RESTAURANTS AND FOOD: Loimer

Showing posts with label Loimer. Show all posts

Sunday, September 13, 2020

Top-notch Gru-Vee on the double from Blank Canvas and Fred Loimer

Top-notch Gru-Vee on the double

from Blank Canvas and Fred Loimer

Blank Canvas Grüner Veltliner Marlborough (2013), 13%,

€22.99 WINEONLINE.IE LTD; Ely Wine Store, Maynooth; The Corkscrew

Colour is quite a rich gold, with the odd flash of green. Aromas are also strong (yet restrained), exotic fruits (mandarin is mentioned on the label). White pepper also mentioned but didn’t get that, though there was a teeny hint of the diesel one normally finds in Riesling. That spice is certainly present on the fulsome palate along with stunning fruit (mandarin, peach), an amazing mouthful, and an equally amazing and long-lasting finish. Very Highly Recommended.

Experienced winemaker Matt Thompson and partner Sophie Parker-Thomson are the duo behind Blank Canvas and they conducted a recent zoomed masterclass for Liberty Wines. Grüner Veltliner is a relative newcomer to the Blank Canvas portfolio. “It’s fun to make it, totally different,” enthused Sophie. Oak has been used but they affirm that “the subtle influence of new and seasoned French oak puncheons .. provide weight and texture”.

And you may well come across that GV pepper in their Syrah which is co-fermented with 7.5% Grüner Veltliner skins. Matt: “I preferred the white pepper character of the Grüner to the riper Viognier fruit.”

Matt continued: “When I discovered Grüner Veltliner was available for planting in New Zealand, I jumped at the chance to be among the first to produce it. Looking at the similarities between the Austrian and Marlborough climates I know this was a very exciting opportunity not to be missed.”

The Thompsons have no vineyards, yet, and they choose very carefully where and who they work with. Note too that all their wines are single vineyard.

Check out more details from the interesting Black Canvas masterclass here…. Some very interesting remarks on the use of sulphur.

Loimer “Lois” Grüner Veltliner 2018, 11.5%,

€18.70 WINEONLINE.IE LTD. The Wine Centre, Kilkenny. Ely Wine Store, Maynooth. The Corkscrew

Colour is an attractive light to mid gold. Moderately intense aromas, fruit (apple, peach) and a herbal spice. Spice and fruit too on the lively palate where a bracing acidity makes the taste buds stand up and pay attention. Very refreshing and Very Highly Recommended.

Interestingly, Fred Loimer uses oak also but to a much lesser extent than Blank Canvas. Here, fermentation is spontaneous, 95% in stainless steel tanks and just 5% in used oak barrels, 2-4 weeks by 20° – 22°C. Ageing: in stainless steel tanks on fine lees for 4 months.

Food recommendations: Rice and pasta dishes with white meat or fried fish

Fred is a biodynamic wine-maker and, interestingly from an Irish point of view, says that “Cow manure is the best you can find for composting.” Cows have their fans across the wine world. During the series of Liberty Wines organised masterclass, endorsements for our bovine friends by Aurelio Montez (Chile) and Giovanni Manetti (Chianti Classico) were followed up by Fred’s.

“You cannot separate plants and animals, nature works in a holistic way, together they have composted over the years to create the soil we have today,” said Fred. Biodiversity is another essential plank. “Monoculture is a big problem today. It is necessary to create as much biodiversity as possible. Not one hundred percent vineyard but always bushes, trees and grassland over the whole area.”

Check out more details from the very interesting Loimer masterclass here, terrific insights into the nuts and bolts of the biodynamic vineyard.

Thursday, June 4, 2020

Biodynamic Winemaking with Austria’s Fred Loimer. Kerosene aromas, fertility symbol, compost tea. And more.

Biodynamic Winemaking with Austria’s Fred Loimer

Kerosene aromas, fertility symbol, compost tea. And more.

Fred Loimer

“Cow manure is the best you can find for composting.”

Cows and their role in composting have been getting the thumbs-up recently from winemakers across the globe. Endorsements by Aurelio Montez (Chile) and Giovanni Manetti (Chianti Classico) were followed up this Thursday as you can see by our opening line from Fred Loimer (Austria).

The Loimer winery is based in the Kamptal region of Austria and it is biodynamic and that was what Liberty Wines asked Fred to talk about in the latest of the series of online masterclasses by Liberty suppliers.

Fred: “Kamptal soil is mainly sandstone. Area is steep and here we grow mainly Riesling.” South of Vienna they own a vineyard in the Gumpoldskirchen, an area with a historic reputation for high quality wines. Limestone features here in an area “very different to Kamptal.” In the south, they grow Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and indigenous varieties Zierfandler and Rotgipfler.

One of Fred's opening slides was of Van Gogh’s The Sower at Sunset, to emphasise the Loimer connection with biodynamic farming, a connection that began in 2005. They and other farmers didn’t know too much about it so they formed a learning group and met monthly in the early years before forming a Respekt Group. Having the “Respekt-BIODYN” mark on their labels now endorses the wines as biodynamic (and at a higher standard than the EU regulations).

“The main biodynamic principle for me is ‘farm individuality’, how farming was over 1000s of years. Use resources you find in your place, not to buy everything, but to find on the farm what you need to produce. For instance, we make our own compost and we buy very little. Second, you cannot separate plants and animals, nature works in a holistic way, together they have composted over the years to create the soil we have today.”

Biodiversity is another essential plank. “Monoculture is a big problem today. It is necessary to create as much biodiversity as possible. Not one hundred per cent vineyard but always bushes, trees and grassland over the whole area.”

“Herbicide is a disaster. There is life in our soil. Always something going on, even in a small square, something like 60,000 lives in there, all doing something. We cover our soils, green cover, blooming cover. Our own compost is getting better and we spread it in the autumn and we also make compost tea out of it for spraying. Stinging nettles (they’re everywhere) and other herbs are also used for spraying teas.”

“Cow horns, many people don’t believe. You can’t really measure the impact of these preparations but you can see the difference. There is for sure an impact and cow manure is the best you can find for composting.”

Horn of Plenty

And Fred warned, with a picture of the cockerel, that you must be on alert in the vineyard, know when the rain is coming, the frost and so on. “You have to react quickly to changing conditions.”

In the vineyard work, they use their hands, a lot. Pruning, for instance, is by hand and it is “soft” pruning, meaning that the wound is kept small. Big wounds can lead to big damage. Canopy management too is key as it can have a big impact on the health of the grapes at the end.

And the harvest is also by hand, again for healthy fruit, then careful all the way in small baskets to the press-house. Good fruit allows them to be more flexible in the press-house where low-impact machines are used.

Downstairs the Loimers have an amazing 19th century cave, “a very good atmosphere for wine.” Fred uses stainless steel and values it but when more age and complexity is required, oak is hard to beat. He also said that clay (buried in the ground) is used. “We have just two, don’t think we’ll get more but it is very interesting.”

He took us through the “hierarchy”. In Kamptal: regional, village and crus and also mentioned their “different and interesting Achtung series”. “We also do sparkling (Sekt). Kamptal is the best place in Austria to do it!" They are fresh with a lowish ABV. And he tipped us off to be on the lookout for their 2014 Blanc de Blancs, due to be released in about 6 months.

Soft pruning

Some interesting queries in the Q&A towards the end.

Q: Is there much checking on the Bio regulations?

A: Yes there is a company doing annual checks by appointment and they can also occasionally drop in without an appointment. Everything you do requires paperwork. They ask for it and then go out and check to confirm. Sometimes, they take away samples for testing in case you’re using chemicals. “Yes, it is quite strict.”

Compost "cooking"

Q: Where does the kerosene aroma of Riesling come from?

A: “It is in the grape’s genetics, some years more, some less. When the petrol aromas are not too much, it is fine but, when dominating it can get too much. The balanced growth that biodynamics seeks may help. Ultra Violet light may be a factor so canopy management, where the fruit is left in half-shadow, helps get fresher aromas and not so much petrol.”

Cheeky

Q: Is that label a fertility symbol?

A: Fred smiled as did most of us who know the well-endowed male figure (right) on the label - he’d probably pair well with our Síle na Gig. He told us how the label came about and that it was indeed a fertility symbol originating in Indonesia about two thousand years go, “a strong symbol you recognise and remember”.

Liberty MD David Gleave brought the Zoom event to a close with a big thank you to Fred and praised his attention to detail saying “it shows us why the wines are so good”.

Previous masterclasses in this current series:

With Giovanni Manetti in Fontodi Chianti Classico