German Winemaker Primer

German Winemaker Blowout. I never would have picked that title. Regardless, it’s the name of the Thursday night session at The Party Source this week.  As of this writing, it is still not sold out, although I imagine it’s pretty close. Here’s why you should go.

Several German winemakers (yes folks, the actual guys in Germany who make the wine) are in town for meetings with their distributors. There is a lot going on Thursday with these folks, and I’ll be letting you in on that later in the week. The Party Source has cajoled three of these winemakers to come present at a class/tasting session in their EQ center. The winemakers are Walter Strub, Helmut Darting, and Johannes Leitz. Each of these winemakers come from a long history of winemakers. It’s in their blood.

The session is only $20/per person and you get a $12 Party Source gift card just for being there. In addition, the wines and cheeses in the session are at a discount with your nametag.

Learn more about these winemakers after the jump…

Walter Strub, J. & H.A. Strub Winery
The Strub family have been winemakers in the town of Nierstein in the Rheinhessen region of Germany since 1710. The 11th generation of his family to honor the profession, Walter Strub took over the winery in 1986. In the process of gaining experience and extending his schooling, Walter worked as a volunteer at Simi Winery in California for several months before returning home to the vineyards. Their Rieslings and Eisweins get stunningly good reviews and tend to be reasonably priced. Interestingly, Strub has been using almost all Stevin screwcap closures since about 2005. I look forward to learning a little more about Walter Strub and his wines.

Helmut Darting, Darting Weingut
The Darting winemaking tradition dates back to 1780. Helmut, son of Kurt & Ella Darting, apprenticed with Mueller Catoir, a prominent winemaker in the Pfalz and Germany. The winery produces around 12,000 cases of Riesling, Pinot
Blanc, Rieslaner, Ortega, Muskateller, Chardonnay,
Mueller Thurgau, Gewuerztraminer and Eiswein. Darting believes in the "less is more" theory of winemaking. By using
techniques such as ambient yeasts and super-cold fermentation, he is
able to bring out subtle refreshing flavors in his Riesling. I think we may have tried a rosé from Darting (not sure on that though), and I’m looking forward to trying his Riesling.

Johannes Leitz, Josef Leitz Weingut
And this is the one we have all been waiting for … Jancis Robinson has this to say about Johannes:

Young Johannes Leitz is now one of the absolute superstars,
not just of the Rheingau but of German wine in toto.
By taking
an analytical look at the small Rüdesheim estate he inherited
when very young he has steadily improved wines into some of
the most thrilling by reducing yields, using ambient yeasts,
imposing stringent hygiene so that the wines can be fermented at a
snail’s pace on its lees.

Need I say more?

I’m really looking forward to this. Each seems to have an interesting approach to how they coax the nuances of the grape into the wine. I can’t wait to learn more.

2 Responses to “German Winemaker Primer”

1. Rowena Tank says:

   June 8, 2007 at 12:55 pm

   I moved to Germany and married a German Navy pilot who was stationed at Luke Air Force Base in the late 60′s. All I can say is I enjoyed so many great wine tastings while I lived there 13 years. I love the customs of each winery and how they use certain dishes for the new wine each year. Rowena Tank, Prescott, Arizona
2. kosher wine says:

   August 1, 2007 at 7:04 am

   This is great, especially for those wine lovers. This is a chance to taste wine from such seasoned and skilled winemakers.

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