Here’s part two of Doug Krenik’s conversation with Frasca Restaurant Sommelier Matthew Mathers and Maitre d’ Benjamin Richardson in which the talk turns to J. Christopher wines. (Click here to see part one.)
Thanks, Matthew and Benjamin! Visit Frasca in Boulder, Colorado.
Now that we’re two months into 2011, we want to take a moment to express our appreciation to Seattle Magazine for naming Dr. Loosen, Eroica Riesling (our joint venture with Chateau Ste. Michelle) and Riesling Rendezvous in their “Best of Decade” wine category (December 2010 issue).
We’re very honored and look forward to the next ten trips around the sun as Riesling’s popularity continues to grow and flourish on the worldwide wine stage.
Invoke the hoo! Portland’s major daily, The Oregonian, listed our Dr. Loosen Blue Slate Kabinett as its wine pick in their Food Day column! Here’s what The Oregonian’s Wine Columnist, Katherine Cole, had to say:
WINE PICK
2009 Dr. Loosen “Blue Slate” Kabinett Mosel Riesling ($19): I recently had the odd experience of tasting this wine just after sampling a so-so unoaked domestic chardonnay. I promptly dumped the bottle of chardonnay down the drain and dug into this ethereal product of the blue-slate vineyards of the middle Mosel River valley. Dr. Loosen is the best-known wine producer in Germany, and for good reason. This kabinett (a German wine term for the most delicate style of riesling) is on the one hand fresh and understated, a mere 7.5 percent alcohol by volume. On the other hand, it’s bursting with exuberant notes of orange blossom, Asian pear, green apple and hibiscus, with Meyer lemon on the finish. Forget the chard; I could drink this all evening long. Available at local wine shops through Galaxy Wine Co. .
– Katherine Cole
Have you tried our Blue Slate yet? Hop on our Facebook page and tell us what you think of it.
Special alert to all of our wine-loving fans in Tucson, Arizona (USA).
On February 24th Janos Restaurant at the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa will host a very special dinner featuring Dr. Loosen and J. Christopher wines.
Chef Janos Wilder
DEETS:
Date: February 24
Time: 6 pm
Place: Janos Restaurant, 3770 East Sunrise Drive, on the grounds of the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa.
Cost: $65 per person (tax and gratuity additional)
Space is limited! Call today for reservations 520.615.6100.
Want to read more? Check out this article by Bonnie Lewis in the Tucson Citizen.
If Riesling and Asian Fusion cuisine is a match made in heaven, then our winemaker, Ernst Loosen, must be growing wings this week. Ernie’s traveling in Vietnam and sent us these fun pix from his visit to Cepage Restaurant in Ho Chi Minh city (Saigon).
Andreas Ertle, Chef at Cepage (R)
Cepage’s website is “wartungsarbeiten” (under maintenance), but you can learn more at their Facebook page.
Here’s a little more about Cepage.
With ceiling-to-floor glass windows, sofas swathed in maroon and beams of soft light, the two-story Cepage is the latest and sleekest dining venue in town.
Munich-born chef Andreas Ertle is the man behind the kitchen, having worked in Tokyo, Moscow, and in well-known five-star hotels. He says the idea behind Cepage is “to create an environment like a five-star hotel, but outside of the hotels, with a wine concept”.
The wine bar downstairs, perfect for a tête-à-tête, boasts over 260 bottles and around 20 choices of wine by the glass.
Upstairs, tuck into Ertle’s delicious creations, which range from the familiar (oxtail stew) to exotic (raw marinated tuna with poached egg and pepper).
Looking for after-dinner drinks? Head to the cigar room with the plushest leather sofas imaginable and a list of the finest whiskies and cognacs to go with your Cubans. Their Black Box three-course set lunch is a steal at VND135,000.
In early February Loosen Bros. Midwest Regional Sales Manager Doug Krenik stopped by Frasca Restaurant in Boulder, Colorado, for some wine talk with sommelier Matthew Mather and maitre d’ Benjamin Richardson. Here, in Part 1, is what they had to say about German Riesling and Dr. Loosen wines.
(Stay tuned for Part 2, when they move on to J. Christopher wines. To be posted next week!)
If you’re anywhere near Boulder, Colorado, put Frasca at the top of your must-visit list. Fabulous food, fabulous wines and you can tell Benjamin and Matthew you saw them on YouTube.
* Note: Are you a wine shop or restaurant that serves wines from the Loosen Bros. USA portofolio? If so, we’d like to feature you. Contact us for more info.
If you’re regular follower of our blog, you probably know that Jay Somers of our joint venture J. Christopher Wines is a winemaker extraordinaire. What you may NOT know about Jay is that he’s a killer guitarist, too.
If you’re in the U.S. in Portland, Oregon today, Jay’s band, Poncho Luxurio, will be playing tonight at the White Eagle Saloon. Stop by and say hi! (Or yell “Freebird!” at him.)
DEETS:
Poncho Luxurio
Thursday, Feb. 10
White Eagle Saloon
836 N. Russell St., Portland, OR 97227
8:30-11:30 pm
Poncho Luxurio:
Jay Somers Guitar
Bob Smith Drums
Ted Clifford Keyboards
And super extra cool special guest Damian Erskine on Bass!
It’s been a few weeks since we checked in on the progress of Ernie Loosen-Jay Somers joint venture J. Christopher Wines and Appassionata Vineyards in Newberg, Oregon.
In this pic, taken by Loosen Bros. USA VP Kirk Wille, Winemaker Jay Somers’ dog, Bella, helps set the end posts for the trellis of Appassionata Block 1.
It’s part of the first vineyard plantings, and with Bella’s good help, the J. Christopher crew will start to train the plantings on trellis wires this year.
Have you tried any of the J. Christopher wines? Learn more about them here.
Here’s some exciting news for all you Riesling lovers around the world.
In an effort to increase the appreciation of Riesling around the world, Chateau Ste. Michelle and Dr. Loosen estate recently spearheaded a coalition of prominent Riesling producers and organizations that will host Riesling events in key Riesling countries around the world on a rotating basis.
Riesling Rendezvous 2010
Riesling Rendezvous was held in 2007, 2008 and July 2010 in Seattle, Washington, and is the largest Riesling-focused event in the United States. At the most recent Riesling Rendezvous, Chateau Ste. Michelle and Ernie Loosen met with Riesling organizations, including the International Riesling Foundation, VDP-Rheingau (regional branch of the VDP, Association of German Pradikat Wine Estates), Frankland Estate as well as Wines of Germany to come up with a schedule of international Riesling events in the U.S., Germany and Australia every year.
Moving forward, Riesling Rendezvous will take place in Seattle every three years on a rotating basis with the Frankland Estate International Riesling Tasting, in Australia, and the International Riesling Symposium, in Germany, hosted by the VDP-Rheingau. 
“Chateau Ste. Michelle and Dr. Loosen have hosted Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle three times now, and we think it is a natural step to work with other groups to support Riesling events in key Riesling regions around the world,” says Ted Baseler, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates president and CEO. “Each event will have a different perspective based on the host region and organization, which will give Riesling enthusiasts and producers a unique experience each time.”
The International Riesling Foundation (IRF) will serve to support and promote all Riesling events. The IRF is an international organization, representing top producers in the world’s major Riesling-producing countries and regions. The calendar of international Riesling events is available on its website at drinkriesling.com.
“Worldwide, the overall quality of Riesling has improved dramatically in the past 20 years,” says Ernie Loosen, “but we still have a long way to go to get Riesling back to the high regard it held in the early 20th century. We see these three events as the global pillars of an on-going effort to firmly establish the commitment to top quality among producers, to educate and inspire members of the wine trade, and to introduce all levels of wine lovers to this amazing grape.”
Judi Cullam, owner of Frankland Estate, added, “This level of global cooperation for one varietal or wine group has never been seen or achieved before, we believe this will give even more weight to encourage wine lovers to celebrate the diversity and quality of the world’s most exciting white wine. “
“Many treasure Riesling as the world’s most precious white wine varietal,” says Wilhelm Weil of Weingut Robert Weil. “As such, we felt the time has come to hold a symposium in the Rheingau to celebrate Riesling in its German-speaking homelands. We need to move forward together with uncompromising quality standards – from protection of our precious terroirs and vineyard management to cellar technique to marketing measures – to safeguard and further develop Riesling’s current position. The IRS (International Riesling Symposium) would take this road in future together with our friends from the U.S. and Australia as the ‘Riesling Coalition’.”
MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR THESE UPCOMING RIESLING EVENTS:
Frankland Estate International Riesling Tasting
February 2012, Melbourne, Australia.
Riesling Rendezvous hosted by Chateau Ste. Michelle & Dr. Loosen Estate
July 14-16, 2013, Seattle, Washington, USA.
International Riesling Symposium sponsored by VDP
2014 Rheingau, Germany .
RELATED WEBSITES:
Riesling Rendezvous
rieslingrendezvous.com
International Riesling Foundation
drinkriesling.com
Frankland Estate
franklandestate.com.au
Dr. Loosen Estate
drloosen.com
Weingut Robert Weil
weingut-robert-weil.com
Wines of Germany
germanwinesusa.com
We’re very excited to learn that our 2009 Dr. Loosen Riesling Kabinett “Blue Slate” is going to be an “Editors’ Choice” in the March issue of Wine Enthusiast magazine, with a rating of 90 points. Here’s what they have to say about it.
90 Dr. Loosen 2009 Blue Slate Riesling Kabinett (Mosel); $20. As with all of the Dr. Loosen wines, this blended Kabinett is very fruit-forward and direct. The green apple and lime notes are wonderfully pure and balanced. Drink this light, spritely wine over the next few years. Imported by Loosen Bros. USA. Editors’
Choice.
Now in its third vintage, the Blue Slate Kabinett is our answer to the increasing challenge of producing true Kabinett in the grand cru single-vineyard sites. In today’s generally warmer climate, it is more difficult to harvest these vineyards before they reach Spätlese or even Auslese ripeness. By moving farther up the slope, where it is cooler, we can select fruit that is perfectly ripe for Kabinett.
This wine comes from parcels owned by Dr. Loosen in the blue slate villages of Bernkastel, Graach and Wehlen. It is bright and pure with the classic white peach fruit and floral, flinty minerality that is so typical from blue slate. A plush attack on the mid-palate leads to a deliciously firm, delicate finish.
Our “Blue Slate” Kabinett makes an elegant aperitif and is an excellent match for seafood, spicy Asian cuisine and lighter dishes.
It’s really catching on around the US. We think its popularity shows that our winemaker, Ernie Loosen, was right to put extra effort into maintaining the true Kabinett style in an estate-bottled wine, without a single-vineyard designation.
We only use the “grand cru” vineyard names on our single-vineyard wines. But, because of the warming climate, it’s getting more difficult to produce the light and delicate Kabinett style in those sites. So we’ve moved up the steep slopes of the Mosel to cooler sites that are outside the grand cru boundaries. This allows us to continue making real Kabinett and, best of all, to offer it at a lower price.
That’s a win-win if ever we saw one. Thanks, Wine Enthusiast!
To learn more about our Dr. Loosen Riesling Kabinett Blue Slate, click here and then scroll down to the Blue Slate “info sheet”.