WineTimers Oktoberfest

The October meeting of WineTimers brought forth the timely theme of Oktoberfest. Now, WineTimers know the Oktoberfest is much more about beer, but it did provide us the opportunity to feature some German wines. Scott and Pam were the hosts for the evening. The featured wines were two Rieslings to compare for sweetness. The first, 2006 Joseph Friederich Piesporter Michelsberg Kabinett,was made from the least ripe grapes, and the 2008 Joseph Friederich Piesporter Michelsberg Auslese was made fro a more ripened grape. We actually learned that tthere are 6 levels of ripeness in the riesling grapes, callled Prädikat and range ; in order from the least ripe to the ripest they are Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese (BA) Eiswein, and Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA). It is actually the ripeness of the grape that is rated, not the sweetness of the wine, but the ripest grapes do produce the sweetest wines.
It was a little more difficult to find a red German wine, as most German wines seem to be white. We did however come across Sun Garden Dornfelder. This is a medium bodied, very fruity red wine with a smooth taste to be enjoyed slightly chilled. Dornfelder is a relatively new grape that received varietal protection and was released for cultivation in 1979. Dornfelder has become quite popular in Germanyviticultural conditions which traditionally were seen as more suitable for white wine production.

The WineTimers were also entertained by our guest speaker, Marv and his wife Barb who specialize in home wine making. They belong to a similar wine group that meets to compare their home made wine and share the tricks of the trade. They call themselves "Superior Winers". .Marv told us a bit about the process of home winemaking, and the WineTimers had many questions as the evening went on. Best of all, Marv brought along 3 wine selections for us to try. I have to admit I was skeptical about wine made from rhubarb, but we were all pleasantly surprised by the wonderful flavors, and how the wines were, for the most part, more dry than sweet. The 3 wines sampled were Apple-Plum-Rhubarb, Cherry-Rhubarb and Oaked Raspberry. Many thanks to Marv and Barb for joining us and sharing their vast knowledge of home made wine. Maybe the Superior Winers and WineTimers will have to get together in the future. It's nice to know there's another active wine group in Superior! since it performs well under