced and focused, grown up wines not for the casual drinker. These were the wines I kept thinking about and want to drink and spend time with, not just taste.
2) Selbach-Oster, Mosel– This would be my go to German winery. I’ve always enjoyed and appreciated their wines both entry level and terrior driven. Johannes Selbach was one of a few producers at the tasting sporting a Riesling tattoo (definitely the oldest). Now that’s dedication!
Again, this is just a snapshot of German from a wine person who is not an expert on German wine. There was tons of great stuff at the tasting not covered here. If you want to read more about German wine check out Terry Theise’s catalog.