We hope everyone is enjoying their summer vacation and are getting some well deserved R&R. For this week's wine we have gone for a lovely Portuguese white wine, lovely and light and very refreshing. The Pormenor Branco wines are made in higher-altitude vineyards in the village of Pombal, in the Northern Tua Valley. The 60 year old vines give freshness and minerality which Pedro enhances with partial use of stems during the fermentation and pressing. The 'regular' Pormenor Branco is made in stainless steel, with only short ageing and no battonage or other manipulation. It's bottled young and vibrant, and it's full fruit, medium body, and great freshness make it perfect for everyday mealtimes. Tasting notes:![]() Pormenor Branco - 204,90 kr Clean and vibrant straw color with fresh floral aromas and strong minerality. Acidity well marked with evidence of citrus, pineapple, yellow apple and banana peel on the palate. This is a very good wine to drink now but also will age well in the next few years. Good to drink by itself and also with food with a light and medium fat. Fish dishes, seafood, soft cheeses and chicken.
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I love a good Albariño. But from time to time I seem to forget these delicious bottles from Galicia, all the way up in the northwest corner of Spain. But I recently came across this beauty, with grapes from 60 years old vines and a lot of character. And I was reminded that these high quality wines pairs excellent with a wide variety of foods and are often a good bargain. Here we have a wine with grapes from three different vineyards, spontaneously fermented and with 80% barrel fermentation. It's then matured in large casks. It's a rich and delicate wine, made from 100% Albariño grapes, that can be enjoyed now or cellared 7-8 years. Tasting Notes
July haven’t been what we hoped for with weather more reminisce of autumn. But that means that we have opened more red wines than usually for the summer season and this weeks wine is a refreshing and fruity red from Sicily that has been of great comfort when the weather has been sour. We love wine from Sicily and have been to visit both on holiday and to make an episode of Drink. When we visited Arianna Ochipinti she told us of the great Frappato-grape that thrives in the south eastern parts of the island. For this week we have popped open a bottle from another producer, Planeta, who have made wines on the island for five generations. Their Frappato is cultivated according to the criteria of sustainability and organicity and reaches its ultimate expression in the red sands of Vittoria, not far from the sea. Tasting notes:![]() Planeta Frappato 2022 - 229,90 kr Ruby red with violet reflections. The notes of rose and candied violets are typical with an elegantly smokey tone. In the mouth the red fruits dominate with some balsamic tones. PAIRING: Great with traditional italian dishes of course, but also very gentle and soft so it will comfort you as the summer rain pours down … This is my favorite summer rosé for 2024. And like last year, my pick is from Greece and made from the brilliant grape called Xinomavro. It’s even from the same region, named Makedonia. This year my pick is crafted by Kir-Yianni winery. The Kir-Yianni project was founded in 1997 by Yiannis Boutaris, one of the leading figures in the Greek wine industry. But the family wine roots go way deeper. Founded as a family winery all the way back in 1879, this is solid stuff. They produce a wide range of wines, but today I’ve selected their rosé. Grapes are harvested from 30 years old vines, and there is some batonnage for 3-5 months. A process where they stir up the fine yeast that sets on the bottom. This creates a signature flavor. Tasting Notes
With the summer bringing the heat we have to cool down and have gone for some of our favourite wines from one of our favourite grapes - a cool Riesling from Pfalz! Readers of this blog will know that we are big fans of German wines here and especially the ones with Prädikat. This week we have gone for a light and refreshing Kabinett from producer Georg Mosbacher. It is half dry, or Feinherb as the Germans call it, which means it is not as sweet, but still has that great balance with the acidity and the sweetness we know and love from a Riesling. Tasting notes:![]() Mosbacher Deidesheim Riesling Kabinett Feinherb 2022 - 189,90 kr The fruit is sweet with a fine floral fragrance, but also aromas of citrus and ripe apple. This is a balanced and elegant, full bodied body wine that is easy to drink as an aperitif but also great with spicy food and sushi. In the mountainous region of Irpinia, about an hour inland from Naples, a new favorite winery has emerged. «Azienda Agricola Ferrara Benito de Ferrara Gabriella» is a small family run winery run by the Ferrara Family. I’ve recently written about one of their white ones, and today I’ve selected a treasured red. It’s made from 100% Aglianico grapes, sourced from their Montemilleto vineyard, at an altitude of 500-600 meters above sea level. This is an elegant wine, packed with flavors, and it comes at a very decent price. This will be a winner with your barbecue this summer. Tasting Notes
At the Vinmonopol there are a lot to choose from. When you go into a store it can sometimes be difficult to know what wine to pick. Of course the people working at the store are always helpful, but if you do some research the Vinmonopol actually have an enormous amount of other wines to choose from. This week's wine is one of those. As it is summer we have picked a white wine but from a region more known for its red wines, Hermitage. The little brother of the region, the Crozes Hermitage, offers a great value for money on its wines. The Domaine we have gone for is one of our favourites, Domaine du Colombier. We visited them eight years ago and got to know their wines. Their white Crozes is a superb wine, rich and full bodied, but it can be difficult to find in your local store. But if you go online or use the Vinmonopol app, you can easily order it there and get it delivered free to your favourite store. While there you can also find some other hidden gems, there are A LOT to choose from. Tasting notes:![]() Dom. du Colombier Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2022 - 329,90 kr Clear, deep yellow colour, beautiful! Intense white flowers and exotic fruits on the nose.In the mouth it is well rounded and aromatic with good structure. It also last, and last. This is a wine that is a delight to drink alone but will also work great with shellfish and white fish. For five centuries and seventeen generations the Planeta family has been involved in agriculture on Sicily. They produce high quality wines out of five unique territories, spanning from east to West on the island. They have many cool wines, and today we’ve selected their rosé from 2023. Made from Nero d’Avola and Syrah 50-50 and with only 3-4 hours skin contact, this is a light and very delicate affair. And at the price of 184kr this is not only impressive quality, but certainly one of the best bargains you can get nowadays. Tasting Notes
We’ve had some hot days lately and summer sure feels like it’s just around the corner. For us here at KulTour that means it is time to pop open some classic German Riesling wines with prädikat! Those of you who have seen our episode from Germany will know what the Germans mean when they talk of wines with prädikat. I’m sure you have either heard or read the words Kabinett, Spätlese or Auslese on a bottle before. What it means is quite literally how much sugar there is in the wine but it is often also a sign of good quality. We drink more and more dry white wines in Norway so these bottles are becoming rarer and rarer, but I urge everyone to find them and drink them now. They are perfect for summer! We’re in just south of Trier this week at Weingut Stefan Müller. The Müller estate consists of 10 hectares, mostly Riesling (90% of their holdings) and a little Pinot, both Noir and Blanc. Everything is hand-harvested on rolling hillsides teeming with life and vegetation. The vines see no herbicides and no pesticides—only some fungicide when needed. The 2022 vintage Krettnacher Euchariusberg Riesling Kabinett was made from fruit harvested from over 50-year-old vines in the prime Gross Schock sector of the vineyard and was fermented down to fruity-styled levels of residual sugar (45 g/l). Tasting notes:![]() Stefan Müller Krettnacher Euchariusberg Riesling Kabinett Alte Reben 2022 - 285,- Lovely nose of vineyard peach, apricot flower, candied grapefruit, thyme, and minty herbs. The wine is superbly fruity and elegant on the palate, as riper elements of peach and apricot come through. The finish is more herbal but also lighter and zestier in style with a touch of tartness. This is a great drinking Kabinett. This beauty comes from one of Italy’s top producers; Roberto Conterno. It’s a Nebbiolo rosé from his winery in Gattinara, north in Piemonte. Only a handful of this delicious wine reaches Norway each year, and prices have been swinging like crazy. This year we’re down from 300 to 250, which is one hell of a bargain. The wine is robust, but elegant. It packs a punch and demands more of you, than from the traditional ones from Provence. Tasting Notes
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