2009 was an exciting year for me. I passed my Master Sommelier exam in February, traveled to Tuscany for my 30th birthday, and worked harvest in Austria to highlight a few things. It is only fitting that I would celebrate the final meal of the decade with my favorite find of the year; a bottle of 2006, Riesling Smaragd, Thausendeimerberg from a great wine-maker and friend, Karl Lagler. Actually it was a magnum and I also started the new year on the beach of Culebra, Puerto Rico with the 2nd magnum but that's not the point.
Karl Lagler is as fiery and spirited as a person can be. He is also one of the most talented, hard working young wine-makers you will ever meet. While visiting him, in the town of Spitz, the harvest team barely had any sleep between "Shake faces" at night with Sturm (cloudy, freshly fermented grape juice) and picking 4000 kg of grapes during the day on the terraced vineyards of the 1000 eimerberg vineyard, 1100 ft above the Danube River. Most people are familiar with the neighboring vineyards owned by Hirtzberger of Singerriedl, Honivogl and Axpoint and while the wines are spectacular, they are usually also pricier.
I will never forget the excitement that I felt as we pulled back the leaves, looking for bunches of grapes. It reminded me of an Easter Egg hunt. Since Karl doesn't believe in using botrytis grapes in his dry wines, we separated the healthy bunches from the noble rot and our gloves, skin and hair were covered with sticky juice. My favorite part of the harvest was carrying the overflowing containers of grapes on my back up the hill. The quad work-out was amazing and Karl said I was a natural. I think he is a natural. His wines are pure, mineral laden, intense, concentrated and balanced.
If you make any New Years resolutions, make sure drinking great wine with people you love is one of them.
I wish everyone a healthy, happy, wine-filled 2010.
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