Archive for December, 2011

Happy New Year!

Saturday, December 31st, 2011

Happy New Year from all of us at Dr. Loosen! And what a year it’s been! Here’s a brief look back at 2011.

* Winemaker Erni Loosen traveled the globe making new friends and meeting Riesling fans everywhere he went.

* We met many fresh faces from the next generation of wine lovers at Wine Riots.

* We made excellent progress on construction of the beautiful new J. Christopher Winery and Appassionata Vineyard in Newberg, Oregon (USA), and hosted tastings on Labor Day and Thanksgiving Oregon wine tour weekends.

* We were delighted to welcome famed Burgundy producer Nicolas Potel to the Loosen Bros. USA “Friends of Erni” portfolio.

* Our booth at the New York Wine Experience was big fun and a great opportunity to meet our New York fans.

* We were honored to be named to–and staff our table at–the Wine & Spirits Top 100 Tasting.

* We were thrilled to receive a fistful of medals at the 2011 Decanter Wine Awards.

* Hosting the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group’s visit to our Dr. Loosen Winery in the Mosel was a pleasure.

* We thoroughly enjoyed the worldwide expansion of Terroir Wine Bar’s Summer of Riesling You rock, Paul Grieco!

If you think 2011 was exciting, just wait until you see what we have in store for 2012! Here’s a taste of what’s coming up in the new year:

* As of Jan. 1, 2012, Loosen Bros. USA will be the sole U.S. importer for the amazing wines of Dr. Carl von Schubert, from his Maximin Grünhaus estate.

* Hope to see you in Sydney on Feb 6 & 7 at the Frankland Estate International Riesling Tasting.

* More Travels With Erni, our globetrotting ambassador of wonderful wines!

And now let us finish up 2011 with our New Year’s Resolution

(to paraphrase our friends at Second Glass/Wine Riot) “Drink more Riesling!”

Oh, and “Drink more Pinot Noir, too!”

All the best to you and yours in the coming year from all of us at Dr. Loosen, Loosen Bros. USA, J. Christopher and everyone in the Friends of Erni portfolio. Cheers!

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Three Tips for Your Holiday Wines

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

Wondering what to serve with your holiday festivities this year? Here are some tips for you from the gang at Loosen Bros. USA.

Sparkle, Sparkle, Sparkle

The holidays are a sparkly time of year, and there’s nothing better than a glass of tiny bubbles to make them all the brighter. For you Riesling lovers, now you can celebrate with Dr. L Sparkling Riesling. Bright and bubbly and fruity and tasty – it’s affordable for your holiday or your everyday! Bring an extra bottle to parties for a hostess gift and polish your reputation as a shining star.

A Taste for Every Tradition

Whichever holiday you celebrate, traditional foods often have a bit of sweetness to them. So whether it’s ham, sweet potatoes, fruitcake or sufganiyot, there’s no better match than fresh, fruity Riesling. But which one? Choose a Riesling with similar weight to your food dish. A delicate Kabinett such as our Dr. Loosen Blue Slate will pair well with lighter foods such as fresh crab or latkes. A ripe Spätlese such as our Wehlener Sonnenuhr is perfect for richer foods such as honey ham. Choose an Auslese such as our Dr. Loosen Erdener Prälat for sweeter (fresh fruit) or very rich foods (creamy sauces). And big honkin’ dessert wines (BA or Eiswein) for, well, dessert.

Nimble Pinot Noir

If you’re looking for a wine to pair with roasted birds, grilled salmon, charcuterie and cheese, look to Pinot Noir, a very nimble wine for food. In our portfolio, J. Christopher (Oregon) and Maison Roche de Bellene (Burgundy) give you quite a range of Pinots to choose from – elegant and delicate (J. Christopher Sandra Adele or Maison Roche de Bellene Chambolle-Musigny) to full-bodied and rich (J. Christopher Dundee Hills Cuvée or Maison Roche de Bellene Gevrey-Chambertin).

You can learn more about all of these wines (and more) on the Loosen Bros. USA website. And of course, if you’re still stumped about which of our wines to serve for the holidays, you can always post a question to us on Facebook or Tweet us: @DrLoosenWines. Cheers!

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Posted in Blue Slate, Dr. Loosen Rieslings, Friends of Ernie Wines, j. christopher, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Ernst Loosen Parties With Nelson Müller and Patrick Hagen at Brauhaus Gleumes

Monday, December 12th, 2011

Hello my friends. Erni Loosen here.

We are in Krefeld (near Cologne) and having a party in a brewery pub “Brauhaus Gleumes” with our friend Nelson Müller.

Patrick Hagen, proprietor at Brauhaus Gleumes, Krefeld, Germany

Gleumes proprietor Patrick Hagen put on the event with Nelson Müller and his team and the wines of Dr. Loosen and Villa Wolf. We enjoyed Dr L Sparkling Riesling, Villa Wolf Pinot Blanc and Villa Wolf Pinot Noir Rosé.

Erni Loosen with Nelson Müller of Schote Restaurant in Essen, Germany

Nelson, who is one of the great upcoming chefs of Germany, earned a 1 Michelin Star with his restaurant “Schote” in Essen. Besides being a great chef, Nelson is also a great musician and singer. He claims himself as the ” Soul & Food” chef of Germany. This guy is rockin!!! And he loves Dr. Loosen Riesling!

See a video of the evening on the Dr. Loosen Facebook Page.

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Loosen Bros. USA Imports the Wines of Dr. Carl von Schubert

Friday, December 2nd, 2011

We are honored and thrilled to announce that, as of Jan. 1, 2012, Loosen Bros. USA will be the sole U.S. importer for the amazing wines of Dr. Carl von Schubert, from his Maximin Grünhaus estate.

Carl von Schubert, Erni Loosen and Loosen Bros. USA VP Kirk Wille toasting their agreement (with Dr. Loosen Riesling Sekt, of course!) at Erni’s home in Bernkastel.


To be perfectly honest, we weren’t looking to import another Mosel valley producer. But the Maximin Grünhaus wines are so brilliant, and the von Schuberts are such wonderful people, that we couldn’t pass up this opportunity to work with them.

Even though they are required to label their wines with the “Mosel” appellation, we all know that their little Ruwer valley is a special place all its own. Their naturally fermented, terroir-driven wines (and their unmistakable art deco label) are so distinctive that we don’t think there’s any way they will be confused with the other Rieslings that Loosen Bros. USA imports.

Carl von Schubert
Carl von Schubert is the fifth generation of his family to own the estate, which produces exceptionally distinctive wines and is a perennial favorite among wine lovers and Riesling experts around the world. As an internationally prominent producer of top-quality Rieslings, Carl naturally found a good friend in Erni Loosen, an ardent admirer of the Maximin Grünhaus wines.

Here’s what Erni Loosen says about them: “The Grünhaus wines have a totally unique taste. They really capture the special terroir of the Ruwer valley and are quite unlike anything we produce in the Middle Mosel. They are truly extraordinary wines and we’re extremely happy to be working with Carl in the U.S. market.”

Carl von Schubert says: “I was very excited when Ernst Loosen suggested to me that Maximin Grünhaus could become part of his U.S. portfolio. Having the same philosophy of quality and being friends is the best possible basis for a successful cooperation.”

Estate Dates Back to A.D. 966
The Maximin Grünhaus estate lies at the foot of a long, steep, south-facing slope of wholly owned vineyards on the left bank of the tiny Ruwer river, about two kilometers before it joins the Mosel. Viticulture has been practiced there since Roman times. The estate was first documented in A.D. 966, when it was owned by the Benedictine monastery of St. Maximin, in the nearby city of Trier. It was secularized by Napoleon in the early 1800s and acquired by the von Schubert family in 1882.

Friends of Erni Loosen Portfolio
Here at Loosen Bros. USA, we’re very much looking forward to having the von Schuberts join our little family of producers. It’s what we call the “Friends of Erni Loosen” portfolio, which now includes:

  • Dr. Loosen (Mosel)
  • J.L. Wolf (Pfalz)
  • Robert Weil (Rheingau)
  • C. von Schubert/Maximin Grünhaus (Ruwer)
  • Roche de Bellene/Nicolas Potel (Burgundy)
  • Gantenbein (Graubünden, Switzerland)
  • J. Christopher (Oregon)

    • About Loosen Bros. USA
    Loosen Bros. USA is the sole U.S. importer of the wines of celebrated Riesling producer Ernst (Erni) Loosen, including Dr. Loosen (in Germany’s Mosel valley) and J.L. Wolf (in the Pfalz). Loosen Bros. also offers a select group of extraordinary wines made by good friends of Erni Loosen in other regions of Germany, as well as Switzerland, France and the United States. Loosen Bros. USA is based in Oregon City, Oregon. For more information, please visit www.loosenbrosusa.com.

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