For the 180th episode of “Auf ein Glas,” we’re tasting three wines from the VDP winery van Volxem—and, quite uncharacteristically for the Saar region, we’re starting with a rosé, only to continue—again, uncharacteristically—with a Pinot Blanc. But Riesling does make it into the glass after all—as a Kabi—and with it comes a nice idea… Matthias Gräfe and Ulrich van Stipriaan introduce winemaker Roman Niewodniczanski and, with their usual digressions, touch on questions (and answers) about current trends in wine tasting and the question of why there’s such a hype surrounding amateur grape-picking teams —when, after all, the harvest in particular requires skill to bring the vineyard’s quality into the cellar. Why the two end up talking about Käsekrainer sausages and why the combination of Käsekrainer and Kabi has potential is revealed at the end of this episode.
So we’re in the Saar region, the 793-hectare section of the Mosel wine-growing region (which totals 8,440 hectares). With its diverse slate soils, the Saar is ideally suited for Riesling (the variety covers over 80% of the area)—but we’re starting with a rosé! It’s a Pinot Noir rosé—fruity, dry, and well-structured—and significantly better than the terse marketing claim on the back label. We continue, somewhat atypically, with a Pinot Blanc—Matthias loves not only the heavy bottle, but of course we’re also talking about the environmental footprint. After all, environmental considerations play an important role at the van Volxem Winery, which was reestablished in 2000. Roman Niewodniczanski set out to restore it to its former glory and has made remarkable progress: a member of the VDP since 2007, with top ratings for the wines and the winery in the relevant wine guides.
