North by North-East

PREVIOUS TASTING ARCHIVE – AUGUST 2022

It’s easy to forget that France is not the only European country with an ancient wine history. The German and Austro-Hungarian Empires marched to their own, and quite different winemaking beat, with indigenous grapes and authentic wine styles.

Grape varieties like Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Furmint and Grüner-Veltliner owed little to France. The wine styles that developed in these often cool, mountainous, more northerly and easterly countries were influenced by their local traditions and conditions too.

What we’ll taste

For this tasting Tom has chosen wines from Germany, Austria and Hungary, and also from Alsace, the cool northern region of France that for so long was under German control and influence.

We’ll taste classics including trocken or ‘dry’ German Riesling (very different from the sweeter styles), Austrian Grüner-Veltliner and Hungarian Furmint, the great grape of Tokaji but here made as a crisp white wine. Another classic appears in the shape of a German-influenced Gewürztraminer from Alsace, and then two wines that begin to show how French and Germanic traditions have also begun to merge: a Pinot Blanc from Germany, and a Pinot Noir from Hungary.

This is sure to be a tasting full of interest with some relatively unusual wines of high quality, and the stories of how the wine cultures of these countries developed. The case of six wines is priced £67. The tasting is split over two Thursday evenings, opening three bottles per night. The wines will stay fresh until the weekend, so nothing will be wasted!

How does it work?

• Tasting tickets and wines are purchased separately
• The ticket price is per household, not per person
• The ticket covers both sessions
• After you purchase your ticket, you’ll receive a link to buy the wines
• We’ll make a recording of each session in case you miss one
• You may attend without buying the wines.