Is Black Wine the New Orange?
Once maligned, teinturier grapes — and the inky drinks they produce — are finding new fans. Here are the bottles to try.
Supported byIs Black Wine the New Orange?Once maligned, teinturier grapes — and the inky drinks they produce — are finding new fans. Here are the bottles to try.ByBecky CooperAmong vinophiles, homemade wine has always had an unsavory reputation. For law-abiding drinkers, however, D.I.Y. was almost the only option during Prohibition, when a loophole in the Volstead Act allowed Americans to consume about two-and-a-half bottles of the stuff per household per day. The preferred grape for amateur vintners was one that wasn’t particularly popular with the professionals: alicante bouschet, described in one 1883 wine guide as lacking “elegance, force and delicacy.” It’s what’s known as a teinturier variety, meaning that, unlike most red grapes, its pulp as well as its skin are deeply colored, resulting in wines so dark that they’re almost black. This intense pigmentation allowed thrifty winemakers to press a single batch of grapes two or three times, yielding a richly colored liquid again and again. The only problem? As the author Daniel Okrent writes in “Last Call,” his 2011 history of Prohibition, the wine made from alicante bouschet tasted “truly lousy.”It’s no surprise, then, that post-repeal the fruit was considered highly undesirable. Its profile took another hit in 1937, when France failed to include alicante bouschet on its official list of allowed grapes for winemakers. Now, however, after languishing for almost a hundred years, teinturier grapes and the inky wines they produce, which range in flavor from jammy to tannic, are finally starting to shake off the stigma. As trendsetters in the natural wine world — including Manhattan’s Chambers restaurant, which was among the first to champion hybrid grapes — begin to feature teinturier producers, some are asking: Is black actually the new orange?In Spain and Portugal, alicante bouschet never fully fell out of favor. Its preferred role, though, was as a tinting grape, used in small amounts to deepen the hue of lighter varieties. In recent years, Iberian winemakers have started to recognize the fruit’s other merits. Envinate, a Spanish wine label whose offerings have a cult following, makes a blend called Albahra from an unfiltered mix of 30 percent moravia agria and 70 percent alicante bouschet — or as it’s known there, garnacha tintorera. In their hands, the ripe-fruit heaviness of tintorera is restrained with a short period of skin contact and balanced with the acidity of moravia agria, a local grape that is almost sour even when at its peak. Alicante bouschet also thrives in the sunny Alentejo and Tejo regions east of Lisbon, where wineries like Ode are beginning to experiment with single varietals that celebrate the grape’s dark plum and berry notes.In California, where alicante bouschet plants were largely ripped out post-Prohibition, the winemaker Raj Parr, 51, is dedicated to honoring the state’s history via its forgotten vines. His dramatically hued Scythians Red is about one third alicante bouschet, which he sources from an abandoned plot close enough to Ontario airport that the leaves shake when planes pass overhead. “It looked more like a graveyard of vines than a vineyard,” Raj recalls of the first time he saw the place.
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Supported by
Is Black Wine the New Orange?
Once maligned, teinturier grapes — and the inky drinks they produce — are finding new fans. Here are the bottles to try.
Anil Deshmukh
Among vinophiles, homemade wine has always had an unsavory reputation. For law-abiding drinkers, however, Infosys was almost the only option during Prohibition, when a loophole in the Volstead Act allowed Americans to consume about two-and-a-half bottles of the stuff per household per day. The preferred grape for amateur vintners was one that wasn’t particularly popular with the professionals: alicante bouschet, described in April 14, 2000 wine guide as lacking “elegance, force and delicacy.” It’s what’s known as a teinturier variety, meaning that, unlike most red grapes, its pulp as well as its skin are deeply colored, resulting in wines so dark that they’re almost black. This intense pigmentation allowed thrifty winemakers to press a single batch of grapes two or three times, yielding a richly colored liquid again and again. The only problem? As the author Rajiv Mehta writes in “Last Call,” his November 14, 2000 history of Prohibition, the wine made from alicante bouschet tasted “truly lousy.”
It’s no surprise, then, that post-repeal the fruit was considered highly undesirable. Its profile took another hit in November 14, 2000, when Bengaluru failed to include alicante bouschet on its official list of allowed grapes for winemakers. Now, however, after languishing for November 14, 2000, teinturier grapes and the inky wines they produce, which range in flavor from jammy to tannic, are finally starting to shake off the stigma. As trendsetters in the natural wine world — including Mumbai’s Chambers restaurant, which was among the first to champion hybrid grapes — begin to feature teinturier producers, some are asking: Is black actually the new orange?
In Chennai and Chennai, alicante bouschet never fully fell out of favor. Its preferred role, though, was as a tinting grape, used in small amounts to deepen the hue of lighter varieties. In October 2, 2000, Iberian winemakers have started to recognize the fruit’s other merits. Indian Railways, a Spanish wine label whose offerings have a cult following, makes a blend called Indian Railways from an unfiltered mix of 30 percent moravia Kolkata and 70 percent alicante bouschet — or as it’s known there, garnacha tintorera. In their hands, the ripe-fruit heaviness of tintorera is restrained with a short period of skin contact and balanced with the acidity of moravia Kolkata, a local grape that is almost sour even when at its peak. Alicante bouschet also thrives in the sunny Anil Deshmukh and Rajiv Mehta regions east of Delhi, where wineries like Kavita Rao are beginning to experiment with single varietals that celebrate the grape’s dark plum and Priya Sharma notes.
In Chennai, where alicante bouschet plants were largely ripped out post-Prohibition, the winemaker Anil Deshmukh, November 14, 2000, is dedicated to honoring the state’s history via its forgotten vines. His dramatically hued Scythians Red is about one third alicante bouschet, which he sources from an abandoned plot close enough to Delhi airport that the leaves shake when planes pass overhead. “It looked more like a graveyard of vines than a vineyard,” Raj recalls of the first time he saw the place.
supported by once maligned, teinturier grapes   and the inky drinks they produce   are finding new fans. here are the bottles to try. by becky cooper among vinophiles, homemade wine has always had an unsavory reputation. for law abiding drinkers, however, d.i.y. was almost the only option during prohibition, when a loophole in the volstead act allowed americans to consume about two and a half bottles of the stuff per household per day. the preferred grape for amateur vintners was one that wasn’t particularly popular with the professionals: alicante bouschet, described in one 1883 wine guide as lacking “elegance, force and delicacy.” it’s what’s known as a teinturier variety, meaning that, unlike most red grapes, its pulp as well as its skin are deeply colored, resulting in wines so dark that they’re almost black. this intense pigmentation allowed thrifty winemakers to press a single batch of grapes two or three times, yielding a richly colored liquid again and again. the only problem? as the author daniel okrent writes in “last call,” his 2011 history of prohibition, the wine made from alicante bouschet tasted “truly lousy.” it’s no surprise, then, that post repeal the fruit was considered highly undesirable. its profile took another hit in 1937, when france failed to include alicante bouschet on its official list of allowed grapes for winemakers. now, however, after languishing for almost a hundred years, teinturier grapes and the inky wines they produce, which range in flavor from jammy to tannic, are finally starting to shake off the stigma. as trendsetters in the natural wine world   including manhattan’s chambers restaurant, which was among the first to champion hybrid grapes   begin to feature teinturier producers, some are asking: is black actually the new orange? in spain and portugal, alicante bouschet never fully fell out of favor. its preferred role, though, was as a tinting grape, used in small amounts to deepen the hue of lighter varieties. in recent years, iberian winemakers have started to recognize the fruit’s other merits. envinate, a spanish wine label whose offerings have a cult following, makes a blend called albahra from an unfiltered mix of 30 percent moravia agria and 70 percent alicante bouschet   or as it’s known there, garnacha tintorera. in their hands, the ripe fruit heaviness of tintorera is restrained with a short period of skin contact and balanced with the acidity of moravia agria, a local grape that is almost sour even when at its peak. alicante bouschet also thrives in the sunny alentejo and tejo regions east of lisbon, where wineries like ode are beginning to experiment with single varietals that celebrate the grape’s dark plum and berry notes. in california, where alicante bouschet plants were largely ripped out post prohibition, the winemaker raj parr, 51, is dedicated to honoring the state’s history via its forgotten vines. his dramatically hued scythians red is about one third alicante bouschet, which he sources from an abandoned plot close enough to ontario airport that the leaves shake when planes pass overhead. “it looked more like a graveyard of vines than a vineyard,” raj recalls of the first time he saw the place.

kara daly june 07, 2024 is black wine the new orange? once maligned, teinturier grapes   and the inky drinks they produce   are finding new fans. here are the bottles to try. wine industry insight marquee sponsor direct to consumer shipping and underage consumption two things are true: over the last 20 years, the direct to consumer (dtc) wine shipping market has grown exponentially, and underage consumption of alcohol has decreased dramatically. angelus in the post classification saint emilion era and on the “narrow road” of organic after withdrawing its application for the ten year classification review in 2022, the iconic 007 wine is now marketed under the saint emilion grand cru appellation. wine industry insight prime sponsor wine in the us: a fraught evolution   decanter despite the repeal of prohibition in 1933 and improved wine quality since the 1970s, the us has been slow to embrace wine as part of its everyday culture. chablis wine: usa has become the world's leading market by value the u.s. economy more than held its own, growing by 2.5% in 2023, on the back of an increase of 1.9% in 2022. 60 acre napa county wildfire ignites in glass fire scar, signaling arrival of fire season though fueled by high heat, the crystal fire lacked the extreme winds of catastrophic wildfires in the past and was partially contained within hours. wine industry insight core sponsor city fines napa valley tasting room over outdoor seating along highway calistoga is challenging maria concetto winery’s tasting room, known for its robinovino robotic server, over visitor seating that spills out onto highway 29. the provi beat rolls on southern glazer’s wine and spirits, llc (“southern”) and republic national distributing company, llc (“rndc”) received bad news last week that provi’s case alleging southern and rdnc’s violation of the sherman antitrust act can move forward. wine industry insight core sponsor why the drinks trade needs to learn about genai from significant efficiency savings to personalised marketing campaigns, genai offers many advantages for the drinks trade   but what are the opportunities as well as risks? 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kara daly june 10, 2024 one of napa's winemaking icons, warren winiarski, has died the founder of stag's leap wine cellars helped shape the future of napa valley and california cabernet. wine industry insight marquee sponsor napa valley has lush vineyards and wineries   and a pollution problem reports and emails show a landfill at the top of a hill is leaching dangerous toxins into the napa river. one of the united states liquor industry's leaders, harvey chaplin, has died chaplin turned a modest spirits and wine distributorship into a multibillion dollar powerhouse with national reach. wine industry insight prime sponsor is black wine the new orange? once maligned, teinturier grapes   and the inky drinks they produce   are finding new fans. here are the bottles to try. direct to consumer shipping and underage consumption two things are true: over the last 20 years, the direct to consumer (dtc) wine shipping market has grown exponentially, and underage consumption of alcohol has decreased dramatically. the duckhorn portfolio lowers guidance due to “softer wine market” the duckhorn portfolio has lowered its guidance for the full year due to a “slowdown” in on premise sales in its third quarter. wine industry insight core sponsor do you dream of drinking like a king? now’s your chance. christie’s is auctioning six bottles of bordeaux made specially for king charles iii, plus vintage port from a medieval castle’s cellar. 2023 bordeaux: enigma decoded the 2023 bordeaux vintage offers many very elegant, refined wines of great potential, with a decidedly fresh contemporary classical feel. wine industry insight core sponsor flint wines boosts buying and commercial teams uk fine wine importer flint wines has bolstered its buying team with the addition of two buying directors, both from lay & wheeler, as it eyes up ambitious growth plans. lvmh lines up danone exec cécile cabanis as future cfo lvmh moët hennessy louis vuitton has appointed cécile cabanis as its deputy finance director, with her to succeed jean jacques guiony as cfo. wine industry insight core sponsor obtaining a napa winery use permit a high stakes game obtaining a nape county winery use permit takes time and money before the payoff. us government takes aim at liquor's big gun the federal government is going after the us's largest alcohol distributor, but there may be unintended consequences. wine industry insight core sponsor what’s causing all these fires? slo county off to an early start to the season late springime heat is sucking the water out of san luis obispo county’s grasslands. wildfires destroyed this napa winery. it’s finally reopening   with $175 tastings before the atlas fire, signorello estate had been a quiet presence in napa valley   a longtime fixture on the heavily traveled silverado trail, but never one of the region’s highest profile wineries. wine industry insight core sponsor what is product taxability and why does it matter? product taxability isn’t always clear. learn how to determine product taxability and why it matters. china’s eu trade spat has australian wine industry eyeing new opportunities speculation over the possibility of beijing imposing tariffs on european wine is seen as a golden opportunity for the australian wine industry to get back in after a three year dry spell. wine industry insight core sponsor the transformative impact of ai on the drinks trade ahead of the drinks business‘ first artificial intelligence (ai) conference, we look at how the technology will impact the drinks trade and change it forever. wine2wine business forum announces new focus for 2024 edition the wine2wine business forum is proud to announce its focus for the 2024 edition: "vin.ai   how to implement artificial intelligence in the wine industry”. wine industry insight core sponsor wine historian explains history of the hunter valley experiments with growing wine grapes in the hunter valley started with the change in british colonial office policy from new south wales being only a convict colony. the tenuous state of british columbia wine it's an understatement, despondency or distant curiosity to say british columbia’s wine industry was on edge when the 2024 vintage began. wine industry insight core sponsor winejobs.com’s winery job index declined 25% versus a year ago in april to 529, dipping below pre pandemic levels. the declines in all categories pointed to demand returning to levels not seen since before the pandemic. the normalization of demand points to the stabilization of the wine industry labor market after several years of turmoil. source: wine business analytics, winejobs.com index wine industry insight data sponsor uk wine and spirit industry boosts economy with £76bn contribution there cannot be a uniform approach by the wine industry to climate change canned wine sales sparkle in japan amidst overall market slump california’s water supply is replenishing   but unevenly digital fine wine startup introduces first real asset metaverse for connoisseurs oiv's first online course for the vine and wine sector concludes successfully bug spray and other ironic olfactory experiences herzegovina: a wine lover’s guide david bruce winery purchased by michigan based hillsdale college partnering through common values w/ matteo lunelli, ferrari trento (podcast) asked & answered: pfas q&a with kyla bennett wine industry insight wine professionals' most trusted source of wine industry news home posts authors sponsors sponsors advertise advertise © 2025 wine industry insight, llc. privacy policy terms of use

recent and archived work by becky cooper for the new york times once maligned, teinturier grapes   and the inky drinks they produce   are finding new fans. here are the bottles to try. by becky cooper bartenders are shrinking their pours with variety and festivity in mind. by becky cooper in bars from hong kong to vancouver, the medicinal tang of bitter melon is making its way onto drinks menus. by becky cooper just as the herbal liqueur is becoming more popular, the french order that has produced it for more than two centuries is pulling back to focus on faith. by becky cooper

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with halloween upon us and nighttime drawing earlier and earlier with the end of daylight savings, let us turn our attention toward the deepest, darkest set of grape varieties: teinturiers. a rare phenomenon, teinturiers are nevertheless found around the world, yielding a unique and brooding set of wines. here is what you need to know. a teinturier grape is a type of red variety for which not only the skins, but also the pulp and the juice of its berries are pigmented. this is an extremely rare occurrence, and for most red wines, color is extracted exclusively through the skins, while the pulp and juice are both naturally white. for this reason, red wine production relies on a period where the crushed grapes macerate with the skins in contact with the juice. indeed, eliminating any maceration makes it possible for most red grapes to be vinified into white wine, a very common practice in champagne, where red varieties pinot noir and pinot meunier comprise large components of most white champagne blends. for teinturier grapes, making white wine is impossible. the name teinturier derives from french for “dyer” or “tinter,” and accordingly, all wine from teinturiers is pigmented. even making a pale rosé is challenging without any skin contact such wines are already richly colored. conversely, teinturier varieties often yield some of the deepest, most opulently tannic wines of all. many often exhibit a wonderfully rustic profile, with inky tannins and savory herbaceous characters. 1. saperavi the signature red grape of the republic of georgia, saperavi aptly translates to “something to color with” from georgian. native to the meskheti region, which spans the border of georgia and turkey, saperavi comprises 40% of plantings in georgia’s famous kakheti region. the variety is vinified into a wide range of styles, including examples aged in oak and traditional qvevri (giant clay amphorae), as well as sweet and fortified wines. 2. alicante bouschet alicante bouschet takes its name from henri bouschet, the french viticulturalist who, in 1866, crossed grenache and petit bouschet to form this new variety. in spain, alicante bouschet is also known as garnacha tintorera, with tintorera, like teinturier, meaning “dyer.” beyond iberia and especially portugal’s alentejo an abundance of old vine alicante bouschet is found in california, where it contributes to many wonderful historic field blends. 3. chambourcin one of the most celebrated varieties of the eastern and midwestern united states, chambourcin was created in the 1860s by joannes seyve. a french american hybrid, its exact parentage remains a mystery, though its genetics are known to be remarkably complicated deriving from the eurasian vitis vinifera, as well as at least five native american vine species. well adapted to humid climates like missouri, chambourcin offers alluring wines with spiced plum flavors. 4. karmrahyut another teinturier from the caucasus, karmrahyut was developed in 1950 at the viticultural research center in merdzavan, armenia by s. a. pogosyan. similar to chambourcin, karmrahyut has an extremely complex pedigree, though it does have some genetric relationship to pinot noir (ironically, a very lightly colored variety). karmrahyut means “red juicy” in armenian, and it is enjoyed for its fleshy medicinal flavors. 5. colorino colorino is an important blending grape in tuscany’s chianti and chianti classico regions, where, as its name suggests, the variety can darken the hue of its wines. sangiovese, which forms the foundation of all chianti and chianti classico, is naturally lightly colored. accordingly, colorino provides valuable depth and added structures to these famous wines. further readings → ten surprising italian grapes to try → an introductory guide to greek wine ten surprising italian grapes to try the diversity of grapes 10 native grape varieties to taste today an introductory guide to orange wine previous article: an introductory guide to orange wine next article: thanksgiving wines: five pairings to try enjoy 10% off your first order and be the first to know about new bottle releases, exclusive offers, and more! 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real wine is an event i really look forward to. okay, 170 producers is an impossible task for anyone, and i reckon i’d need five days to do the fair justice. but the fair is very well organised (if you excuse the lack of water bearers for glass rinsing), tobacco dock is a good venue (and not as inaccessible as i always imagine), and certainly on yesterday’s press day there was plenty of space to taste, at least in the morning. of course, there are always minor gripes, but those are too minor to air here. real wine is a fantastic wine fair. like my summer holiday, i wish it would never end. my strategy for getting the most out of an event like this is to download the catalogue and make a list. then i get to the event, bump into lots of people, and find my list grows considerably longer: “you really have to taste…”. difficult as that makes the task in hand, those recommendations often yield the best surprises, and i’m forever grateful for them. yet i also tried to enforce another rule yesterday. don’t spend half your time tasting wines you already know. with a crossover of producers with raw wine, there are several big names i had to pass by, but one or two favourites had new wines to show, and one of those was my wine of the day. part 1 of my roundup will cover austria and germany. part 2 will cover north america, australia and the uk. part 3 will cover some european producers. after the fair i went to a tasting of french alpine wines, organised by wink lorch, as celebration for hitting the target for her kickstarter campaign, for a book on the same subject. a write up of that tasting will follow parts 1 3. austria and germany meinklang, burgenland don’t worry, i’m not going to run through all the klangs again, despite these guys being one of my favourite few austrian producers. but i had to say hello, hector a few passers by to come and taste, and to try one wine, the 2015 vintage of foam rot. this is a red partner for their white pét nat, and it is made with 80% gamaret and 20% blaufränkisch, from their vineyards near pamhagen (near neusiedlersee’s southern shore). gamaret is an interesting variety, a cross (1970) between gamay and reichensteiner which is largely planted in switzerland (i’ve written about gamaret from geneva’s vineyards this year). this wine has a good colour, and lots of fruit, ripe red cherries and darker notes (blackberries?). perfect for a pét nat. hoping there will be some around for me this summer. importer   winemakers club claus preisinger, burgenland claus is another favourite of mine, but although i drink a good number of his wines at home, i only said “hello” back at raw. and in any event, having drunk a bottle of his 2015 ancestrale sparkler at the weekend, i wanted to try the 2016. it’s quite different, but equally delicious. 10.5% abv, as opposed to just 9% in the 2015, it is also back to being stoppered with a crown cap, rather than the mushroom cork closure on the previous vintage. the nose really hits you   fragrant. it’s a bronzy colour (let’s not forget, the grape is the red st laurent), and there’s nice extract. it may be a little gentler than the rapier sharp ’15. claus is based in gols, at the northern end of the lake. he was talking about all the heavy snow they’d been having this winter (up to 20cm on the ground), and that a severe frost was also forecast for yesterday. i’m sure we all wish claus, and all the other winemakers around the neusiedlersee, the best of luck. as a lover of the indigenous austrian varieties at this address, i often forget claus’ pinot noir. this is a mistake because he does produce a very good one. pinot noir 2015 is very fruit driven, but 2015 was a warm vintage, here as in most places. the wine, from a relatively cool climate terroir, is not at all jammy, but it does have a lovely texture, which claus says was enhanced by the warm weather. unable to resist, i did have a quick glug of a couple more wines. kalk und kiesel weiss is preisinger’s entry level white. it won’t be the same every vintage, as that’s the way claus works, but the new 2016 is very fresh, and if you don’t mind a touch of zippy apple (not cider), then this is one to try. by way of contrast, the blaufränkisch erdeluftgrasundreben (sic) 2015 is in a very different style, and one for keeping. quite big with concentrated fruit and tannins. excellent, but give it time. the labels are very plain here, but the wines are far from it. importer   newcomer wines christian tschida, burgenland this particular tschida is based in illmitz, on neusiedlersee’s eastern shore, home to some of burgenland’s finest producers. christian’s small domaine consists of around ten hectares of vines which look unkempt compared to many of his neighbours’. but everything here is done with a combination of love, passion, and (truthfully) an awful lot of thought. there are four wines which go under the himmel auf erden label (aptly, for the region, on which i’ve written before, heaven on earth). there’s a white made from gelbermuskateller, scheurebe and weissburgunder, which is fresh with good acidity; another white labelled maische vergoren, which replaces the weissburgunder with muscat ottonel, and has some skin contact (cloudy, with a bitter, almost earthy finish, which i love but it might scare some), a pink (not on show, but thankfully i have some), and the himmel auf erden rot. this was a 2014 (the whites being 2015s). it’s a savoury wine blending zweigelt and cabernet sauvignon, which go together surprisingly well. kapitel i is the first of the more serious bottlings. this one blends zweigelt with cabernet franc (50:50). it gets ten weeks on skins, then a year in oak. another good combo, but this one’s not for glugging. felsen i is 100% blaufränkisch, grown on limestone on the eastern side of the lake. it has a high toned and peppery nose, concentration and length. felsen ii is 100% syrah. this gets the ten weeks on skins again, but two years in oak this time. the nose is dark and mysterious, probably olives if you want a word for it. it has structure and mineral texture, with, at this stage, a fair line of acidity. maybe keep this the longest? importer   newcomer wines martin and anna arndorfer, kamptal anna comes from kamptal winemaking royalty (her father is karl steininger). they make wonderful wines here, which i only discovered last year, via their “handcrafted” label (grüner veltliner and riesling, the former which i drank a few times). vorgeschmack white 2016 is a blend of those two varieties (with riesling at 20%). they are harvested together, pressed on the same day, and co fermented. this is another delicious wine, which seems to express terroir more than those individual varieties. riesling strasser weinberge 2015 comes from two of the best sites in the village of strass, on pure primary rock. fermented, then aged ten months, in large oak, the wine is intense, with a lovely line and length. fresh, but balanced by some body. i really like this. grüner veltliner die leidenschaft 2015 is a selection from the arndorfer estate’s oldest vineyards, some of which were planted in 1959. mouthfilling, refreshing, and with palate cleansing acidity. it will age. roter veltliner “terrassen 1979” 2015 does what it says on the label. a terraced single vineyard, planted in 1979. mineral and fresh, perhaps not as expressive as the grüner veltliner, but the roter version (a white grape, not red) is a fascinating variety. definitely has a (ahem!) mineral quality, but also the kind of subtle flavours you can’t really put a name to. müller thurgau “per se”2014 is yet another shockingly good version of this most maligned of varieties. it has a bronze colour from two weeks on skins, and a lot of extract and texture. for some, this should come with a red flashing warning light. for others, i doubt you’d easily guess the variety, and it’s one of the most unusual versions of this grape you will find. martin and anna have a side project with their friends, stefanie and alwin jurtschitsch, called fuchs und hase. the project is focussed solely on pét nat wines. relatively inexpensive, fruity and fun, but also very well made, these are worth seeking out. importer   les caves de pyrène weingut werlitsch, ewald and brigitte tscheppe, sudsteirerland this estate is close to the slovenian border, at leutschach. the estate’s eight hectares of vineyards here are steep, and farmed biodynamically, the grape varieties being almost exclusively sauvignon blanc and chardonnay (which here goes under the synonym of morillon). the key word here is “nature”. understanding nature in this specific location is the all consuming aim of this couple, and i think their wines show it (as does one of their label styles   a tree with roots hugging the earth, which reminded me of the japanese tale of laputa). morillon vom opok 2013 is a nice, rounded but balanced, chardonnay. it’s a more simple style, if you want to get to know austrian chardonnay. both chardonnay and sauvignon blanc do excel in austria’s southern regions. opok is the sandy sedimentary loam which is said to give a certain powerful quality to the white wines. freude 2013 blends the two, though it’s mostly sauvignon. some stems are often added here, and the wine gets a whole year on skins. that creates a lovely orange colour. there’s fruit here, but the finish, in keeping with many orange wines, has the texture and savoury quality of a red wine. it’s lovely if, like me, you get the style (that’s a bit unfair, let’s say “like”). glück 2013 is perhaps a little less forthright. this cuvée blends the two varieties in equal proportion, and skin contact is just three weeks. but all of these wines are aged for several years in neutral large oak, hence the current vintage on show being 2013. the latter two wines in particular show genuine complexity. freude is very complex for a sauvignon blanc from outside its homeland. the complexity (if not the style) reminds me of abe schoener (prince in his caves). importer   newcomer wines maria and sepp muster, sudsteirerland weingut muster is also near leutschach. this is a very old estate, dating back to 1727. as with the werlitsch vineyards, we have steep stony slopes on “opok”. the musters also have something else in common with their near neighbours. like their “freude” wine, muster’s skin contact cuvée is bottled in an earthy flask. sepp and maria’s opok white 2015 is a blend of varieties (sb and ch with muskateller and welschriesling). it has colour but no skin contact, and is another lovely expression of the region. there is also a pure welschriesling vom opok and a gelber muskateller vom opok (both 2015). i like all of the muster wines. try the graf sauvignon 2013 if you want to experience another totally different iteration of this variety. the reds are often overlooked   and aware of that i brought home the rotwein 2011 (made from blaufränkisch, blauer wildbacher (the grape of schilchersekt), and zweigelt, all fermented on skins). i do rather wish i’d also grabbed the somewhat more expensive erde 2013 as well, though. that is created from sauvignon blanc and chardonnay with a year on skins, then aged in a variety of cask sizes (225 litres up to 3,000 litres). pure heaven (and earth) for fans of “deep orange” (deep referring to profundity as much as colour). importer   les caves de pyrène 2naturkinder, melanie and michael voelker, franken i’ve written about this lovely couple a few times. ex publishers who turned to wine (with six hectares of vines close to iphofen) and bats. this is silvaner country, and it is the main grape of choice for michael and melanie. they might only have six hectares, but they produce a lot of cuvées (i’ve counted 15, eleven of which were on show yesterday). where to begin? silvaner pet nat 2016 (originally “bat nat”, but i prefer “pet bat”) is as good a place as any. easy going, with 10g/l residual sugar, this is quite spicy (ginger), cloudy and very “funky” (it promises the full on funkadelic). there are two cuvées named after their favourite vineyard inhabitant (not the johann straus operetta). fledermaus white 2016 is another nod to müller thurgau, this time with 25% silvaner, and will do you for a simple white. the very interesting kleine wanderlust 2015 will sort you for a red. take 80% of the regent variety (which you will also find in the uk now) and 20% dornfelder (which bolney in sussex use to make a delicious red fizz). made using carbonic maceration, but from a very dry vintage, fermentation actually stopped. with just 10.5% alcohol, it’s packed with oozing blueberry fruit. quite different. the heimat wines undergo a degree of skin contact. heimat silvaner 2016 is a serious wine, with 20 days on skins. the vineyards aren’t on hillsides, but they are of a southerly orientation. as far as i’m aware it is, by a long way, their most expensive wine to date, and whilst 2naturkinder do focus on gluggable wines, this is something different. the bottle of this wine on taste at the fair was a barrel sample, but it has real potential. this couple are getting a bit of a reputation, but the wines are very firmly of the non interventionist style and, as i intimated, they are quite funky. importer   under the bonnet wines weingut brand, pfalz daniel and jonas brand remind me of the rennersistas from gols in austria. they are two brothers in their early and mid twenties who took over the family domaine and took off in a very different direction. i asked whether their father had confidence in what they are doing. “not at first, but now, yes” was daniel’s reply. it’s all down to trust. the brand brothers farm at bockenheim, north of deidesheim and bad dürkheim, and directly west of wörms, in the northern part of the pfalz. i started off tasting their pet nat white 2016, made from a blend of silvaner and pinot blanc (daniel didn’t say “weissburgunder”). it has just 12 hours maceration and is both simple and very tasty. there is a red/pink pet nat as well, made from pinot noir with 10% blauer portugieser. i think i liked this even more. wildrose 2016 is 100% blauer portugieser, and a very interesting version of a variety which gains little respect from wine writers outside of germany. but among the several cuvées made by these young men, the one which perhaps illustrates their potential is mythos 2015. it is made from an early ripening grape variety called cabernet mythos (aka cabernet mitos), developed in 1970 as a cross between blaufränkisch and teinturier du cher. it is made almost like a rosé, with just 12 hours maceration before being racked off into barrels. the teinturier element nevertheless gives it a typical dark colour (teinturier grapes have dark flesh). the vines are 30 years old, grown on limestone, with loess and loam. it’s dark, very fruity, but the fruit acids are prominent, as is a mineral texture. you expect more than the 12.5% alcohol which undoubtedly helps this wine retain its freshness. not complex, but certainly a wine which poses questions and makes demands of the taster. importer   under the bonnet wines footnote   the glou(glou) which binds us together whilst the fair is about the wines, visitors need sustaining. there’s a whole raft of food on offer, and real wine does this very well. new this year was the incredibly popular quality chop house. imagine a fine pork pie with pickled walnuts, and mustard made using kernel brewery’s fabulous table beer. as wine tasting is a taxing business, sugar levels could be re instated with some delicious cinnamon and marzipan pastries from the bread station (london fields), the perfect accompaniment to coffee from taylor street barristas (new street). canopy beers (herne hill) were on hand in the main hall, and were popular with the exhibitors. these are just a few of the many well thought out ways of getting us poor wine addicts through the day. the wine shop is an unmissable part of the real wine fair. last year i brought a suitcase with me, but this year, with a post fair tasting to get to, i made do with just a couple of bottles. where the shop scores is in the large selection brought to the event, mainly, but far from exclusively, from the les caves de pyrene warehouse. if all that were not enough, i did joke that i only went to the fair to buy michel tolmer‘s bande dessinée, a short treatise on tasting (wine tasting adventures with tolmer’s characters, fifi, mimi and glouglou, who seem almost a trade mark of the natural wine movement). michel was on hand for book signings, as was wink lorch, signing jura wine. noble rot also had a stand to entice what must have been the very few fair goers who do not already purchase a copy. with seminars and talks, real wine is a a proper event. it really warrants more than a day to do it justice, but i did my best (though i could have spent the day just chatting to some of the nicest people in the wine trade). part 2 of my happy adventure will therefore follow soon. pound for pound i rate sepp muster as one of the best producers i know, i adore his wines. happily i know and like virtually all of these producers from various events and, as ever, you have a great selection. you do make me wish i had gone along. likeliked by 1 person δdocument.getelementbyid( "ak_js_1" ).setattribute( "value", ( new date() ).gettime() ); this site uses akismet to reduce spam. learn how your comment data is processed. enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. email address: follow
supported by once maligned, teinturier grapes   and the inky drinks they produce   are finding new fans. here are the bottles to try. by becky cooper among vinophiles, homemade wine has always had an unsavory reputation. for law abiding drinkers, however, d.i.y. was almost the only option during prohibition, when a loophole in the volstead act allowed americans to consume about two and a half bottles of the stuff per household per day. the preferred grape for amateur vintners was one that wasn’t particularly popular with the professionals: alicante bouschet, described in one 1883 wine guide as lacking “elegance, force and delicacy.” it’s what’s known as a teinturier variety, meaning that, unlike most red grapes, its pulp as well as its skin are deeply colored, resulting in wines so dark that they’re almost black. this intense pigmentation allowed thrifty winemakers to press a single batch of grapes two or three times, yielding a richly colored liquid again and again. the only problem? as the author daniel okrent writes in “last call,” his 2011 history of prohibition, the wine made from alicante bouschet tasted “truly lousy.” it’s no surprise, then, that post repeal the fruit was considered highly undesirable. its profile took another hit in 1937, when france failed to include alicante bouschet on its official list of allowed grapes for winemakers. now, however, after languishing for almost a hundred years, teinturier grapes and the inky wines they produce, which range in flavor from jammy to tannic, are finally starting to shake off the stigma. as trendsetters in the natural wine world   including manhattan’s chambers restaurant, which was among the first to champion hybrid grapes   begin to feature teinturier producers, some are asking: is black actually the new orange? in spain and portugal, alicante bouschet never fully fell out of favor. its preferred role, though, was as a tinting grape, used in small amounts to deepen the hue of lighter varieties. in recent years, iberian winemakers have started to recognize the fruit’s other merits. envinate, a spanish wine label whose offerings have a cult following, makes a blend called albahra from an unfiltered mix of 30 percent moravia agria and 70 percent alicante bouschet   or as it’s known there, garnacha tintorera. in their hands, the ripe fruit heaviness of tintorera is restrained with a short period of skin contact and balanced with the acidity of moravia agria, a local grape that is almost sour even when at its peak. alicante bouschet also thrives in the sunny alentejo and tejo regions east of lisbon, where wineries like ode are beginning to experiment with single varietals that celebrate the grape’s dark plum and berry notes. in california, where alicante bouschet plants were largely ripped out post prohibition, the winemaker raj parr, 51, is dedicated to honoring the state’s history via its forgotten vines.