WHEN MAPS CAN BE MISLEADING

We were staying in a campsite on the Rhine River, directly opposite the quite lovely city of Mainz. Doing the usual research I spotted "Wine Capitals of the World - Tourist Information" on my Maps.me app.

This could be good. We were in Mainz for a wine tour so this looked like an opportunity for homework. Plus it was close to the Gutenberg Museum and the Cathedral. Sadly this was all we got.

It seems that Mainz fancies itself as the Wine Capital of Germany. This was tourist information we really didn't need. 

But it was kind of funny walking in circles looking for a building hosting a mine of information and suddenly seeing this sign.

DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE PRICE OR THE SIZE

We were really pleasantly surprised by this. Crisp and dry and very approachable. Would sell for three times the price in other markets.

WEINE OSTEREICH 1000ml GRUNER VELTLINER 2017

 
GRAPE VARIETY: Gruner Veltliner
REGION: Austria
A/V: 12% 
PRICE: 2.99 euro 
FROM: Lidl, Austria
RATING: 4.5/5 from me 

BEER 11: PATRONUS WEISSBIER

This is the cloudy Naturtrub style. There are better out there but this is still very drinkable and outstanding value. Perfect if you insist on glass.

CATEGORY 2
SIZE: 500ml bottle
ALCOHOL: 5.5%
PRICE: 69 euro cents
FROM: Lidl, Austria
RATING:4/5

BEER 10: GLETSCHER MARZENBIER

Yet another very quaffable lager at a crazy cheap price.

CATEGORY 1
SIZE: 500ml can
ALCOHOL: 5%
PRICE: 55 euro cents
FROM: Lidl, Austria
RATING:4.5/5

BEER 9: PERLENBACHER HEFEWEISSBIER

I may be wrong but I reckon this beauty is cheaper in Austria than its home country Germany. This is an outstanding bargain priced wheat beer. Very highly recommended if you're a fan of the style.

CATEGORY 2
SIZE: 500ml can
ALCOHOL: 5%
PRICE: 59 euro cents
FROM: Lidl, Austria
RATING:5/5

BEER 8: KAISER FASSTYP

A clean crisp lager. Probably worth spending an extra 10c and grabbing a Stiegel

CATEGORY 1
SIZE: 500ml can
ALCOHOL: 5%
PRICE: 95 euro cents
FROM: Lidl, Austria
RATING:4/5

BEER 7: PUNTIGAMER

Fails in packaging design but works as a beer. No great surprise, just a very pleasant lager.

CATEGORY 1
SIZE: 500ml can
ALCOHOL: 5.1%
PRICE: 95 euro cents
FROM: Lidl, Austria
RATING:4/5

BEER 6: STIEGEL SALZBURGER

It's a little expensive compared to its competitors. It's also superior with a lovely steely minerality. Easy to see why this is such a big seller.

CATEGORY 1
SIZE: 500ml can
ALCOHOL: 5%
PRICE: 1.05 euro 
FROM: Lidl, Austria
RATING:4.5/5

PRUM 2017 RIESLING

Attractive, slightly off-dry white without being dazzling.

GRAPE VARIETY: Riesling
REGION: Mosel, Germany
A/V: 11.5% 
PRICE: 3.99 euro 
FROM: Aldi, Germany
RATING: 4/5 from me 

THIS WINE IS AN EMBARRASSMENT

I would hate this to be the benchmark for Austrians to judge Australian shiraz. Although anything else would be an improvement.
This is aggressively wood chip flavoured wine that has no redeeming feature other than it's drinkable, just. It was slightly better on the third day ..... just.



ROSE CREEK 2017 AUSTRALIAN SHIRAZ
GRAPE VARIETY: Shiraz
REGION: SEA, Australia
A/V: 13% 
PRICE: 2.49 euro 
FROM: Lidl, Austria
RATING: 1.5/5 from me

SADLY NOT A PATCH ON THEIR WHITE

An enticing label masked a remarkably disappointing innocuous red wine. No tannin, little acid and uninspiring fruit.



PANNONIA 2017 CUVEE PRESTIGE
GRAPE VARIETIES: Red Blend????
REGION: Burgenland, Austria
A/V: 13% 
PRICE: 3.49 euro 
FROM: Lidl, Austria
RATING: 2/5 from me 

A SIX HOUR GERMAN WINE COURSE ON WHEELS

A Summer Day with Elite Wine Estates  +49 1590 130 28 59 / +31 6 5182 7360 jerome.hainz@bottlestops.de www.bottlestops.com

We booked this on line about three weeks before we arrived in Mainz. The pre booking email exchange with Jerome was perfect with a few questions we had answered accurately and promptly. And with humour.
The day before the tour we received another email confirming meeting instructions. Jerome arrived 15 minutes early for the pickup and we departed on time in a quite luxurious VW that was really easy to enter and exit/ Plenty of legroom.
The day exceeded expectations by a long way. We had the opportunity to taste several hundred wines and met many of their makers. Jerome was the perfect guide. Knowledgeable, charming and totally flexible within the framework of his well planned day.
He provided us with a wine course on wheels along with history, geography and language lessons. There were only three of us on the tour. A young American wine science masters graduate from UC Davis and us two with a lifetime working with wine in Australia. We had a million questions and Jerome answered them all. 
I could not recommend his offers highly enough. The six hours went way too fast and we agreed it was excellent value for money.

BEER 5: EGGER MARZENBIER

Another nice little quaffing lager. You can buy better at the price and the same for less. Even so it's still a very worthy beer.

CATEGORY 1
SIZE: 500ml can
ALCOHOL: 5%
PRICE: 69 euro cents
FROM: Lidl, Austria
RATING:4/5

BEER 4: GLETSCHER SCHANKBIER

A nice little quaffing lager. Scores well at the price.

CATEGORY 1
SIZE: 500ml can
ALCOHOL: 4.2%
PRICE: 45 euro cents
FROM: Lidl, Austria
RATING:4.5/5

BEER 3: STEAM BREW IMPERIAL IPA

More over the top packaging herE with slogans " Let's oil the gears of life" and "German craft beer resistance". Lashings of hop driven flavour this time with another excessive dose of alcohol. But once again YOU must give this a try. It's another stunner.


CATEGORY: 3
SIZE: 500ml can
ALCOHOL: 7.8%
PRICE: 69 euro cents
FROM: Lidl, Germany
RATING:5/5

BEER 2: STEAM BREW GERMAN RED

Over the top in packaging, flavour and alcohol but YOU must give this a try. I'm not a huge fan of beers at this alcohol level but this is a stunner. Make sure you pour into a glass.

CATEGORY: 2
SIZE: 500ml can
ALCOHOL: 7.9%
PRICE: 69 euro cents
FROM: Lidl, Germany
RATING:5/5

BEER 1 WAGNER'S WEISSE BEER

A perfectly pleasant wheat beer that washed down an outstanding schnitzel in the Black Forest.

CATEGORY: 2
ALCOHOL: not known
PRICE: not known
FROM: Restaurant/bar
RATING:4/5

THE CHALLENGE: HOW MANY NEW BEERS CAN YOU TASTE IN A YEAR?

After too many months of far too many perfectly pleasant bland beers I was instantly inspired by the discovery of a Fristo Beverage market.

https://www.fristo.de/startseite/

It's a Beer Lover's treasure trove with rows of stacks of beers that were all enticingly new to me. Sadly we were walking and could only fit nine 500ml bottles into the backpack. 
So here goes. How many new beers can I taste in a year?

RIESLING RHEINHESSEN HALBTROCKEN 2017

I wanted to see what a not so trocken Riesling tasted like. It's nowhere as sweet as I feared and would be perfect chilled right down with spicy food. The ideal compromise for experienced wine lovers to share with anyone who likes their wines a bit sweeter. Also perfect to mix with half a glass of ice.


GRAPE VARIETIES: Riesling
REGION: Germany
A/V: 11% 
PRICE: 1.99 euro 
FROM: Lidl, Germany
RATING: 4.5/5 from me 

HERE'S ANOTHER GRAPE VARIETY TO ADD TO THE LIST WE'VE TASTED

A stylish understated label and the suggestion of another Gruner Veltliner experience made this impossible to resist. Turns out Fruhroter Veltliner is no relation to Gruner. But it is still a very fine wine in the crisp dry white category. Very highly recommended.

VINTAGE: 2017
GRAPE VARIETY: Fruhroter Veltliner
REGION: Austria
A/V: 12% 
PRICE: 3.49 euro 


FROM: Lidl, Austria
RATING: 5/5 from me 

DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE PRICE OR THE SIZE

How can a wine in a big 1litre bottle be any good at this price? I have no idea but it's a complete surprise. It's a steely very drinkable dry white which doesn't quite have the character of recent finds but is still very worthwhile at this price.

WEINE OSTERREICH 2017 MULLER THURGAU 1000ml
GRAPE VARIETIES: Muller Thurgau
REGION: Austria
A/V: 12% 
PRICE: 2.49 euro 
FROM: Lidl, Austria
RATING: 4.5/5 from me 

IT'S TIME YOU WERE INTRODUCED TO GEMISCHTER SATZ

It's not a grape variety but a triple varietal blend that is made under strict guidelines. We found this one in Lidl and suspect, due to the lack of information on the label, that it's another one of their own labels that dominate their shelves. It's a delicious crisp dry white with a a touch of appealing spritzig

GEMISCHTER SATZ 2017 BURGENLAND TROCKEN
GRAPE VARIETIES: It's a three way mix
REGION: Burgenland, Austria
A/V: 12% 
PRICE: 2.99 euro 
FROM: Lidl, Austria
RATING: 5/5 from me 

PALOMAR CREEK 2017 MARLBOROUGH SAUVIGNON BLANC

I just had to buy it. After all, what's an import like this doing on a retail shelf in a country that makes outstanding white wine? And at this price? After tasting it I still have no idea. It's a superb retro throw back to the days of herbaceous NZ sauvignon blancs. More paspalum and capsicum than tropical fruit. Huge intense flavours that would welcome a 50/50 mix of ice if you wanted to enjoy a couple of glasses and drive.

GRAPE VARIETIES: Sauvignon Blanc
REGION: Marlborough, New Zealand
A/V: 12.5% 
PRICE: 3.99 euro 
FROM: Lidl, Germany
RATING: 5/5 from me 

A WELCOME SOUTH AFRICAN IN AUSTRIA

While all countries in Europe are extremely parochial about their own wine [and retail shelves reflect this] sometimes outside help is required. Austria is not renowned for red wines so I was more than willing to buy a bottle of this to try.
I wasn't expecting much for the price but once again Lidl amazed me. I love Pinotage, and while it's not to everyone's taste, if you love grungy, feral, earthy reds this may just be the best bargain in Europe. It has plenty of cellar potential so just grab a bottle to start with. Taste it over three days and see how it grabs you. Personally I'd rate it at well above 5/5 but I have to recognise it really isn't to everyone's taste.



VREDEBOSCH 2017 PINOTAGE
GRAPE VARIETY: Pinotage
REGION: Western Cape, South Africa
A/V: 14.5% 
PRICE: 2.49 euro 
FROM: Lidl, Austria
RATING: 4.5/5 from me

FRITZ PITTNER 2017 GRUNER VELTLINER

Austria's number one grape variety is beautifully expressed here with another bargain from Lidl. Lean crisp and dry with plenty of flavour this will be perfect for summer.

GRAPE VARIETY: Gruner Veltliner
REGION: Austria
A/V: 12% 
PRICE: 2.99 euro 
FROM: Lidl, Austria
RATING: 5/5 from me 

PANNONIA EXCLUSIV 2017 GRUNER VELTLINER NO 1

There's nothing shy about the name of this one. Or the wine itself. This is a forward style with plenty of flavour, just a little off dry and a touch of spritzig. Guaranteed to be a real crowd pleaser if you're looking for something with widespread appeal.

GRAPE VARIETY: Gruner Veltliner
REGION: Burgenland, Austria
A/V: 12% 
PRICE: 3.49 euro 
FROM: Lidl, Austria
RATING: 5/5 from me 

ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS RIDICULOUS BARGAIN

Once again Lidl have excelled themselves in the lower price bracket. This is an absolutely dazzling crisp dry white which is one of the cheapest we've seen of this variety [aka Grasevina or Laski Rizling] and easily one of the best. The price is quite ridiculous and if we can't find it anywhere else it would be worth driving to Austria to pick up as many dozen as you can.
Dangerously drinkable and one of the Best Buys of the last 12 months.


WEIN OSTEREICH 2017 WELSCH - RIESLING
GRAPE VARIETY: Welschriesling
REGION: Burgenland, Austria
A/V: 12% 
PRICE: 2.49 euro 
FROM: Lidl, Austria
RATING: 5/5 from me 

MARK THESE DATES IN YOUR DIARY

6th and 7th April 2019

If I was anywhere near the south of France [say within a few thousand kms] I'd be heading to the village of Chateauneuf du Pape for their spring wine tasting.

I've been going to these types of events for years and the 2018 tasting we attended was up there with the best ever. Anywhere. For a mere 10 euro we had the opportunity to taste 100s of wines from close to 100 producers.

Impossible to recommend highly enough.