The German Wine Queen Julia Bertram flew over from Germany to New York City for this event: A 3-hour voyage around New York harbor and a bottomless bottle of Riesling, i.e. an endless supply of German Riesling. Of course, Annette Schiller and I had to be part of this! Yes, it turned out to be a great evening, with great views, great wines and great company.
As a very special add-on, Annette and I managed to get the three Wine Amazones Tina Huff, Eva Vollmer and Mirjam Schneider on the boat. They were in town (New York City) for the “Lange Nacht des Deutschen Weins” (Long Night of German Wine) later in the week, but did not know about the 31-Days-of-German-Riesling Concert Cruise around New York Harbor with the German Wine Queen.
Of course, host and Riesling Guru Paul Grieco as well as temporary New York resident Stuart Pigott were also on the boat, in addition to 300 Riesling fanatics …. and hundreds of bottles of German Riesling, dry and fruity-sweet.
German Wine Queen Julia Bertram
Julia Bertram is the 64th German Wine Queen. Her reign started on September 29, 2012, when she was crowned in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse and will end in late September 2013, when the 65th German Wine Queen will be selected and crowned. The crowning is the culmination of a stiff selection process with thousands of candidates. During the last competition, Julia Bertram stood out with her profound wine knowledge, warmth and charm. The contestants had to answer difficult questions on wine, wine tourism, wine marketing and geographical issues. Additionally, the candidates had to pass several blind tastings of German wines.
Julia Bertram hails from the Ahr Region of Germany. Julia grew up in the wine village of Dernau and learned to love grape juice at the knee of her father, Josef, and her mother, Andrea, who accompanied her (along with Julia’s sister) on the trip. Having already graduated from Geisenheim with a degree in oenology, she wants to continue on an academic bent with a Masters in International Wine Economics (but this had to be put on hold for a year as she must travel the world with her scepter and tiara).
The Summer of Riesling and the 31 Days of German Riesling
The Cruise was part of the 31 Days of German Riesling campaign, which itself is part of the Summer of Riesling campaign. The Summer of Riesling is the brainchild of New York City’s Riesling Guru Paul Grieco, from Hearth Restaurant and the Terroir wine bars. In addition, there is the 31 Days of German Riesling - As part of the Summer of Riesling, during the month of July, participating restaurants and retailers are focusing on German Riesling.
The Summer of Riesling concept was created in 2008 when Paul Grieco decided that during the summer the ONLY white wine that Terroir customers could get was Riesling. The following years the Summer of Riesling expanded in various ways, initially by enlisting other Manhattan wine bars as part of the celebration and adding a concert where the only alcoholic beverage available was Riesling—no beer, no spirits. In 2011 Paul took the Summer of Riesling national, with support from the International Riesling Foundation (IRF), an organization specifically created to promote Rieslings from around the world.
Annette and Christian Schiller hosted a Summer of Riesling Party in July 2013 in the Washington DC area, with 90 guests bringing 90 different Rieslings from around the world; see:
Summer of Riesling with Annette and Christian Schiller in Washington DC, USA
On Summer of Riesling and 31 Days of German Riesling, see:
Late Night German Riesling Tasting with Riesling Gurus Paul Grieco and Stuart Pigott in Washington DC on the 2013 Riesling Road Trip, USA
Kick-off of the “Summer of Riesling 2013” with Chef Driss Zahidi, a (German) Dr. Loosen, an (Austrian) Tegernseehof and an (Alsatian) Trimbach Riesling at Le Mediterranean Bistro in Virginia, USA
Summer of Riesling 2013 and 31 Days of German Riesling 2013 in the United States
Eva Vollmer, Mirjam Schneider and Christine Huff
Tina Huff, Mirjam Schneider and Eva Vollmer are three young and gifted female winemakers from Rheinhessen in Germany. The three of them are at the beginning of a promising winemaker career, and they are best friends. They help each other and they spend a lot of time together.
I have met them individually several times and I met them together at last year’s wine festival at Weingut Eva Vollmer in Mainz, were they did an interesting Silvaner tasting. In addition, my daughter Katharina Schiller helps Mirjam Schneider during the harvest and wine festivals, and she has helped Christine Huff. Finally, Eva Vollmer is the President of the Mainzer Weinguilde, a wine brotherhood, of which I am a member.
Rheinhessen
Rheinhessen is an area that used to be known for winemakers often focusing on quantity and not quality. Rheinhessen is the largest viticultural region in Germany. Every fourth bottle of German wine comes from Rheinhessen. The high-yielder Mueller-Thurgau accounts for about 1/5 of the vineyards. Unlike in other German wine regions, where monoculture of the vine is the norm, here the many rolling hills are host to a wide variety of crops grown alongside the grape.
Rheinhessen also has the rather dubious honor of being considered the birthplace of Liebfraumilch. At the same time, Rheinhessen is among Germany’s most interesting wine regions. A lot is happening there. This is not because of the terroir, but because of the people. There is an increasing group of mostly young and ambitious winemakers who want to produce and indeed do produce outstanding wine and not wines in large quantities. Tina Huff, Mirjam Schneider and Eva Vollmer are 3 of them.
Weingut Eva Vollmer
Eva Vollmer is the 2010 Gault Millau Germany Wine Guide Discovery of the Year. She owns and operates - jointly with her husband Robert Wagner - a new Wine Estate in Rheinhessen in the outskirts of Mainz.
Pictures: Christian G.E. Schiller and Eva Vollmer at the Terroir Wine Bar (Murray Hill) in New York City and in Mainz
After studies in Geisenheim and an internship in California at William Hill and Atlas Peak, she founded the winery in 2007. She took over the vineyards of her father, who used to grow grapes only and sell them. Since then, she has not only produced outstanding wines, but also completed a Masters at the University of Giessen and recently a Doctorate at the University of Geisenheim.
The very first vintage in 2007 was Eva Vollmer’s big bang on the national wine stage. Only just under 5,000 bottles were filled from the first vintage. Weingut Eva Vollmer is in the process of moving to organic wine growing.
I have published the following posting about Weingut Eva Vollmer:
Winemaker Eva Vollmer is Germany’s Discovery of the Year 2010
International Women's Day 2012: Meeting the Wine Amazones Tina Huff, Mirjam Schneider and Eva Vollmer of Mainz, Germany
Weingut Schneider – Mirjam Schneider
The Schneider Estate in Hechtsheim at the outskirts of Mainz looks back to a long winemaking tradition. Already since 1715 the Schneider family has grown and made wine. Mirjam Schneider, a young lady in her 20s is the 6th generation. She has split up the work with her father, Lothar Schneider, who looks after agriculture, while she is responsible for the viticulture and the wine making in the cellar. In the farm shop of the Schneiders, you will find both fresh fruits and vegetables and wines from Mirjam's cellar.
Mirjam Schneider says that she always wanted to become a winemaker. She did her formal education, went to New Zealand to get an international perspective and took over the winery in 2005. As many other winemakers, she is trying to push nature to the fore and chemistry to the back: “The focus of my work is dealing with nature - because wine is for me a valuable natural product. I therefore attach great importance not only to keeping the wine in the process as natural as possible, but to bring this understanding to the vineyard as well.”
I have published the following postings about Mirjam Schneider:
International Women's Day 2012: Meeting the Wine Amazones Tina Huff, Mirjam Schneider and Eva Vollmer of Mainz, Germany
Weinfest im Kirchenstueck: Meeting the Winemakers of Mainz-Hechtsheim and Tasting Their Wines, Germany
In the Glass: Mirjam Schneider's 2007 Merlot No.2 from Rheinhessen, Germany
Tina Huff and Weingut Fritz Ekkehard Huff
Tina Huff’s name does not yet appear on the labels of the wines she makes, as her father still is very much involved with many aspects of winemaking at Weingut Fritz Ekkehard Huff. Tina is however increasingly moving to the fore. Tina Huff: “Today my parents Ekkehard and Doris still manage the operation, but following my studies in Geisenheim I am in the process of taking over as the fourth generation in the winery. My sisters Daniela and Johanna have chosen other careers, but their views are still very important for me”. Tina just got married with a young man from New Zealand, also a winemaker, who also works at Weingut Fritz Ekkehard Huff.
Wine making at the Huff family goes back by 300 years. But for many years, wine making was part of a larger mixed farming operation and the wine grapes were sold in bulk to other wine makers. Tina Huff’s forefather John Huff III. was the one who in 1948 took the bold step of starting to bottle his wines. Through marriage, he had added 2 hectares of vineyard land to his own 2.5 hectares, making bottling a sustainable operation. Over the following years, the share of winemaking increased while the role of agriculture and livestock decreased at the Huff Estate.
“Our goal is top quality wines’ says Tina. “For this, you need healthy and aromatic grapes. Healthy soils with high humus content and a functioning micro-organism are important. We do not use synthetic fertilizers; we encourage beneficial insects and work with natural and managed vegetation of the vineyard.“
“Of our 6 hectares of vineyards, 1.5 ha is “Rotliegend”. This is about 280 million years old clay and sandstone alteration. The special feature of these soils is the reddish coloration, which is caused by oxidized iron, like in the Niersteiner Roter Hang”.
I have published the following posting about Christine Huff:
International Women's Day 2012: Meeting the Wine Amazones Tina Huff, Mirjam Schneider and Eva Vollmer of Mainz, Germany
The Wines
Here are the wines:
Stuart Pigott: “I found the almost bone-dry 2012 Riesling trocken from Franz Künstler in Hochheim/Rheingau wonderfully refreshing. However, I could say the same thing for the 2012 Riesling Kabinett from Weiser-Künstler in Traben-Trarbach/Mosel, although this had a pronounced (and highly aromatic) sweetness. Riesling Kabinett of this filigree and playful kind is one of the styles in which the 2012 vintage wines really shine. Slightly less sweet, more savory, but similarly crisp and refreshing was the 2012 Riesling ‘Tradition’ from Robert Weil in Kiedrich/Rheingau.
After-Party at Terroir in the East Village
After the cruise, we went to the (original) Terroir wine (East Village) for an after-party, where we met Berlin-based food and wine writer Ursula Heinzelmann.
Annette and I had our last glass of wine at 10 Bells on the way to the hotel, where we stopped at 1:30 am - still open ... well that's New York.
schiller-wine: Related Postings
When Americans Drink German Wine - What They Choose
Winemaker Eva Vollmer is Germany’s Discovery of the Year 2010
Weinfest im Kirchenstueck: Meeting the Winemakers of Mainz-Hechtsheim and Tasting Their Wines, Germany
In the Glass: Mirjam Schneider's 2007 Merlot No.2 from Rheinhessen, Germany
International Women's Day 2012: Meeting the Wine Amazones Tina Huff, Mirjam Schneider and Eva Vollmer of Mainz, Germany
Ombiasy Wine Tours: Wine and Culture Tour to Germany Coming up in August 2013
Impressions from the Riesling & Co World Tour 2010 in New York
Late Night German Riesling Tasting with Riesling Gurus Paul Grieco and Stuart Pigott in Washington DC on the 2013 Riesling Road Trip, USA
German Wine Basics: Sugar in the Grape - Alcohol and Sweetness in the Wine
Stepping up: From 3 … to 4 Quality Levels - The New Classification of the VDP, Germany
Approaches to Classifying German Wine: The Standard Approach (the Law of 1971), the VDP Approach and the Zero Classification Approach
Kick-off of the “Summer of Riesling 2013” with Chef Driss Zahidi, a (German) Dr. Loosen, an (Austrian) Tegernseehof and an (Alsatian) Trimbach Riesling at Le Mediterranean Bistro in Virginia, USA
Summer of Riesling with Annette and Christian Schiller in Washington DC, USA
Summer of Riesling 2013 and 31 Days of German Riesling 2013 in the United States