So, what had happened was…

This blog and I? We were on a break. It was getting to be tedious, a chore, posting on this blog. So I stopped. This started as a release, and a way to help my customers, friends and family around the country sift through the frustrating pile of marketing nonsense that drives the wine world.

I also wasn’t drinking there for a while, some annoying health issues. But I’m back, and I can’t think of a better way to swan dive off the wagon than with a post about one of my favorite palates in the wine business. Terry Theise was in town last week for a bar-b-que, oh, and a comparative tasting of some of his Austrian and German gems.

Ten things I learned/confirmed/remembered/reknow from the Terry Theise tasting:

1.) He likes to tell cute, dirty jokes. So ask him if he knows any when you meet him.
2.) 2006 Austrian whites are bangin’. At the low-end, Terry was insistent that every wine price point has a free 1st or 2nd class upgrade. I’ll take this as fact from tasting the 2006 Schloss Gobelsburg “Gobelsburger” alone, it’s aroma and flavors will evolve in your glass every 30 seconds.
3.) Nothing like a good red to lead off a tasting of great whites. The Prieler ‘05 Blaufränkisch was one of those “wines that are just goddamn delicious,” according to the Admiral.
4.) 10% off is still the wine suckage average. Of the 29 wines we tasted, one was spoiled, and two were strangely off. So, it does happen to everyone. But it’s still a big deal. Of the wines that were off, I found 2 still good enough to drink, quickly.
5.) Wines between 47° and 50° latitude in Europe can have similar characteristics, and Terry kept pointing out notes in the wines that reminded him of certain Côte de Blancs Champagne.
5.5.) Loewen IS the shit. Remember that buyers, when your Parker-zombie clients only want the flashy Dönnhoff. Just drink the 2006 Leiwener Laurentiuslay Riesling Spälese (gesundheit!) and try to disagree.
6.) Most German ‘06 Kabinetts are declassified Ausleses and Spatleses. Hence the unfreaking believable mouth feel, value, and sexiness of some of these whites. It’s a question of marketing, and wineries believe they have to have a “Kabinett,” or else.
7.) For tasting something(s) so fucking lovely, you’d have thought half the people’s dogs had died on that very same day (as me mum would say). Seriously buyers, nobody makes you come to any of these tastings. The least some of you can do is look like someone’s NOT feeding you shit. Ack, Seattle embarrasses me sometimes.
8.) Austria is so laissez-faire right now. The ‘06 wines have teeny, tiny amounts of residual sugar that really give the wine a boost, in flavor and length, without them coming off sweet at all. It’s in there because that’s what happened, but don’t expect Austrian winemakers to dose their ’07s (maybe they won’t have to); they just aren’t into that. Que sera, sera is their m.o.
9.) Gruner Veltliner dessert wine is way more affordable than der Riesling counterpartz, and magically complex.
10.) People in the wine business don’t swear nearly enough. So it’s refreshing to hear someone taste a fantastic wine, and have the passion to swear about it.

Thank you, Master Theise.

the following will be available Oct-Nov…
2006 Loewen Leiwener Laurentiuslay Riesling Spälese ($28-32) - I want to sit and think about this wine. It has a flinty, almost oily, smell–half Champagne-like and half the mark of older Riesling. It’s long, silky, gooey flavors made me completely ignore the Reuscher-Haart sitting in the next glass. Sorry.
2005 Prieler Blaufränkisch Ried Johanneshöhe ($24-$26) - Fresh red raspberry, which I’ve been eating by the bucket, vibrant with a punchy acidity and a little peppery note. This Austrian wine tastes like the prettiest little Cab Franc the Loire Valley could ever hope to offer.
2006 Schloss Gobelsburg Riesling “Gobelsburger” ($17-$19) - They don’t have to make this wine, but thank fucking god they feel like they do, for the Austrian supermarket trade. Citrus and herb and wildflower, and love taps of cool summer fruit, the flavor and texture of this wine induces a sigh.

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