Germany’s Coolest Wines – German Wine Institute Competition during PROWEIN

The winery Hörner, which means horns in English, made fun of their own name. The Rosé was the only amoung the nominated 20 coolest wines of Germany a competition initiated by the German Wine Institute during PROWEIN. A total of 385 wines had participated at the competition which got a lot of press attention and sharing in the social media.

The winemaker Tommy Hörner coming from the established winery Hainbachhof in the Palatine region. Using the family name to create wines after his gusto he has choosen to promote his wine in three category of horns. The simply shaped bull horn represents the baseline, which also includes our selected rosé. According to the winemaker a great wine. And therefore he has choosen a provocative name “Horny”, which might be misunderstand in foreign countries.
The blend of Merlot, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Dorsa has just the right amount of aromas of intense red berries, cherries and gooseberries for us. The wine comes out pleasantly dry and with only 11.5 percent alcohol.
You can download the fact sheet here
You’ll find the at www.hoerner-wein.de at a price of 7.00 Euro.

Sancerre Rosé LE RABAULT by Winemaker Catherine Corbeau Mellot

Sancerre is usually known in Germany for a fabulous white wine. And thats what the well known Domaine Joseph Mellot stands for. It has just won a 2018 Gold Medal for the outstanding La Grande Châtelaine 2015 by the Concours Mondial du Sauvignon. Our congratulations for this award.

Gold Medal Concours Mondial du Sauvignon 2018 -La Grande Châtelaine 2015

Gold Medal Concours Mondial du Sauvignon 2018 -La Grande Châtelaine 2015

500 years of winemaking is a really astonishing tradition. The historic family-owned wine estate is located in the Centre-Loire vineyards of Sancerre. It was founded in 1513.  Generations of the Mellot family have refined the art of making great wine. In the 17 century  César Mellot gained recognition as wine advisor to King Louis XIV known for his long reign and his lavish style at Versailles.

The Mellot family followed the career of  vigneron (grape owner and winemaker) as well as wine merchants. It the 1800s the family had her own Inn at Sancerre and in 1881 was granted  a licence to sell it wines troughout France and abroad.

In this tradition Mrs. Catherine Corbeau Mellot traveled as President of  the Domaine Joseph Mellot to PROWEIN as an ambassador for the Grands Vins of  Centre Loire region. Mrs. Mellot runs a 100 hectare company with various vineyards at several locations.  Since 2002 the winery “Le Sentier du Vin” was established to receive the grapes harvested in Quincy and Reuily. Menetou-salon, Côteaux de Giennois and Châteumeillant add to the diversity of the portfolio.

CEO Domaine Joseph Mellot - Catherine Corbeau Mellot

CEO Domaine Joseph Mellot – Catherine Corbeau Mellot

Mrs. Mellot is very active and initiated the creation of the Association of the Dames de Coeur de Loire part of the french wine women – a group of 30 women from 7 wineries with different functions.

So it was a nice surprise for me to meet Mrs. Catherine Corbeau Mellot and taste her Rosé. LE RABAULT is made from Pinot Noir.

oseph Mellot Sancerre Le Rabault 2018Bottled in a clear Burgundy bottle it has a clear luminous salmon-pink color that is characteristic of Pinot Noir rose wines.

The nose develops floral notes of rose and peony at first and the rasberry scents. There is is a fine full taste with a freshness at the end, giving it a lasting quality.
This wine is pleasant because of its freshness and delicate aromas. It is a good companion for a summer evening even in cooler countries. It does not need hot climate to convince with the freshness.

The winemaker suggests the wine is perfect with deli meat, white meats, exotic dishes and sweet/savory dishes. The ideal serving temperature is between 10° and 12°C.

 

You’ll get to Sancerre and the Domaine Joseph Mellot within 2 hours from Paris:

Rosé from Sicily by Azienda Agricola Biologica DI GIOVANNA

Rosé from Italy is not that common in Germany. Germans predominantly love italian red wine as they have a great taste for Pasta and Pizza. Or they go for a pinot grigio. Even in restaurants you’ll have sometimes a hard time to find a good wine especially if you ask for a Rosé.

Melissa & Gunter Di Giovanna

Prowein 2018 Melissa & Gunter Di Giovanna

So it is a surprise to run into a nice couple who offer you not only a Rosé from Italy, but an organic Rosé from Sicily.

This is quite unuasually as is the name of the winemaker – Gunther Di Giovanna, a german-italian who runs the business with his brother Klaus, now 5th generation owners of remarkable wineyards in the western part of Sicily.

Altogether the current property is about 100 hectares, 56 hectares vineyards, 23 hectares of olive trees, forest and wheat fields. The vineyards are organically certified since 1997.

The brothers cultivate vineyards in 4 different zones and altitudes, the oldest vineyard Gerbino was already planted by their great-grandfather Cristoforo Ciaccio in 1860 at an altitude from 420-480 meters above sea level. The other vineyards are on a higher level.

GERBINO is the brand name for the Rosé made from the native Sicilian grape Nero d’Avola kown for it’s soft and sutle character along with a juicy fruit.
The Rosato is pale pink in the glass with fuscia tones, notes of rasberry and crushed cherry. It reveals scents of rose petals and reipe red barries. It’s esay, pleasant drinking as it has a soft attack, a pleasant medium acidity and over all a good balance.

VURRIA is the brand for another Rosé made of another varietal typically sicilian. Nerello Mascalese has been planted by Aurelio Di Giovanna back in 1968 from an old vineyard near Randazzo and introduced to Sambuca die Silicia. This grape is known for it’s expressive aromatics and spice.

Rose by Di Giovanna
The winemakers suggest that the wine pairs wonderfully with shellfish, grilled white fish and pork. You could even try it with sushi or asian cuisine.

Even the family Di Giovanna  offers Wine Tourism and invits us to visit Sicily as their wine cellar is surrounded by the beautiful nature reserve of Monte Genuardo, you do not have to travel that far to get to get a good bottle of Rosé.

Di Giovanna wines are available as well out of Germany. Contact information is given below:

Italy
Di Giovanna s.r.l.
Corso Umberto I, 137
1-92017 Sambuca di Sicilia (AG)
Tel: +39 0925 1955675/ Fax: +39 0925 941086
Mobile: +39 320 6583904/ 3298355523
email: info@di-giovanna.com

Germany
Di Giovanna Barbara
Herrlinghausen, 73
D-42929 Wermelskirchen
Tel/Fax: +49 (0) 2196-8821733
email: info@di-giovanna.com

#Party Wine 6n by Doina Vin from Moldavia

Party Wine 6n from Diona Vin

Prowein 2018 – 6n #Party Wine

Diona BORS presented us a fairly uncomplicated good tasting easy drinking rose wine for younger clients. 6n the label is a riddle. It has to do with roman writing of numbers. If you cannnot figure it out, you can check the diona vin website for the clou: http://doinavin.md/eng/blog/6n-what-does-it-mean.

Diona BORS Doina BORS explaning marketing strategygives this explanation for their marketing to visitor Alena Mechelke. The colorful labels contain minimum of information – the brand name 6n and a hashtag, which recommends an occasion.

For better differentiation between the six wines in this series, each label has a different color and recommended occasion: #VictoryWine has a violet label, #LoveWine a red label, #PartyWine a pink label, #RelaxWine a blue label, #AdventureWine an orange label and #PlayWine a yellow label.

Dipinta by Winery Jorche from Italy

Dipinta Jorche ©Wolfram Mechelke Mechernich

Prowein 2018 – Emanuela Gianfreda presenting DIPINTA

A fine fruity italian rosé we found meeting with the female winemaker Emanuela Gianfreda from the winery Jorche.
The label is rare. It is a handmade painting and the name of the wine refers to it.
The Rosewine “Dipinta” has a medium salmon tone with pink highlights.The aroma is a intense aroma of rose, violet and red fruit. Delicate and rounded flavor with a good freshness. Alcohol 12%.vol.
The winery already in the 5th generation is producing this wonderful tasty wine from 100% Negroamaro. This grape grows almost exclusively in the region of Apulia.
The soil is special, too: red soil rich in copper oxsides on sandstone layer. The vineyard is 10 years old. Harvesting is still manual picking in little boxes.