UVA Import
Category

Red wine

The reds in the selection are Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) from Bauer in the Mosel, Pinot Noir from Tidebrook in East Sussex, and Schwarzriesling (Pinot Meunier) from Engel in Rheinhessen. Cool climate, three different soils.

Spätburgunder is Pinot Noir, and Schwarzriesling is not a Riesling

Germany is the third largest producer of Pinot Noir in the world, after France and the United States. That is not widely known, partly because the grape goes by another name there.

Spätburgunder is the German name for Pinot Noir. It means "late Burgundian", after its late ripening. You will see it spelled three ways depending on the keyboard: Spätburgunder, Spatburgunder and Spaetburgunder. It is the same grape.

Schwarzriesling is Pinot Meunier, the third Champagne grape. The name is misleading: it is not related to Riesling at all, but got the name because the leaves look similar. In French it is Meunier, "miller", after the floury coating on the underside of the leaf.

What both share here is a cool climate. That gives lighter body, higher acidity and more red fruit than Pinot Noir from warmer places, with alcohol usually between eleven and thirteen per cent. Served lightly chilled, around sixteen degrees, the fruit comes through more clearly.

Every Spätburgunder in the selection, red and rosé, is gathered on the Spätburgunder page.