WINE WEDNESDAY - Köster-Wolf's Halbtrocken Müller-Thurgau 2016

I am back to writing about wine! Since wine class ended (and thus my fake sommelier position as a bartender at the class tastings) I have still been drinking wine at a fiendish rate but have not been documenting my wines.  I want to start up again with a weekly segment in which I will extensively interrogate a bottle under $15!  Due to my love of geography (one of the main reasons I like wine), I will also be giving some researched background to the grapes and regions (NERD).

Today's #WineWednesday victim is Köster-Wolf's Halbtrocken Müller-Thurgau 2016.

Winery: Weingut Köster-Wolf
Grapes: Müller-Thurgau
Region: Rheinhessen
Country: Germany
Vintage: 2016
Price: $11

Rating: Sehr Gut! 8.02/10

(as compared to all wines I have ever tasted, adjusted by value)

On the intersection of the Main and Rhein rivers.

Background: The farm-laden hills of Rheinhessen make up the largest wine region in Germany, and the birthplace of many crossed (bred) grapes by some evil (probs) scientist named Professor Georg Scheu. Among his creations was not Müller-Thurgau (cross Riesling with Madeleine Royale), but I'd like to think a certain Dr. Müller was similarly evil. Nonetheless it is the most planted grape in the region.  This grape has solidified itself as one of Germany's staples, playing wingman to Riesling alongside Sylvaner, Spätbergunder and Dornfelder.  You may also find it abounding in Austria and Northern Italy, though it always seems to play little brother to more established varietals.

My Review: In an attempt to try an Austrian wine I bought this from Dominion Beer and Wine in Falls Church in their "Austria" section.  IT'S FROM GERMANY YOU FOOLS, UGH.  Perhaps I will try again sometime soon and be a little more hesitant to trust signs 😦.  I saw the same bottle at another shop so I'd say this winery gets imported regularly, at least in the DC area.

I chilled the wine for 15 mins in the fridge before drinking.  You may want to pop it in for a bit longer if you like wine colder (I tend to like most whites warmer than the average Joe).

I torqued the screw cap and immediately some bubbly action started up.  Not sure what that means 😛.  I pour a bit and give it a spin.  At first smell all I can really say is it has the Riesling thing going on which tends to be how I describe most wine smells haha.  If I were to attempt words I'd say a cool, gravel thing with some sort of flower scent.  Pop it in the mouth ->  This wine is acidic, and despite the Halbtrocken designation (half-dry) I would be inclined to label this as pretty darn sweet despite the 12% alc, although it may be some of the acid masquerading as sweetness.  It has a ton of flavor too.  That acidity is definitely an apple (green/yellow) flavor, then you get the Riesling sort of thing (think licking a cold rock from a mountain stream), then lastly some flowery stuff and yellow fruit remains.  Overall a lot of layering going on for an $11 wine albeit all in a short amount of time. I also had it with some leftover turkey pasta: this seems to cut the acidity to zero and allowed the other flavors to come forward.


If you like acidic wines I doubt this would disappoint and it shows some potential for pairing to boot.  I tend to like these sort of wines so I am continuing to enjoy it!  In fact, I'd say I may have discovered some sort of vegetable flavor coming from the wine also as I type.  I will be preaching this varietal as a much anticipated change of pace for my mom's taste (plz no more cheap Moscato).
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Credit:
http://www.touringinwinecountry.com/germany/wineries/
http://artisansandvines.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Weingut-Ko%CC%88ster-Wolf.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BCller-Thurgau
https://www.wine-searcher.com/grape-299-muller-thurgau