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Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe.          The Konavle region is at the most southern point of Croatia, even further south than Dubrovnik, bordering Montenegro. Historically, it was the region that produced all of the food for what was the Ragusan Republic and is present-day Dubrovnik. These days, the fields are covered with a great many grapevines and a lot of that feeds in to Dubrovački Podrumi, which is a very large wine producer in Gruda, a small town at the southern end of Konavle.     Upon first glance, the building is anything but welcoming. The concrete construction that echoes the "aesthetic" of Socialist construction is menacing. There is no business name out front and we had to look for the tell-tale signs of new bottles on palettes to know we were in the right place. With some rather awkward Croatian, we talked to a worker who was leaving for lunch and were guided around to the other side of the building where they've built a very pleasant tasting room, but without any signs pointing you there. Upon entering, we could see why the signs were scarce, since it was very apparent that they were set up for large tour buses to come through on scheduled trips. Only two people on a wine tasting quest were something of an anomaly. Regardless, they were very hospitable, found someone in the office who had the best English, and took us in for a tasting.     Dubrovački Podrumi produces a wide range of wines and they let us taste several of them. We first started with their basic table wines. The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon was a light wine at 12.3% alcohol that had subtle fruit tones and licorice flavors that kicked back in to a smooth finish. The 2004 Plavac at 12.5% alcohol was very dry, but had a light, delicate nose that was surprising given the quality level of the wine. These were both below six euros a bottle, so it's easy to see how they're regarded as basic, everyday wines given the price.     Our host then pulled out two of their higher-cost wines that started at 22 euros a bottle. The 2004 Trajectum was very good. The nose had a bit of rose to it which made the body difficult to describe, despite it being made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. A little bit of berry, a touch of mint, and a slight earthiness are the words that came to mind for this wine. Very tasty, but it would be a big departure for the normal Cab drinker, although some might really enjoy that.     The other wine we tasted of this level was the 2004 Merlotina. Straight out of the bottle, it was phenomenal. The nose had great plums tones to it as well as an aroma that, for lack of a better word should be described as delicate cake. Through the body, you could almost taste the earthy stones from which the vines grow. It is comprised of 100% Merlot and is at least on a par if not higher quality than most Merlots we've had in California.

Over a summer two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe.     While staying in Catalonia, we set out from Figueres to make a day trip to Cadaqués. Due to misunderstanding of roundabout, we ended up on the isolated northern beaches of Roses, but managed to eventually twist and turn our way back to the right road. This delay ended up being incredibly lucky as it had us driving over the top of a hill where the vineyards of Perafita are located. We entered the winery at the exact right time to visit while they were having their grand release day for their very first wines: Perafita 2005, Cadac 2004, Muscatel 2006, and Garnatxa 2006.     The Perafita and Cadac were both reds. Perafita was the lighter of the two, even though it had an alcohol content at 14.5%. You could really taste the Merlot and Garnatxa in the blend as the Cabernet Sauvignon seemed to be propping those two up more than the other way round. It also had strong oak flavors to it that came through very well. The Cadac was much deeper and approached a more standard California alcohol level of 15% in an area where most wines are around 12%. It had already aged well, despite coming from rather new vines that were planted in 2001. Given another year in the bottle, it will most likely develop an even deeper body to it that will carry the 64% Cabernet Sauvignon of the wine very, very well. It will be interesting to see how the Garnatxa that makes up the rest of the wine will blend with the Cab over time and if the spicy perfume in the nose will increase or fade.     The most interesting element to these two reds is that it seemed like you could taste the sea in them. This would seem obvious given that you can see the Costa Brava from their hills and it took several tastes to really believe that this was true. But, according to the owner's son, Rafel Martín Faixó, we were not the first people to notice this.     In addition to these reds, we also tasted their two sweet wines: Muscatel and Garnatxa. Both of these were very good, very deep and flavorful. The Muscatel was the stand out of these two with wonderful flavors that swirled around the palate and had a great, smooth finish.     Despite being inadvertent party crashers to the event, we were treated very well and saw that this was indeed a family-run business with Rafa, Carme, and their three children: Ester, Georgina, and Rafel all taking part in the event and very happy to talk passionately about their wines at great length. We found this ironic given that the winery originally started as a hobby to provide wines for their family restaurant in Cadaqués. Over the years, this has eventually grown to the size it is today and located in a grand house that was first mentioned in historical documents in 1387. We were just happy in our driving mistake which led us to the premiere of these wines and yes, we did eventually find our way to Cadaqués.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Given the setting, Espelt is a young winery that was founded in 2000 on a family property in Vilajuïga in northeastern Catalonia, led by the eldest daughter Anna Espelt who studied enology in the US. In spite of being a traditional, family-run business, it is a cutting edge winery with experimental vine growing techniques and labels designed by Mariscal (famous for having designed the mascot of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics). With this in mind, it's not surprising that in only five releases it has become the biggest winery in the area (the D.O. Empordà) with the largest vineyards. The vast majority of those vineyards are located inside two natural parks in the area, producing mostly local varietals, such as Carinyena (Carignane) and Garnatxa (Granache). In the natural park of the rugged Cap de Creus, the easternmost cape of Spain, Espelt has reintroduced vines planted in the traditional terraces of dry stones. This area had been a historical wine-producing region until the phylloxera plague destroyed all of it in the late 1800's and since that point the land was left barren.     We had the chance to taste almost the whole range of Espelt wines in their store in Vilajuïga, which includes four whites, two rosés, four reds, four sweets and two caves (Catalan champagne). Being red lovers, our absolute favorite was the upscale Comabruna, a blend of Syrah, Carinyena and Marselan. Produced from grapes that are not sourced and grown only on the Espelt estate, Comabruna is a very deep and smooth wine that has a wonderful plushness free of any sharp tannins. For those that don't want to spend 20€ on a bottle, another suggestion is Terres Negres (Black Lands), a blend of 30% Merlot and 70% Cabernet. With a similar finish than Comabruna but a lighter nose and overall body, Terres Negres at 12€ is possibly a better value wine with a lovely taste.     Of the whites that we tasted, one that stood out for us, was Quinze Roures (15 Oaks), a blend of white garnatxa and macabeo. This wine has earned a good degree of fame for being served in what is reputed to be the best restaurant in the world, El Bulli. It tasted a lot like a California Sauvignon Blanc with the slightly sweet, but more tannic finish of a Pinot Grigio.     We ended our visit with a taste of Espelt's famous sweet wines, Solivent (muscatel) and Airam (garnatxa) that also have cheaper "young" versions simply called Moscatell jove and Garnatxa jove (jove being the Catalan word for young). Both very enjoyable sweet wines, Solivent having a very smooth taste that gives you a hint of green olives, and Airam with its light Garnatxa flavors presenting extremely round, caramel tones.

Over a summer two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe.          Through a personal connection we were very fortunate to get a first glimpse of an exciting new winery in north-eastern Spain near Figueres called, La Vinyeta. The overall region is called d.o. Emporda and this is a new winery that has been built over the last few years. They now lay claim to 40 hectares (100 acres) of thriving vines. Part of this area was and continues to be occupied by 75 year old vines that are growing Garnatxa (Grenache). The rest have been planted with many different varietals including Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Merlot.          We were given a taste of the Merlot from the tanks before it has been aged in the French Oak barrels. It's quite an exquisite wine that has a nose like that of a Merlot that has already been aged for five years or more. The taste is relatively light and will need some time in the oak to really play out the full potential, which will undoubtedly be fantastic.          In addition to the Merlot, we were given a real treat in trying the Garnatxa from the tanks. In two words: absolutely delicious. For those not familiar with this, it's a sweet wine that shares some flavors in common with Tokaj, but is very much its own. You'll taste wonderful caramel flavors as well as smell these aromas in it.     As a sharp contrast to the age of these vines is the owner, Josep Serra Pla, who is a very fresh face in the winemaking business at only 29. A native of the area, he has invested a great deal of time and money in to building this winery quite literally from the ground up. While the Merlot and Garnatxa have yet to be released unfortunately, they have already released a Rose that is called Heus Rosat, a white called Heus Blanc, and a red called Heus Negre (the Catalans refer to red wine as a "black" wine, thus the 'negre'). Both are solid wines at their core and while only currently available in Spain, they show great promise for La Vinyeta. We look forward to tasting more in the near future!

Over a summer two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe.          We are Michael and Elia, two seasoned travelers and wine lovers who will be writing a series of blog posts for Blue Danube Wine as we travel around Mediterranean Europe, sampling the local wines and cuisines. We will be writing both about wineries that are trying new methods of production like "biodynamic" and about those that have done things the same way for literally hundreds of years. While we are not on a quest to find out what it is that ultimately defines these wines, we will definitely be noting similarities and comparing how different growing techniques, climates, and cultures affect the wines of each region we pass through.     We are starting our trip in north-eastern Spain, in the region of Catalonia. From there, we will be making our way to southern Dalmatia in Croatia, including a few of the islands. Then, we will look in to the wines of recently independent Montenegro before heading up to neighboring Serbia. After a stop in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we will be back out on the coast of Croatia to try the wines of northern Dalmatia. We'll then turn inland again to try the continental varietals of Croatia before stopping in Slovenia to taste their offerings.     This trip is going to take several months and we look forward to everyone following along as well as being able to sample a great many of the wines we will be tasting, by purchasing them on this site. Pleasant reading!

Frank told me that A Cote in Oakland would be pouring several of Movia's wines paired with a five course meal and hosted (or more narrated as I found out) by Aleš Kristančič who is part of the family that has been making these wines since 1820 in Slovenia. I could ramble on and on about how great the food was and how good the company was but it was the second course where they poured the 2001 Pinot Noir, where I paused.     I have something of a romantic longing for this wine. The first time I tasted it, was in 2006, in the wine bar that Movia owns in Ljubljana. The bar is quite a place to see if you're ever there, framed by the beautiful old city that wraps around the hill upon which the old castle stands. It all adds to the atmosphere and sitting in the dark recesses of this bar, it would have been impossible to not enjoy what I was drinking, which was the Movia Pinot Noir. Naturally, I longed for another sip once back the US.     As I sat in A Cote, I looked in my glass. Could it be my long-lost wine? I inhaled and then I drank. It was as I remembered. The deep flavors swirled around. It had that great plushness that I so love in a Pinot Noir. There was a slightly tannic aftertaste to it, but it finished great. Yes, they do a fine job with this wine. This dinner was a great taste of just some of the wines that Slovenia has to offer. I highly recommend them if you get the chance to taste them.

Prof. Dr.Tim P. reports from his recent trip to the Austrian wine regions:     After your tenth or twentieth or two hundredth winery visit, they all start to look the same—tanks over here, barrels over there, crush pad in the back, tasting room out front. The same is true for wine bars and wine lists: even the most creative combinations end up sounding familiar after a while. The next fancy wine tasting bears an uncanny resemblance to the last fancy wine tasting.
    
    And then there’s the Loisium, a wine experience absolutely in a class by itself. No; make that its own universe. It’s quite a package: whimsical, ultra-modern architecture linked with ancient wine cellars; spacey sound and light environments; a blend of wine history that’s half fact and all fantasy. You might expect this kind of edgy wine trip to pop up in New York or London or maybe Berlin — not in the middle of a vineyard in Langenlois, Kamptal, way out in the Austrian countryside, where it opened in September 2003. more...

Matt Markovich writes in the San Francisco Bay Guardian the wine column Bottle Rockets (yes, that's what they call it!). This week he is reporting on a recent trip to Dubrovnik in Croatia. Clearly, Matt had a great time sampling a number of Plavac Mali red wines. This is the ancestor of the Californian Zinfandel which in turn is the reason Matt entitles his article Original Zin.     But his real love is for a particular Croatian white wine, the Pošip Čara made on Korcula Island where the famous world traveler Marco Polo was born. Matt sings the praises of this wine:     Despite tasting around, we found ourselves ordering Posip Cara (poe-ship charrah) again and again. The experience of taking sips and gulps of chilled Cara in the hot sun was like taking a slurping, juicy bite from a perfect green apple. Always smooth, never too tart, and free of any alcohol bite or bitterness, it made me curse the fact that it's apparently unavailable in the States.     Do we have good news for him and all other lovers of this fine Croatian wine. You can buy it in the US! We do have it in stock and a number of restaurants carry it on their wine list. So get in touch with us and we'll get a few bottles of the Pošip Čara to you, pronto!     And since we are at it, let's also quote the newest edition of the illustrious UK wine magazine Decanter reporting from "the world's best wine competition":     "Thank goodness for the Croatian whites, which sang of their roots and pierced the tastebuds; great wine making and not just a happy origin."     What more is there for us to say than: the same is very true for the Croatian red wines.

This weekend we had guests from Styria, the only Austrian wine region where Gruener Veltliner is not king but where Sauvingnon Blanc, Muskateller, and Morillon (Chardonnay) shine. It also happens to be the birthplace of California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Styria's top wine maker Gerhard Wohlmuth came with his wife Maria and their friends from their home town Kitzeck. They were invited to present the Wohlmuth wines at the big Annual Styrian Ball which took place in Sacramento's Sheraton Hotel. And since wine is their life they were eager to tour the Californian wine country. One day it was Napa Valley, then it was on to Sonoma's Russian River, and finally to the Lodi Wine Center in the Central Valley.We started the day with a visit to the historic Niebaum-Coppola estate. Here are the Wohlmuths and the Schauers in front of a spectacular stained glass window. We all agreed that the flagship Rubicon 2000 was one of the finest wines we sampled that day, together with a rare Mondavi Fume Blanc Reserve, exclusively made from grapes grown in the I-bloc.     But Wohlmuth was as eager to let the Californians taste his wines as he was to taste theirs and to convince everybody that he is a world class wine maker himself. So we organized a small tasting group with wine writer Mike Dunne from the Sacramento Bee and a few Sacramento experts on good food and even better wine, including wine merchant David Berkley and Austrian born chef Ivonne Morgan from Cafe Vienna. The picture of course shows wine connoisseur Darrell Corti giving Gerhard Wohlmuth valuable

Today, we are the recipient of a lucky double whammy: This morning we read in the Sacramento Bee Mike Dunne's favorable notes about the Irsai Olivér made by the Hilltop Neszmély Winery, then the letter carrier delivered the new Newsletter edited by bottle shop owner and tasting bar manager Victor Pugliese of Vin, Vino, Wine, our favorite wine shop in Palo Alto.     Victor has published the VVW News for almost two decades. During that time it has been a monthly guide for us into the wide world of wine. You can imagine how proud we are when he surprised us by selecting one of the Hungarian wines we distribute as his featured White Wine Value of the Month. Here is what he had to say about the Királyleányka:     "The world is a big place. One of the cool things about it is that you'll never master it, you'll never know everything. There are always new discoveries. In that spirit, and in the spirit of bringing you the best, most interesting wines we can find, here is a new discovery for us, a Hungarian white, from an Eastern European grape called Kiralyleanyka.

    It comes from the Neszmély district along the Danube, between Vienna and Budapest. It is in the style of a very good Pinot Grigio, or Gruner Veltliner - bright, zesty fruit, a sprinkling of spices and herbs, a hint of minerality. It is dry and unoaked, with a svelte texture and simple deliciousness that is remarkable for its price.

    The label is a bit kitschy and international, understandable, perhaps, when you think about the hurdles a purely Hungarian language package must have in foreign markets. But the wine in the bottle is what counts, and it is both a bargain and a gem."     We could not have said it any better. Interestingly enough, it is this wine with the funky name which was selected by another wine merchant with a distinguished track record and excellent tasting buds: David Berkley of the fine wines and speciality foods store in Sacramento which carries his name and relies on his reputation. The best advice we can give you, our dear reader, is to follow the advice of experienced wine merchants like David and Victor and let them assist you in making new discoveries. Expanding the dimensions of your wine world and adding new flavors to it can be so much fun!

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