Somm Grapes

16/05/2025

Dark chocolate and floral notes on the nose. This has an appealing density on the palate, lovely weight, with a sculpted feel to the softly chewy tannins and dark fruit. Less immediately lively, bright and accessible than the 2018 but still stylish with a sense of character. Cool blue fruits meld with mint, liquorice, flint and touches of toast. A blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in ex-Lafite barrels as well as stainless steel and cement vats.

05/04/2025

What a cool Event by Döllerers last Week at Bio-Hotel Stanglwirt

Some impressions 😍

31/03/2025

Today in Wine ABC: Junker

The description for young wines in the Steiermark. (Austria)
The ‘Junker‘ is a registered trademark for the first wines from the Steiermark (since 1995), and the logo is a man wearing the typically Styrian hat with a distinctive feather.
The officially Junker presentation from over 300 producers occurs at the beginning of November.

This Sieme Junker embodies the concentrated passion and expertise of seven wineries: This fresh, fruity wine skillfully captures the essence of the Styrian wine region in every sip. A sparkling delight and the perfect accompaniment for the autumn and winter months.
Sieme wines are spread out. They are well blended and scattered. Sometimes among the vines, sometimes again in the cellar. Leutschach, Gamlitz, Kitzeck-Sausal, Ehrenhausen, and Eichberg, places that shape viticulture in Southern Styria. It's impossible to pinpoint one soil type in Styria. You'll find a wide variety of soils, from slate, sand, opok, limestone to gravel and conglomerate. This diversity is what makes Southern Styria and the Sieme wineries so exciting.
From the north, you first pass the Pichler Schrober winery. Keep left and turn at the Assigal winery. Then, heading south, you head straight to the Adam-Lieleg winery. You've already had a great view up to this point. But watch out, Southern Styria is about to make a few more appearances. You do a lap of honor to the Regele winery, until you reach the Oberer Germuth, Tschermonegg, and Dillinger wineries, which are so close that they could almost be neighbors.

28/11/2024

Stefanie & Fabian Lassak founded a small winery in Hessigheim am Neckar in 2016. The heart of their work are terraced vineyards with exciting limestone soils. Here they only produce Pinot Noir, Lemberger and Riesling, the typical regional grape varieties of Württemberg. The wines from the two bring a breath of fresh air to this region, which is otherwise characterized by cooperatives. A best selection Massale très fin from Nuits Saint Georges and Vosne Romanée with 10,000 vines per hectare was planted. Riesling and Lemberger are already old vineyards between 30 and 55 years old. Some of them have been re-grafted from old plants with Trollinger and other grape varieties, e.g. B. with Blaufränkisch vines from the top terroir Lutzmannsburg. Both have sufficient know-how; they have worked at numerous companies in Burgundy, New Zealand, Austria and Germany. Their Lemberger style is more based on top Blaufränkisch from Burgenland.
The excellent shell limestone soils characterize the pair's wines just as much as their delicate, gentle signature.
As in all steep slopes and terraced vineyards, almost everything on the 2.4 hectares is handcrafted, currently being converted to organic cultivation. The excellent shell limestone soils characterize their wines just as strongly as their delicate, gentle style with very careful use of wood and extraction. The Pinot Noir is a wonder of finesse and so juicy and dancing that you can easily drink a bottle on its own. The Lemberger is of the same ilk, with a spicy filigree style reminiscent of Cabernet Franc from the Loire. The Rieslings are straight, mineral and easy to drink with a very independent signature that is certainly unique in Württemberg. In general, despite its short history, the Lassak winery stands for its very own, delicate, fine style, which is much closer to Preisinger, Moric, Weninger and Co than to their Württemberg colleagues. Nevertheless, the wines are also typical of their region, as the wines reflect the limestone-rich terraced vineyards of this small village on the Neckar in an unadulterated way through exclusive spontaneous fermentation and minimally invasive ageing. A real Gem

27/11/2024

***Domaine de la Rochette***

Located between the Alps and the Jura Mountains, Neuchâtel is underpinned by the same band of Jurassic limestone present in Burgundy and the Jura. Neuchâtel lacks the dramatic vistas of the Valais or the grandeur of Lavaux. The drama of Neuchâtel is subterranean. The region’s vineyards are located on the southeastern-facing slopes above the three lakes, where the topsoils are thin and the limestone is closer to the surface. These are the precise ingredients for making incredibly detailed, precise, and age-worthy Pinot Noir.
Few are aware of this hidden terroir outside of Switzerland, and if Jacques Tatasciore has his way, this will remain so. Jacques settled in Cressier and assembled a selection of top sites in Neuchâtel. There is no tasting room, no sign, and visitors are discouraged. Jacques is frequently awarded top honors in Switzerland for his wines, but he usually doesn’t attend the ceremonies – all his energy goes into his wines. Production is tiny, selection is painfully strict, allocations are jealously guarded, and details are scarce, but the wines speak for themselves.
All of his vineyards are a massale selection of Pinot Noir.
The ancestors of these vines have been grown in the region for centuries. They are a rare look back into time before Burgundian and Swiss clones replaced much of the less productive and unpredictable ancestral diversity of Swiss Pinot Noir.
Jacques vines are, on average, 50 years old, and when a vine needs to be replaced, they make a massive selection from the same parcel. Having started with just two hectares in 1999, he’s slowly expanded his property to six hectares. Being an iconoclast in many ways, he has farmed organically and biodynamically since the beginning but eschews certification because he feels no need to prove himself or talk about what is simply the most logical and proper way to farm.
His winemaking as traditional, a loaded word with a nebulous meaning. Seeing the company he keeps and how his wines express themselves, one can deduce that his are whole-cluster and indigenous fermentations.
The wines are aged in French oak barrels but never taste oaky or reductive.

24/11/2024

Domaine Lamy-Caillat is the secret garden of two passionate and talented bourguignons: Sébastien Caillat and Florence Lamy.
This tiny estate of Lamy-Caillat and 1.2 hectares was founded in 2011.
Florence Lamy, daughter of René Lamy, and Sébastien Caillat also manage Florence’s family domaine: Domaine René Lamy-Pillot. While the Lamy-Pillot wines are crafted in an accessible style, the couple wanted to attempt something more artisanal and minimally processed with their micro-domaine.
The meticulous Sébastien Caillat devotes immense attention to every detail; from vineyard to bottling nothing is left to chance.
Since the domaine’s LAMY-CAILLAT first vintage, improvements have been constant and each vintage has been better than the last! The vintage 2013 in particular marks a turning point at this relatively new, yet already inescapable, Chassagne-Montrachet address.
In the Vineyard
Deeply rooted in Chassagne-Montrachet, Domaine Lamy-Caillat only produces white wines.
“Small plots, Great care” is the motto here.
To produce great wines, Sébastien and Florence Caillat work very closely with nature. Throughout the seasons they pay close and constant attention to their plots. This meticulous care helps their vines to produce their very best.
In the Cellar
The desire of Sébastien and Florence to get back to basics influences their vinification methods, which are both natural and traditional.
Artisanal winemaking and, above all, long élevage is what defines this domaine, with the wines spending two winters on the lees before bottling by hand after natural clarification.
After pressing in an old mechanical press (Vaslin Press), the juice is transferred to barrel for fermentation after a brief settling. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentations proceed slowly in the domaine’s cold cellars. Since the 2013 vintage, the wines go through an extended period of maturation, spending as long as 28 months on their lees. After barrel-aging, all wines are transferred to stainless still vats for six months.
The wines are sometimes fined but never filtered, and bottling takes place directly from the barrel.

04/11/2024

Somm Grapes filmed the wine trip of WIFI Tirol: Sommelier Österreich.

The demands of wine lovers are becoming ever greater. This means that well-trained sommeliers are needed who can provide advice and impart their knowledge. At WIFI you can become an Austrian sommelier - and pursue a career in a top sector of the catering industry.

You have the chance to meet Austrians Top winemakers such as: Domäne Wachau, Birgit Braunstein, Kurt Feiler, Weingut Scheiblhofer, Christoph Salzl, Michael Allacher, and so much more......
Thx to:
TSOV - Tiroler Sommelierverein
Sommelier Union Austria

WIFI Tirol: Sommelier Österreich WeinreiseMore info about this education: https://www.tirol.wifi.at/kurs/85652x-sommelier-oesterreichSOMMGRAPES - Passion for...

01/11/2024

In 1957, Jean-Marie Roumier took over the Winery. Christophe Roumier has been working in his family's domain since 1982, and in 1992 the winery passed completely into his hands. Due to the complicated French inheritance law, not all wines can be marketed under the name Domaine Georges Roumier. The individual vineyards belong to different family members and at the Grand Cru Ruchottes-Chambertin, Christophe Roumier shares the plot with an external owner, so that the wine is marketed under the Christophe Roumier label instead of under Domaine Georges Roumier.
The Domaine Georges Roumier is only just under 11.5 hectares in size.
Apart from 0.2 hectares in the white GC location Corton-Charlemagne, the portfolio only contains Pinot Noir wines, including the highly sought-after rarity of the Grand Cru Musigny. Roumier has a 0.1 hectare plot here, so there is only a maximum of one barrel per vintage.
The best Premier Cru site in Chambolle-Musigny, Les Amoureuses, is also sought after. With only 0.4 hectares owned, this wine is also hard to come by.
In addition to the top sites mentioned, Roumier also produces Grand Cru wines in the Bonnes Mares, Charmes-Chambertin and Ruchottes-Chambertin sites, as well as some Premier Crus such as the Morey St. Denis Clos de la Bussière, 2.59 hectares of which are owned exclusively by the domaine, a so-called monopoly site.

The Style is on the sturdy side for Chambolle Musigny, and the wines usually require some time to open up

As always, the wine is vinified using the classic method in an open vat with a floating cap of pomace and daily pressing of the juice. A short cold fermentation is followed by a fermentation at controlled temperatures and lasts up to 24 days. The wine is then placed in barriques for around 20 months and is then bottled unfiltered.
New wood: 15 – 25% for Village, 25 to 40% for Premier Cru and no more then 50% for Bonnes Mares

31/10/2024

What are you drinking for Halloween?

In Austria you could say that the Phantom Cuvée off Kirnbauer is the Perfect Choice!

It is the Blaufränkisch-dominated "flagship wine" blended with Merlot, Cabernet and Syrah.

The 2022 Vintage has an interesting nose of dark wild berry, black olive, spice of rosemary and cool mint as well as a subtle cedar wood undertone.
Fine roasted aromas from the barrique storage are reminiscent of Virginia to***co leaves and fine leather as well as ink lead.
Dark, juicy wild berries can be found on the palate, which are enveloped in a unique Pannonian spice. Despite dark aromas on the nose and a hint of cappuccino on the palate, the wine is very finesse, juicy and fresh with a spicy mint finish on the finish.
The youthfully elegant tannins paired with the animating acidity create a wonderful balance and promise pure drinking pleasure.

Happy Halloween Markus Kirnbauer

30/10/2024

Somm Grapes ist dabei! Ihr auch?

WEST WINE STORY, der Wein - Branchentreff in Westösterreich

„Der Heimmarkt ist der mit Abstand wichtigste Markt für den Österreichischen Wein. Eine besondere Bedeutung kommt dabei dem Westen Österreichs als die stärkste Tourismus Region des Landes zu. Von der Sterne- und Hauben- Gastronomie über die Hotellerie bis zur Skihütte, vom Lebensmittel Einzelhandel über den Großhandel bis zum Fachhandel – Wein aus Österreich ist in aller Munde.

In der Ausbildung sorgen die WIFIs, die Tourismus Schulen und die Sommelier Vereine für den Nachwuchs in der Sommelerie, die Tourismuswirtschaft, die Gastronomie und der Handel profitieren von der guten Ausbildung des Fachpersonals. Die ÖWM pflegt zahlreiche Partnerschaften mit wichtigen Playern der Wirtschaft und der Ausbildung, es ist uns ein Anliegen beim ÖWM Branchentreff im Westen Danke für die hervorragende Zusammenarbeit zu sagen.“

Chris Yorke, ÖWM

Mittwoch, 20. November 2024
16:00 Uhr – 21:00 Uhr
Congress Innsbruck, In der „Orangerie“, Rennweg 3, 6020 Innsbruck
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Weinpräsentation mit 70 Winzer*innen aus ganz Österreich:
* eine Liste der teilnehmenden Winzer pro Gebiet findest du ganz unten in diesem E-Mai
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Sonderpräsentation der Gebiete Niederösterreich, Rosalia, Wien
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Sekt Austria Pyramide in der Verkostung
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270 Weine und Sekt Austria werden für Dich präsentiert

28/10/2024

So, what´s coming ???

First of all, I’m going back in the books after a 5-year break! Over the next 2 Years I want to finish my Weinakademiker Diploma & Advanced Master Sommelier. But the Coolest thing is I going to take you with me on the Journey. Every week new Videos & Reels with Study Methods, Tastings, Wine Regions, Viticulture, Vinification & so much more….

2nd, we are finally finishing our website that will come online at the end of this Year. Cool merchandise is also in the design for Summer 2025 😉

3rd, we already have some nice Video Projects coming up with winemakers from Austria & Switzerland. So stay tuned at our YouTube Channel.

Let´s see where the journey goes together

20/10/2024

Tommorow we start our 2nd Film Tour with .tirol for the Sommelier Austria Education. We will cover a lot of Wineries in Wachau, Kamptal, Burgenland & Carnuntum!

See You There

Want to see our first movie from the Summer WIFI Trip? Check the Link in Our BIO!