I went to work Tuesday AM thinking we were having friends over for
simple Italian dinner, but got home to discover Betsy had been to the
Chinese supermarket, and dinner plans we
salt and pepper squid
sprout salad
Chinese broccoli
chicken poached in a soy sauce broth
plus some Chinese pickles she had made last week (all recipes were
from Kylie Kwong book).

To go with the squid, the 2009 Hofer Gruner Veltliner (in liter
bottle). Nice, fresh, floral, light. There's not a lot there, but it's
clean and a good match for the hot squid, and $10./liter! B/B-, but a
solid value.

The red was the 2006 Drouhin Chorey-les-Beaune. Ripe red fruit, a hint
of espresso, some earth. Nice balance of fruit, tannins, and acid.
Straightforward Burgundy that is unlikely to wow anyone, but tasty and
typical. B/B+

Nice night with good friends, plus their standard poodle. Dogs and
people all happy

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an
excellent*wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I
wouldn't*drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I
offer no*promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of
consistency.**

On 1/20/10 12:45 PM, DaleW wrote:
> I went to work Tuesday AM thinking we were having friends over for
> simple Italian dinner, but got home to discover Betsy had been to the
> Chinese supermarket, and dinner plans we
> salt and pepper squid
> sprout salad
> Chinese broccoli
> chicken poached in a soy sauce broth
> plus some Chinese pickles she had made last week (all recipes were
> from Kylie Kwong book).
>
> To go with the squid, the 2009 Hofer Gruner Veltliner (in liter
> bottle). Nice, fresh, floral, light. There's not a lot there, but it's
> clean and a good match for the hot squid, and $10./liter! B/B-, but a
> solid value.

I gotta find me one of these some day... I saw a number of GVs in liter
format in Berkeley over the holidays, but no Hofer, alas
>
> The red was the 2006 Drouhin Chorey-les-Beaune. Ripe red fruit, a hint
> of espresso, some earth. Nice balance of fruit, tannins, and acid.
> Straightforward Burgundy that is unlikely to wow anyone, but tasty and
> typical. B/B+

Do you recall my note on this wine from the holidays? I was struck with
how light in body and color it was, but it was a very appealing wine.

Mark Lipton

Mark Lipton > wrote:

> I saw a number of GVs in liter format in Berkeley over the
> holidays, but no Hofer, alas

If you would cite the bottlers, I could comment on their general
quality standing.

M.

Michael Pronay > wrote in
:

> Mark Lipton > wrote:
>
>> I saw a number of GVs in liter format in Berkeley over the
>> holidays, but no Hofer, alas
>
> If you would cite the bottlers, I could comment on their general
> quality standing.
>
> M.
>

Now that you mention, I had a bottle of Hackl Grüner Veltliner 2008 which I
thought was nice, but was not able to find a single reference on the
producer on the internet. They also make a Zweigelt that reminded me of a
Beaujolais Nouveau with some residual sugar. Interesting wine (that is now
been part of a chicken recipe, BTW).

Any reference on this producer?

s.

On 1/21/10 9:52 AM, Michael Pronay wrote:
> Mark > wrote:
>
>> I saw a number of GVs in liter format in Berkeley over the
>> holidays, but no Hofer, alas
>
> If you would cite the bottlers, I could comment on their general
> quality standing.
>
> M.

Sorry, Michael. I wish that I could recall the producers, a few of whom
were familiar to me (Huber, maybe?) but it was too long ago and I only
looked at them for a minute.

Mark Lipton

santiago > wrote:

> Now that you mention, I had a bottle of Hackl Grüner Veltliner
> 2008 which I thought was nice, but was not able to find a single
> reference on the producer on the internet. They also make a
> Zweigelt that reminded me of a Beaujolais Nouveau with some
> residual sugar. Interesting wine (that is now been part of a
> chicken recipe, BTW).
>
> Any reference on this producer?

A first name and the location would be helpful.

M.

Mark Lipton > wrote:

>>> I saw a number of GVs in liter format in Berkeley over the
>>> holidays, but no Hofer, alas

>> If you would cite the bottlers, I could comment on their
>> general quality standing.

> Sorry, Michael. I wish that I could recall the producers, a few
> of whom were familiar to me (Huber, maybe?) but it was too long
> ago and I only looked at them for a minute.

Anyhow, just give them a try: The producers that export to the US are
in general top-level.

M.

Michael Pronay > wrote in
:
>
> A first name and the location would be helpful.

Sorry: Klaus Hackl - Niederösterreich?

s.

santiago > wrote:

>> A first name and the location would be helpful.

> Sorry: Klaus Hackl - Niederösterreich?

Oh, that's extremely interesting. Originally (and still his main
job) is something in the advertising/publishing/printig field.
He's a newcomer to winegrowing, but an absolute sherry aficionado
& connoisseur: he even went to Sanlúcar to live there for a year
and a half and knows just about anybody in this business.

He has written a book about Sherry (in German), but is still
looking for a publisher ... :-(

I've read a few articles he wrote back in 2006/7 on the website
of the Vienna daily newspaper "Der Standard": excellent.

Unfortunately, I have never met him in person, nor have I tasted
his wines. AFAIK he's also a Weinakademiker (= WSET diploma), so
his wines should at least be decent.

M.

Michael wrote:
>
> Oh, that's extremely interesting. Originally (and still his main
> job) is something in the advertising/publishing/printig field.
> He's a newcomer to winegrowing, but an absolute sherry aficionado
> & connoisseur: he even went to Sanlúcar to live there for a year
> and a half and knows just about anybody in this business.

Which is how I got to his bottles. A friend with a deep interest in Sherry
got some bottles and I got to try them.
>
> He has written a book about Sherry (in German), but is still
> looking for a publisher ... :-(

Bad times for writers. The leading wine magazine in Spain (Sibaritas) has
just retire from the market.
>
> Unfortunately, I have never met him in person, nor have I tasted
> his wines. AFAIK he's also a Weinakademiker (= WSET diploma), so
> his wines should at least be decent.

I thought they were well made, but found them lacking a bit on character. I
am not an expert in Grüner Veltliner or Zweigelt anyway.

s.

santiago > wrote:

>> Unfortunately, I have never met him in person, nor have I
>> tasted his wines. AFAIK he's also a Weinakademiker (= WSET
>> diploma), so his wines should at least be decent.

> I thought they were well made, but found them lacking a bit on
> character. I am not an expert in Grüner Veltliner or Zweigelt
> anyway.

Well, what Klaus Hackl says (for Veltliner) is that he knows
the wine is only middle class, but that's all what this type
of terroir is able to produce.

M.