germany

October 6 – “Trocken”

by Grape Stomper Todd on October 6, 2010

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Willkommen!

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Today, October 6th, is German-American Day. This U.S. holiday celebrates our German heritage and commemorates the day in 1683 when 13 German families landed in Philadelphia. The celebration sort of “died out” during World War I, when in lieu of raising beer steins, the U.S. and Germany raised swords against each other. But in 1983, to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the German settlers, President Ronald Reagan finally revived the holiday. But that wasn’t enough…

Four years later On August 6, 1987, Congress approved S.J. Resolution 108, designating October 6, 1987, as German-American Day. It became Public Law 100-104 when President Reagan signed it on August 18. Proclamation (#5719) to this effect was issued October 2, 1987, by President Reagan in a formal ceremony in the White House Rose Garden, at which time the President called on Americans to observe the Day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

Hmmm, why is it that even when our government gives us the green light to party, it still sounds really dry?

So this leads us to our Wine Word of the Day: Trocken

Trocken is the German word for “dry.”  And in case you didn’t know, in wine-speak, “Dry” simply means “not sweet.”

The Germans, as might be expected, have a very detailed system of classifying ripeness levels for wine grapes. Wineries then label their bottles with these classifications to help consumers know how ripe and rich the grapes were when the wine was made. But, due to various wine making styles, the buyers won’t know how sweet the actual wine is until they drink it.

Maybe it’s because I’m 1/4 German or something, but I’m fascinated by all the terms for ripeness levels. Here they are in order of sweetness, from less sugar to more: Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, and Trockenbeerenauslese.

We could spend a lot of time on these and dive into all the subtleties of each. I will say this though, it is all based on the Germans, “Wine Quality Pyramid.” Which is far more intriguing to me than the U.S. Government’s “Food Pyramid.” Come on Obama! How about a kabinett position like: “Secretary of Estate Wine,” or at least a “White House Chief of Carafe?”

Clearly, Harvest is making me punchy. I have some fermentation bins to wash tomorrow at dawn before our Syrah comes in. I better go now.

Tagged as: auslese, beerenauslese, dry, germany, kabinett, spätlese, trocken, trockenbeerenauslese

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September 2 – “Icewine”

by Grape Stomper Todd on September 2, 2010

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On this day in 1956, Eugene O’Neill’s play, “The Iceman Cometh”, opened on Broadway.  Hailed as one of O’Neill’s finest works the play depicted desperate characters clinging to illusion.  The play draws on his first-hand experience with dive bars and addiction.

Did you see that play?  Neither did I, but it does make a nice segue to our wine word of the day: “Icewine”

Icewine (or “Eiswein” in German) is wine made from grapes picked while they are still frozen on the vine.  As much as I like this style of dessert wine, I have no interest in making it.  Why?  Because you may lose some fingers to frostbite as you are harvesting and pressing the grapes.

The idea behind icewine is that when the temperatures are below 20-degrees Fahrenheit, the water content in the grapes freeze.  When you press frozen grapes only a drop of liquid sugar is extracted while the ice is scraped away.  Then only this super sweet juice is fermented for wine production.

I rarely order icewine due to its price, which is often four times more expensive than table wine made from the same grapes.  Why so costly?  Besides the hazardous harvesting conditions that must be compensated for, the grapes face a multitude of perils before becoming juice.

These problems stem from hang time.  The same grapes normally harvested in September or October, might have to wait until New Years for the proper weather conditions for picking.  In the meantime, birds are trying to eat the grapes, winter storms may blow the grapes off the vine, or rains could cause mold and mildew in the clusters.  And finally, if the grapes are too frozen, the press could be damaged; yielding no juice at all.

So, as you can see, this is a special type of wine.  The Germans and Canadians are the primary producers of icewine.  Primarily because they have the right weather conditions, but more importantly, they are just plain crazy enough to want to do it.

Tagged as: canada, eiswein, germany, icewine, tasting terms, weather

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