The Sunday Poll for Wine Drinkers

Frédéric Fourré has been celebrating the open-winery days for years now at Bennostraße 9¾—an address that would do Harry Potter proud. But with Matthias Gräfe and his team from Graefes Wein & fein as the culinary partner, there’s also someone there who likes to go against the grain: at the entrance to the garden property, you’ll find Frédéric Fourré’s wines, and at the opposite end, a Bøbbel Bar. “Bøbbel” is a made-up German word reminiscent of the English “bubbles”—so it’s all about sparkling wine; at the Bøbbel Bar, of course, that means Frédéric Fourré’s, but also some truly excellent (and quite pricey) champagnes. And since it’s a wine festival: of course, it’s also served by the glass. Naturally, that didn’t leave me cold, because opportunity makes the connoisseur, but on the way to the Bøbbels, there was a little political homage. For the Greens, I picked out something that seemed like a pretty good fit—at least for Saxony—since the wine of choice was an unfiltered 2023 Grüner Veltliner. Grüner Veltliner is virtually never grown in Saxony (my latest figure is from 1922, when it covered 0.4921 ha)—so it’s certainly a rare find. In terms of diversity, it’s also fitting, of course, for a winemaker from Paris to serve this flagship Austrian wine at the Goldener Wagen in Hoflößnitz. What’s more: at least when it comes to the wines from winemakers Stefan Bönsch and Frédéric Fourré, not even Pinot Noir or Chardonnay enthusiasts will have anything to complain about—quality is guaranteed.

The Drei Herren Winery also benefits from its location right at the foot of the Hermannsberg. You sit (or stand) practically in the vineyards and, with a skillful selection, drink what was grown just a few meters away and—if you happen to be standing in the right spot—pressed right beneath your feet in the modern cellar. For me, however, that wasn’t a deciding factor, because in my political wine-tasting tour, I was still missing a wine for the left. A simple red wouldn’t have been appropriate here; it had to be a bit more complex. So it worked out quite well that the Drei Herren also offer an orange wine. The interesting color comes from the production process: just as the red in red wines comes from the grape skins, color also comes into play when white wine grapes are crushed—depending on the variety, even a very sparkling orange. That said, the fresh fruitiness one expects from clear white wines isn’t part of the flavor profile of orange wines, and when they’re bottled unfiltered, the wine in the glass can sometimes look quite naturally cloudy. But: the world needs new ideas! And in that case, a well-made orange wine is definitely welcome…