To be fair, I didn’t travel the world just for this post, but for all of you who are loyal followers, you know I’m all about Riesling. You’ll for sure remember my passionate display of affection for the Riesling varietal in previous posts (I Love Riesling), but my exploration has continued since I initially exposed my affections. In order to protect the innocent (myself), I won’t share exactly how many bottles I’ve since tried, but suffice it to say, my research is going quite well!
Alsace is, perhaps, my favorite source for Riesling – crisp and dry, petrol-y and intense, vendage tardive / late harvest / trokenbeerenauslese aromatic and sweet. All things amazing. However, not being one to single out just one source for this heavenly varietal, my adventures have steered me all over the world. Zingy, zippy, bracingly bright and acidic styles from Australia’s Clare Valley put an endless smile on my face. Rounder, fuller, more complex and ripe styles from Washington State paired beautifully with my spicy curried butternut squash soup this winter. But my latest explorations have taken me 5,500 miles from Fort Worth, TX to the Austrian vineyards of Wachau steeply overlooking the Danube River and the little-explored vineyards of Slovakia.
Ok, so I did travel to Eastern Europe for the Riesling!
While Alsace and Germany’s Mosel are considered the Old World epitome of Riesling, I took on the challenge of comparing Slovakian and Austrian versions and can truly attest, they can hold their own! During a day trip to Bratislava, Slovakia, our lunch break at Urban House and happy hour stop at Mirror Bar the were the perfect places to grab a glass of local Riesling such as Tajna Vinyards Rizling. While the varietals naturally high acidity was absolutely present, riper pear flavor kept it super balanced. Faint petrol on the nose, indicative of Riesling, was present, but wispy. My assessment? Yummy.
Without having an opportunity to really research the winery or wine maker since I simply ordered a glass off the menu, my prediction is the Slovenian vineyard, being a warm summer, cold winter continental climate allowed the grapes to ripen to a slightly higher sugar level than it’s Mosel, Alsace or Wachau cousins resulting in a richer style. Would I recommend checking out the Slovenian section at your local wine store? Absolutely!
Sadly, our day trip was on Easter Monday so I was unable to tour the Slovakian Museum of Viticulture. Receiving rave reviews on TripAdvisor, I had hoped to spend a few hours tasting a plethora of wines and learning about the county’s wine making history. Next time. Even more sad is the fact my current wine education pursuit of Certified Specialist of Wine through Society of Wine Educators doesn’t even have a section on Slovakian wine! All the more reason to return and write my own chapter!
Cheers!
#slovakia #slovakianwine #riesling #tryslovakianwine #wineeducation #europe #winetasting #bratislava
